66.0615(1m)(dm)4.
4. For fiscal year 2020, the same dollar amount of the room tax retained as the municipality retained in its 2011 fiscal year.
66.0615(1m)(dm)5.
5. For fiscal year 2021 and thereafter, the same dollar amount of the room tax retained as the municipality retained in its 2010 fiscal year.
66.0615(1m)(e)1.1. Subject to
subd. 2., a district may adopt a resolution imposing a room tax under
par. (a) in an amount not to exceed 3 percent of total room charges. A majority of the authorized members of the district's board may vote that, if the balance in a special debt service reserve fund of the district is less than the requirement under
s. 229.50 (5), the room tax imposed by the district under this subdivision is 3 percent of total room charges beginning on the next January 1, April 1, July 1 or October 1 after the payment and this tax is irrepealable if any bonds issued by the district and secured by the special debt service reserve fund are outstanding. A room tax imposed by a district under this subdivision applies within the district's jurisdiction, as specified in
s. 229.43, and the proceeds of the tax may be used only for the district's debt service on its bond obligations. If a district stops imposing and collecting a room tax, the district's sponsoring municipality may impose and collect a room tax under
par. (a) on the date on which the district stops imposing and collecting its room tax.
66.0615(1m)(e)2.
2. In addition to the room tax that a district may impose under
subd. 1., if the district's only sponsoring municipality is a 1st class city, the district may adopt a resolution imposing an additional room tax. The additional percentage of room tax under this subdivision shall be equal to the percentage of room tax imposed by the sponsoring municipality on the date on which the sponsoring municipality agrees to stop imposing and collecting its room tax, as described under
s. 229.44 (15). A district shall begin collecting the additional room tax imposed under this subdivision on the date on which the sponsoring municipality stops imposing and collecting its room tax. A room tax imposed by a district under this subdivision applies only within the borders of the sponsoring municipality and may be used for any lawful purpose of the district.
66.0615(1m)(e)3.
3. A district adopting a resolution to impose the taxes under
subd. 1. or
2. shall deliver a certified copy of the resolution to the secretary of revenue at least 120 days before its effective date.
66.0615(1m)(f)1.1. The department of revenue shall administer the tax that is imposed under
par. (a) by a district and may take any action, conduct any proceeding and impose interest and penalties.
66.0615(1m)(f)2.
2. Sections 77.51 (12m),
(14),
(14g),
(15a), and
(15b),
77.52 (3),
(13),
(14),
(18), and
(19),
77.522,
77.58 (1) to
(5),
(6m), and
(7),
77.585,
77.59,
77.60,
77.61 (2),
(3m),
(5),
(8),
(9),
(12) to
(15), and
(19m), and
77.62, as they apply to the taxes under
subch. III of ch. 77, apply to the tax described under
subd. 1.
66.0615(1m)(f)3.
3. From the appropriation under
s. 20.835 (4) (gg), the department of revenue shall distribute 97.45 percent of the taxes collected under this paragraph for each district to that district and shall indicate to the district the taxes reported by each taxpayer in that district, no later than the end of the month following the end of the calendar quarter in which the amounts were collected. The taxes distributed shall be increased or decreased to reflect subsequent refunds, audit adjustments and all other adjustments. Interest paid on refunds of the tax under this paragraph shall be paid from the appropriation under
s. 20.835 (4) (gg) at the rate under
s. 77.60 (1) (a). Any district that receives a report along with a payment under this subdivision or
subd. 2. is subject to the duties of confidentiality to which the department of revenue is subject under
s. 77.61 (5).
66.0615(1m)(f)5.
5. Persons who are subject to the tax under this subsection, if that tax is administered by the department of revenue, shall register with the department. Any person who is required to register, including any person authorized to act on behalf of a person who is required to register, who fails to do so is guilty of a misdemeanor.
66.0615(2)
(2) As a means of enforcing the collection of any room tax imposed by a municipality or a district under
sub. (1m), the municipality or district may exchange audit and other information with the department of revenue and may do any of the following:
66.0615(2)(a)
(a) If a municipality or district has probable cause to believe that the correct amount of room tax has not been assessed or that the tax return is not correct, inspect and audit the financial records of any person subject to
sub. (1m) pertaining to the furnishing of accommodations to determine whether the correct amount of room tax is assessed and whether any room tax return is correct.
66.0615(2)(b)
(b) Enact a schedule of forfeitures, not to exceed 5 percent of the tax under
sub. (1m) or
par. (c), to be imposed on any person subject to
sub. (1m) who fails to comply with a request to inspect and audit the person's financial records under
par. (a).
