News 01.03.17
3 January 2017 News
Big-box retailers are suing some Wisconsin cities, including Oshkosh, over the stores’ property taxes with a relatively new legal maneuver that critics call the “dark store loophole.” Retailers argue their businesses should pay the same tax rate as a vacant store down the block. The litigants have successfully argued in court that there should be no tax difference between their thriving business and the shuttered retailer because state statutes don’t make the distinction. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue requires that tax assessments account for the fair market value of a property — both the value of the building and its location. Opponents say that has caused municipalities to raise residential taxes to make up the difference.Menards, Lowe’s, Target, Walgreens and other retailers have legally challenged their tax assessments.
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Visitors have been banned from the state prison in Oshkosh. Wisconsin Department of Corrections spokesman Tristan Cook says the temporary no-visitor policy is because so many inmates are sick. Cook says inmate movement within the Oshkosh Correctional Institution is also being limited to minimize contact between prisoners in an attempt to stop the spread of illnesses. There’s no timetable for when visitations will resume.
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The already dwindling number of employees at the Oscar Mayer plant in Madison will continue to shrink as the facility prepares to permanently close in the first quarter of 2017. The company that produced processed meats for decades and once employed more than 4,000 people is scheduled to close by the end of March 2017. Parent company Kraft Heinz announced in November 2015 that it would close the Madison operations as part of a restructuring that will shutter seven plans in North America. About 1,000 people worked in the local offices and factory at the time. Company spokesman Michael Mullen says there are 450 employees left today. Doug Leikness, president of Local 538 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, says he’s been told more than 325 jobs will disappear through February.
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State lawmakers have been asked to once again give Wisconsin circuit court judges the authority to order the seizure of vehicles owned by repeat drunken drivers. That authority was taken away from judges in 2009 and replaced with a law that emphasized the use of ignition-interlock devices. At the time, there were concerns about taking away the driver’s ability to get to work. It reinforced the requirement the driver needed to be sober to operate the vehicle. Republican Rep. Andre Jacque has worked to toughen Wisconsin’s drunken driving laws. Jacque says reinstating the vehicle seizure law would be an uphill battle. Brown County supervisors recently voted to press the issue with state legislators. Wisconsin Professional Police Association President Jim Palmer says the resources and manpower needed to seize those vehicles would be significant.
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Those popular beachside fire rings will be back in Sheboygan next summer. The city’s Common Council recently approved a resolution that keeps four of the bonfire rings at Deland Park beach during the summer months. Parks and Forestry Superintendent Joe Kerlin will oversee those rings and report back to a city committee late in 2017. The fire rings became a source of contention when the Common Council considered a resolution that would get rid of them. The reason was because prohibited litter kept turning up near where the bonfires are allowed. But some residents pushed back, prompting council members to reconsider.
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Wisconsin counties along the Lake Michigan’s shoreline may soon be out of compliance with new federal standards for ozone pollution. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lowered the ozone standard from 75 parts per billion to 70 parts per billion in 2015 with the regulations effective in October 2017. Tougher standards for ozone pollution in 2017 could mean additional costs for businesses. Manufacturers might need additional pollution controls, or might have to pay other companies for pollution credits earned from shutting down or reducing emissions. Gov. Scott Walker recently asked President-elect Donald Trump to get rid of unnecessary federal regulations. Walker says the ozone regulations would penalize Lake Michigan counties with pollution that sweeps up from the coastline of other states.
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