In a decision issued last week, Wisconsin's Supreme Court unanimously agreed the Town of Buchanan exceeded its authority by creating a transportation utility fee (TUF).

The court concluded the town's transportation utility fee is a property tax and, therefore, the town was required to follow the procedures outlined in statutes for property taxes, including levy limits and assessment methodology. State statutes do not "authorize 'taxation of property' to be based on anything other than property value," according to the court's decision.

Wisconsin communities have increasingly considered transportation utility fees to help address growing shortfalls in road maintenance, repairs, and improvements that can't fit under the current levy limits. In the case of the Town of Buchanan, the town board faced the need to reconstruct about 40% of the town's roads over the next decade. Consequently, the board submitted an advisory referendum to residents in 2019, giving them a choice to raise the property tax levy, impose a special assessment on all property, or impose a TUF.  

After implementing the TUF in 2019, Buchanan collected an additional $855,000 from the utility fee in 2020 and exceeded its property tax levy limit of $2.4 million. The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed a lawsuit in September of 2021, asking the court to declare the tax illegal and issue an injunction to prevent Buchanan from collecting the fee. Outagamie County Circuit Court Judge Mark McGinnis determined the town's TUF was a property tax subject to the town's levy limit. After the town appealed, WILL and the town jointly submitted a petition to bypass the court of appeals.

WILL Deputy Counsel, Luke Berg, stated, "WILL continues to hold government officials accountable to the law, and this ruling affirms the case we made on behalf of Buchanan taxpayers. We are pleased with today's unanimous ruling and believe it bodes well for future cases across Wisconsin." 

Wisconsin recently received notification about the following Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) discretionary grant awards:

RAISE – The USDOT provided more than $2.2 billion in Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program funds for 162 different infrastructure projects across the country, including:

• WisDOT: $15 million to rehabilitate pavement and 11 bridges on approximately four miles of I-41 from Burleigh Street to Silver Spring Drive.
• City of Milwaukee: $14.3 million to make complete streets improvements on approximately 1.5 miles of W. Villard Avenue from N. Sherman Boulevard to the Oak Leaf Trail and 20th Street Powerline Trail at N. 20th Street, including raised bike lanes, raised intersections, curb extensions, bus bulbs, lighting and signal improvements, a pedestrian plaza, and other streetscaping enhancements. 
• City of Kenosha: $5.58 million to design and construct an extension to the Kenosha County Bicycle Trail from 35th Street to 52nd Street, including two bridges to cross arterial streets. 

FTA Cleaner Buses – The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced 130 awards totaling nearly $1.7 billion for transit projects in 46 states and territories. Wisconsin recipients include: 

• City of Madison: $37.9 million to buy battery-electric buses to replace older diesel buses, install charging equipment and solar panels to modernize its bus maintenance facility, and develop a workforce training program.
• City of Beloit: $653 thousand to buy a hybrid bus to replace an older diesel bus that has exceeded its useful life.

Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) Program - The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) awarded more than $570 million in Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) grant program funding to projects in 32 states, including:

• City of Eau Claire: Up to $9.99 million to support the Galloway Street vehicular and pedestrian rail crossing eliminations and construction of the Galloway Street rail overpass. The proposed project will support development, final design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction activities to replace two at-grade crossings (vehicle and pedestrian) with grade-separated overpasses over Union Pacific's rail line. The new overpasses will connect to the Chippewa River Regional Pedestrian Bike/Pedestrian Trail. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) first projections for 2023 traffic fatalities are in. Nationwide there is an approximately 3.3% decrease in the number of people who died in traffic crashes in the first three months of 2023 compared to the same time in 2022. The first quarter of 2023 is the fourth straight quarterly decline after seven consecutive quarters of increased fatalities, beginning with the third quarter of 2020.

NHTSA estimates that for the first quarter of 2023, fatalities decreased in 32 states, while 18 states and Puerto Rico have projected increases as compared to the same period a year ago. Wisconsin's estimated fatalities for the first quarter are down 15.8% versus 2022.

On the same day that NHTSA released estimated first quarter fatalities, TRIP, a Washington, D.C.-based transportation research nonprofit, issued a new report, Addressing America's Traffic Safety Crisis: Examining the Causes of Increasing U.S. Traffic Fatalities and Identifying Solutions to Improve Road User Safety examining the causes and costs of the surge in U.S. traffic fatalities through 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic and putting forth a broad, comprehensive approach to reducing traffic fatalities in the U.S. While decreasing slightly in 2022, fatality numbers remain high. 

• TDA Annual Meeting: Wednesday, Nov. 15

Upcoming Events

• Aug. 10-11: Wisconsin Commercial Ports Association (WCPA) Annual Meeting, Green Bay (RSVP to Katie Platten katie.platten@browncountywi.gov)
• Aug. 14-16: Mid American Association of State Transportation Officials (MAASTO) Annual Meeting, Milwaukee
• Sept. 20-22: Wisconsin Airport Management Association's Wisconsin Aviation Conference, Appleton
• Oct. 6: Southeast Wisconsin Transportation Symposium, Milwaukee
• Oct. 19: Wisconsin Railroad Association Freight Rail Day, Madison (details forthcoming)

Training for Public Works Officials

The University of Wisconsin – Madison’s Transportation Information Center, in cooperation with the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA), offers two public works certificates designed to help develop leaders in public works:

• Public Works Supervisory Academy
• Public Works Management Institute Certificate

The coursework is designed to help public works officials:

• Develop knowledge and skills in managing operations and personnel issues
• Learn ways to communicate public works priorities to local officials and the public
• Gain problem-solving tools that can immediately be applied on the job
• Build valuable relationships with others in public works

Upcoming courses begin in September and continue through the fall. More information is detailed here with online registration here.

If you would like TDA to consider including your organization's update or event in an upcoming newsletter, please forward information to Luke Pearson – luke.pearson@tdawisconsin.org.