66.0615(2)(c)
(c) Determine the tax under
sub. (1m) according to its best judgment if a person required to make a return fails, neglects or refuses to do so for the amount, in the manner and form and within the time prescribed by the municipality or district.
66.0615(2)(d)
(d) Require each person who is subject to
par. (c) to pay an amount of taxes that the municipality or district determines to be due under
par. (c) plus interest at the rate of 1 percent per month on the unpaid balance. No refund or modification of the payment determined may be granted until the person files a correct room tax return and permits the municipality or district to inspect and audit his or her financial records under
par. (a).
66.0615(2)(e)
(e) Enact a schedule of forfeitures, not to exceed 25 percent of the room tax due for the previous year under
sub. (1m) or
par. (c) or $5,000, whichever is less, to be imposed for failure to pay the tax under
sub. (1m).
66.0615(3)
(3) The municipality shall provide by ordinance and the district shall provide by resolution for the confidentiality of information obtained under
sub. (2) but shall provide exceptions for persons using the information in the discharge of duties imposed by law or of the duties of their office or by order of a court. The municipality or district may provide for the publishing of statistics classified so as not to disclose the identity of particular returns. The municipality or district shall provide that persons violating ordinances or resolutions enacted under this subsection may be required to forfeit not less than $100 nor more than $500.
66.0615(4)(a)(a) Annually, on or before May 1, on a form created and provided by the department of revenue, every municipality that imposes a tax under
sub. (1m) shall certify and report to the department, beginning in 2017, all of the following:
66.0615(4)(a)1.
1. The amount of room tax revenue collected, and the room tax rate imposed, by the municipality in the previous year.
66.0615(4)(a)2.
2. A detailed accounting of the amounts of such revenue that were forwarded in the previous year for tourism promotion and tourism development, specifying the commission or tourism entity that received the revenue. The detailed accounting shall include expenditures of at least $1,000 made by a commission or a tourism entity.
66.0615(4)(a)3.
3. A list of each member of the commission and each member of the governing body of a tourism entity to which the municipality forwarded room tax revenue in the previous year, and the name of the business entity the member owns, operates, or is employed by, if any.
66.0615(4)(b)
(b) The department of revenue shall collect the reports described in
par. (a) and shall make them available to the public.
66.0615(4)(c)
(c) The department of revenue may impose a penalty of not more than $3,000 on a municipality that does not submit to the department the reports described in
par. (a). A municipality may not use room tax revenue to pay a penalty imposed under this paragraph. The penalty shall be paid to the department of revenue.
66.0615 Annotation
A city was authorized to enact a room tax. The gross receipts method was a fair and reasonable way of calculating the tax. Blue Top Motel, Inc. v. City of Stevens Point,
107 Wis. 2d 392,
320 N.W.2d 172 (1982).
66.0615 Annotation
Under sub. (1m) (am), this section favors expenditures to construct or improve convention facilities. However, sub. (1m) (am), only addresses when a municipality may impose a room tax rate of greater than 8 percent and is irrelevant when the city has not exceeded that maximum. The only restrictions the rest of the statute places on the use of room tax monies are found in sub. (1m) (d), which directs a municipality to spend a certain percentage on “tourism promotion and development, which means the promotion and development of travel for recreational, business, or educational purposes. English Manor Bed and Breakfast v. City of Sheboygan,
2006 WI App 91,
292 Wis. 2d 762,
716 N.W.2d 531,
05-1358.
66.0617(1)(a)
(a) “Capital costs" means the capital costs to construct, expand or improve public facilities, including the cost of land, and including legal, engineering and design costs to construct, expand or improve public facilities, except that not more than 10 percent of capital costs may consist of legal, engineering and design costs unless the municipality can demonstrate that its legal, engineering and design costs which relate directly to the public improvement for which the impact fees were imposed exceed 10 percent of capital costs. “Capital costs" does not include other noncapital costs to construct, expand or improve public facilities, vehicles; or the costs of equipment to construct, expand or improve public facilities.
66.0617(1)(b)
(b) “Developer" means a person that constructs or creates a land development.
66.0617(1)(c)
(c) “Impact fees" means cash contributions, contributions of land or interests in land or any other items of value that are imposed on a developer by a municipality under this section.
66.0617(1)(d)
(d) “Land development" means the construction or modification of improvements to real property that creates additional residential dwelling units within a municipality or that results in nonresidential uses that create a need for new, expanded or improved public facilities within a municipality.
66.0617(1)(f)
(f) “Public facilities" means all of the following:
66.0617(1)(f)1.
