Protesters against a TID in Rib Mountain. Image courtesy: WAOW TV
RIB MOUNTAIN, WI (WSAU) — Trustees in Rib Mountain reversed course on a proposal for a second Tax Increment Finance district this week after pushback from residents.
Village President Alan Opal says that feedback led them to amend Tuesday’s agenda to reconsider the move. “We want to be reactive to the residents, so we decided to reconsider,” said Opal. “We respect their opinions and we wanted to do what’s right.”
The area included land from the Rib Mountain Golf Course to County NN and Robin Lane. Residents said they didn’t want to lose the unbothered feel of their neighborhood by seeing new roads and mixed-use developments built around them. Those with private water wells also expressed concern about being forced to connect to a municipal water system. That sparked several protests outside Village Hall and mountains of public comment at meetings.
“The concerns were there,” added Opal. “We want to be respectful of our citizens and hear those concerns.”
The proposal had been approved last month and was scheduled for final consideration on Wednesday during a meeting of the Village’s Joint Review Board, which oversees TIF accounts. Village Attorney Dean Dietrich opened the meeting by announcing that the item would be dropped due to Tuesday’s vote.
Opal says there are no plans to bring the proposal back and any future Village leadership that wants to revisit the issue will need to start from scratch.
Tuesday’s vote was unanimous, reversing a September 17th decision. The previous vote was 3-2 in favor of creating the district, with Trustees Cory Sillars and Brad Conklin dissenting.
Editors Note: This story has been updated to clarify the results of Tuesday’s vote.
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