1. Highways as defined in
s. 340.01 (22), and other transportation facilities, traffic control devices, facilities for collecting and treating sewage, facilities for collecting and treating storm and surface waters, facilities for pumping, storing, and distributing water, parks, playgrounds, and land for athletic fields, solid waste and recycling facilities, fire protection facilities, law enforcement facilities, emergency medical facilities and libraries. “Public facilities" does not include facilities owned by a school district.
66.0617(1)(f)2.
2. Notwithstanding
subd. 1., with regard to impact fees that were first imposed before June 14, 2006, “public facilities" includes other recreational facilities that were substantially completed by June 14, 2006. This subdivision does not apply on or after January 1, 2018.
66.0617(1)(g)
(g) “Service area" means a geographic area delineated by a municipality within which there are public facilities.
66.0617(1)(h)
(h) “Service standard" means a certain quantity or quality of public facilities relative to a certain number of persons, parcels of land or other appropriate measure, as specified by the municipality.
66.0617(2)(a)(a) A municipality may enact an ordinance under this section that imposes impact fees on developers to pay for the capital costs that are necessary to accommodate land development.
66.0617(2)(b)
(b) Subject to
par. (c), this section does not prohibit or limit the authority of a municipality to finance public facilities by any other means authorized by law, except that the amount of an impact fee imposed by a municipality shall be reduced, under
sub. (6) (d), to compensate for any other costs of public facilities imposed by the municipality on developers to provide or pay for capital costs.
66.0617(2)(c)
(c) Beginning on May 1, 1995, a municipality may impose and collect impact fees only under this section.
66.0617(3)
(3) Public hearing; notice. Before enacting an ordinance that imposes impact fees, or amending an existing ordinance that imposes impact fees, a municipality shall hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance or amendment. Notice of the public hearing shall be published as a class 1 notice under
ch. 985, and shall specify where a copy of the proposed ordinance or amendment and the public facilities needs assessment may be obtained.
66.0617(4)
(4) Public facilities needs assessment. 66.0617(4)(a)(a) Before enacting an ordinance that imposes impact fees or amending an ordinance that imposes impact fees by revising the amount of the fee or altering the public facilities for which impact fees may be imposed, a municipality shall prepare a needs assessment for the public facilities for which it is anticipated that impact fees may be imposed. The public facilities needs assessment shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
66.0617(4)(a)1.
1. An inventory of existing public facilities, including an identification of any existing deficiencies in the quantity or quality of those public facilities, for which it is anticipated that an impact fee may be imposed.
66.0617(4)(a)2.
2. An identification of the new public facilities, or improvements or expansions of existing public facilities, that will be required because of land development for which it is anticipated that impact fees may be imposed. This identification shall be based on explicitly identified service areas and service standards.
66.0617(4)(a)3.
3. A detailed estimate of the capital costs of providing the new public facilities or the improvements or expansions in existing public facilities identified in
subd. 2., including an estimate of the cumulative effect of all proposed and existing impact fees on the availability of affordable housing within the municipality.
66.0617(4)(b)
(b) A public facilities needs assessment or revised public facilities needs assessment that is prepared under this subsection shall be available for public inspection and copying in the office of the clerk of the municipality at least 20 days before the hearing under
sub. (3).
66.0617(5)
(5) Differential fees, impact fee zones. 66.0617(5)(a)(a) An ordinance enacted under this section may impose different impact fees on different types of land development.
66.0617(5)(b)
(b) An ordinance enacted under this section may delineate geographically defined zones within the municipality and may impose impact fees on land development in a zone that differ from impact fees imposed on land development in other zones within the municipality. The public facilities needs assessment that is required under
sub. (4) shall explicitly identify the differences, such as land development or the need for those public facilities, which justify the differences between zones in the amount of impact fees imposed.
66.0617(6)
(6) Standards for impact fees. Impact fees imposed by an ordinance enacted under this section:
66.0617(6)(a)
(a) Shall bear a rational relationship to the need for new, expanded or improved public facilities that are required to serve land development.
66.0617(6)(b)
(b) May not exceed the proportionate share of the capital costs that are required to serve land development, as compared to existing uses of land within the municipality.
66.0617(6)(c)
(c) Shall be based upon actual capital costs or reasonable estimates of capital costs for new, expanded or improved public facilities.
66.0617(6)(d)
(d) Shall be reduced to compensate for other capital costs imposed by the municipality with respect to land development to provide or pay for public facilities, including special assessments, special charges, land dedications or fees in lieu of land dedications under
ch. 236 or any other items of value.
66.0617(6)(e)
(e) Shall be reduced to compensate for moneys received from the federal or state government specifically to provide or pay for the public facilities for which the impact fees are imposed.
66.0617(6)(f)
(f) May not include amounts necessary to address existing deficiencies in public facilities.
66.0617(6)(g)
(g) Shall be payable by the developer or the property owner to the municipality in full upon the issuance of a building permit by the municipality.
66.0617(7)
(7) Low-cost housing. An ordinance enacted under this section may provide for an exemption from, or a reduction in the amount of, impact fees on land development that provides low-cost housing, except that no amount of an impact fee for which an exemption or reduction is provided under this subsection may be shifted to any other development in the land development in which the low-cost housing is located or to any other land development in the municipality.
66.0617(8)
(8) Requirements for impact fee revenues. Revenues from each impact fee that is imposed shall be placed in a separate segregated interest-bearing account and shall be accounted for separately from the other funds of the municipality. Impact fee revenues and interest earned on impact fee revenues may be expended only for the particular capital costs for which the impact fee was imposed, unless the fee is refunded under
sub. (9).
66.0617(9)(a)(a) Subject to
pars. (b),
(c), and
(d), and with regard to an impact fee that is collected after April 10, 2006, an ordinance enacted under this section shall specify that impact fees that are collected by a municipality within 7 years of the effective date of the ordinance, but are not used within 10 years after the effective date of the ordinance to pay the capital costs for which they were imposed, shall be refunded to the current owner of the property with respect to which the impact fees were imposed, along with any interest that has accumulated, as described in
sub. (8). The ordinance shall specify, by type of public facility, reasonable time periods within which impact fees must be spent or refunded under this subsection, subject to the 10-year limit in this paragraph and the extended time period specified in
par. (b). In determining the length of the time periods under the ordinance, a municipality shall consider what are appropriate planning and financing periods for the particular types of public facilities for which the impact fees are imposed.
66.0617(9)(b)
(b) The 10-year time limit for using impact fees that is specified under
par. (a) may be extended for 3 years if the municipality adopts a resolution stating that, due to extenuating circumstances or hardship in meeting the 10-year limit, it needs an additional 3 years to use the impact fees that were collected. The resolution shall include detailed written findings that specify the extenuating circumstances or hardship that led to the need to adopt a resolution under this paragraph.
66.0617(9)(c)1.1. An impact fee that was collected before January 1, 2003, must be used for the purpose for which it was imposed not later than December 31, 2012. Any such fee that is not used by that date shall be refunded to the current owner of the property with respect to which the impact fee was imposed, along with any interest that has accumulated, as described in
sub. (8).
66.0617(9)(c)2.
2. An impact fee that was collected after December 31, 2002, and before April 11, 2006, must be used for the purpose for which it was imposed not later than the first day of the 120th month beginning after the date on which the fee was collected. Any such fee that is not used by that date shall be refunded to the current owner of the property with respect to which the impact fee was imposed, along with any interest that has accumulated, as described in
sub. (8).
66.0617(9)(d)
(d) With regard to an impact fee that is collected after April 10, 2006, and that is collected more than 7 years after the effective date of the ordinance, such impact fees shall be used within a reasonable period of time after they are collected to pay the capital costs for which they were imposed, or they shall be refunded to the current owner of the property with respect to which the impact fees were imposed, along with any interest that has accumulated, as described in
sub. (8).
66.0617(10)
(10) Appeal. A municipality that enacts an impact fee ordinance under this section shall, by ordinance, specify a procedure under which a developer upon whom an impact fee is imposed has the right to contest the amount, collection or use of the impact fee to the governing body of the municipality.
66.0617 Annotation
An association of developers had standing to challenge the use of impact fees. As long as individual developers had a personal stake in the controversy, the association could contest the use of impact fees on their behalf. Further, individual developers subject to the impact fees do have the right to bring their own separate challenges. Metropolitan Builders Association of Greater Milwaukee v. Village of Germantown,
2005 WI App 103,
282 Wis. 2d 458,
698 N.W.2d 301,
04-1433.
66.0617 Annotation
Sub. (6) allows a municipality to impose impact fees for a general type of facility without committing itself to any particular proposal before charging the fees. The needs assessment must simply contain a good-faith and informed estimate of the sort of costs the municipality expects to incur for the kind of facility it plans to provide. Sub. (9) requires impact fees ordinances to specify only the type of facility for which fees are imposed. A municipality must be allowed flexibility to deal with the contingencies inherent in planning. Metropolitan Builders Association of Greater Milwaukee v. Village of Germantown,
2005 WI App 103,
282 Wis. 2d 458,
698 N.W.2d 301,
04-1433.
66.0617 Annotation
Subs. (2) and (6) (b) authorize municipalities to hold developers responsible only for the portion of capital costs whose necessity is attributable to their developments. A municipality cannot expect developers' money to subsidize the existing residents' proportionate share of the costs. If impact fees revenues exceed the developers' proportionate share of the capital costs of a project, the municipality must return those fees to the current owners of the properties for which developers paid the fees. Metropolitan Builders Association of Greater Milwaukee v. Village of Germantown,
2005 WI App 103,
282 Wis. 2d 458,
698 N.W.2d 301,
04-1433.
66.0617 Annotation
When the plaintiff home builders association alleged a town enacted an impact fee ordinance that disproportionately imposed the town's costs on development and the ordinance contained a mechanism for appealing these issues, but the association did not use it, the circuit court did not erroneously exercise its discretion when it concluded the association should have used the ordinance's appeal process before bringing its claims to court. St. Croix Valley Home Builders Association, Inc. v. Township of Oak Grove,
2010 WI App 96,
327 Wis. 2d 510,
787 N.W.2d 454,
09-2166.
66.0617 Annotation
The primary purpose of a tax is to obtain revenue for the government as opposed to covering the expense of providing certain services or regulation. A “fee" imposed purely for revenue purposes is invalid absent permission from the state to the municipality to exact such a fee. A “fee in lieu of room tax" that did not help the city recoup its investment in a development but rather was a revenue generator for the city that was collected from the owners of condominiums in a specific development who chose not rent their units to the public was imposed without legislative permission and was therefore an illegal tax. Bentivenga v. City of Delavan,
2014 WI App 118,
358 Wis. 2d 610,
856 N.W.2d 546,
14-0137.
66.0617 Annotation
Rough Proportionality and Wisconsin's New Impact Fee. Ishikawa. Wis. Law. March 1995.
66.0619
66.0619
Public improvement bonds: issuance. 66.0619(1)
(1) A municipality, in addition to any other authority to borrow money and issue its municipal obligations, may borrow money and issue its public improvement bonds to finance the cost of construction or acquisition, including site acquisition, of any revenue-producing public improvement of the municipality. In this section, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires:
66.0619(1)(a)
(a) “Debt service" means the amount of principal, interest and premium due and payable with respect to public improvement bonds.
66.0619(1)(b)
(b) “Deficiency" means the amount by which debt service required to be paid in a calendar year exceeds the amount of revenues estimated to be derived from the ownership and operation of the public improvement for the calendar year, after first subtracting from the estimated revenues the estimated cost of paying the expenses of operating and maintaining the public improvement for the calendar year.
66.0619(1)(c)
(c) “Municipality" means a county, sanitary district, public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district, town, city or village.
66.0619(1)(d)
(d) “Public improvement" means any public improvement which a municipality may lawfully own and operate from which the municipality expects to derive revenues.
66.0619(2)
(2) The governing body of the municipality proposing to issue public improvement bonds shall adopt a resolution authorizing their issuance. The resolution shall set forth the amount of bonds authorized, or a sum not to exceed a stated amount, and the purpose for which the bonds are to be issued. The resolution shall prescribe the terms, form and contents of the bonds and other matters that the governing body considers necessary or advisable. The bonds may be in any denomination of not less than $1,000, shall bear interest payable annually or semiannually, shall be payable not later than 20 years from the date of the bonds, at times and places that the governing body determines, and may be subject to redemption prior to maturity on terms and conditions that the governing body determines. The bonds may be issued either payable to bearer with interest coupons attached to the bonds or may be registered under
s. 67.09. The bonds may be sold at public competitive sale or by private negotiation.
Sections 67.08 and
67.10 apply to public improvement bonds, except insofar as they are in conflict with this section, in which case this section controls.
66.0619(2m)(a)(a) A resolution, adopted under
sub. (2) by the governing body of a municipality, need not be submitted to the electors of the municipality for approval, unless within 30 days after the resolution is adopted there is filed with the clerk of the municipality a petition, conforming to the requirements of
s. 8.40 and requesting a referendum on the resolution, signed by electors numbering at least 10 percent of the votes cast in the municipality for governor at the last general election. A resolution, adopted under
sub. (2), may be submitted by the governing body of the municipality to the electors without waiting for the filing of a petition.
66.0619(2m)(b)
(b) If a referendum is to be held on a resolution, the municipal governing body shall file the resolution as provided in
s. 8.37 and shall direct the municipal clerk to call a special election for the purpose of submitting the resolution to the electors for a referendum on approval or rejection. In lieu of a special election, the municipal governing body may specify that the election be held at the next succeeding spring primary or election or partisan primary or general election.
