66.1105 AnnotationA city may lawfully agree to cooperate with a business venture in an effort to create a tax incremental financing district as long as it is clear from the agreement that all applicable laws and procedures are to be followed. The city is not bound until the common council votes to approve the agreement. Town of Brockway v. City of Black River Falls, 2005 WI App 174, 285 Wis. 2d 708, 702 N.W.2d 418, 04-2916.

66.1105 AnnotationA finding of blight under sub. (4) (gm) 4. a. and a “but for” assertion under sub. (4m) (b) 2. are not susceptible to an action for declaratory judgment because they are legislative determinations that do not give rise to justiciable issues of fact or law. The plain language of the provisions does not require that the local legislative body itemize the evidence in the record that supports the finding of blight or “but for” assertion. Voters with Facts v. City of Eau Claire, 2018 WI 63, 382 Wis. 2d 1, 913 N.W.2d 131, 15-1858.

66.1105 AnnotationWhen there are no statutory provisions for judicial review, the action of a board or commission may be reviewed by way of certiorari. No statutory appeal process has been created to review the formation of a tax incremental district; therefore, certiorari review of the decisions of both the city common council and the joint review board is appropriate. Voters with Facts v. City of Eau Claire, 2018 WI 63, 382 Wis. 2d 1, 913 N.W.2d 131, 15-1858.

66.1105 AnnotationA joint review board created under sub. (4m) may conclude that an amendment to a tax incremental district (TID) to provide for payment of already-scheduled street paving work is appropriate for inclusion as proposed project costs. The board could also approve actual street paving expenditures incurred outside of a TID and within a one-half mile radius of the TID’s boundaries, if the expenditures are in accordance with the approved project plan. OAG 6-11.

66.1106(1)(a)(a) “Chief executive officer” means the mayor or city manager of a city, the village president of a village, the town board chairperson of a town or the county executive of a county or, if the county does not have a county executive, the chairperson of the county board of supervisors.

66.1106(1)(b)(b) “Department” means the department of revenue.

66.1106(1)(be)(be) “District” means an environmental remediation tax incremental district created under this section that consists of the parcels of property described in a written proposal developed under sub. (2) (a) that is approved by a joint review board under sub. (3).

66.1106(1)(c)(c) “Eligible costs” means capital costs, financing costs, and administrative and professional service costs, incurred or estimated to be incurred by a political subdivision, for the investigation, removal, containment, or monitoring of, or the restoration of soil, air, surface water, sediments, or groundwater affected by, environmental pollution, including monitoring costs, cancellation of delinquent taxes if the political subdivision demonstrates that it has not already recovered such costs by any other means, property acquisition costs, demolition costs including asbestos removal, and removing and disposing of underground storage tanks or abandoned containers, as defined in s. 292.41 (1). For any parcel of land “eligible costs” shall be reduced by any amounts received from persons responsible for the discharge, as defined in s. 292.01 (3), of a hazardous substance on the property to pay for the costs of remediating environmental pollution on the property, by any amounts received, or reasonably expected by the political subdivision to be received, from a local, state, or federal program for the remediation of contamination in the district that do not require reimbursement or repayment, and by the amount of net gain from the sale of the property by the political subdivision. “Eligible costs” associated with groundwater affected by environmental pollution include investigation and remediation costs for groundwater that is located in, and extends beyond, the property that is being remediated.

66.1106(1)(d)(d) “Environmental pollution” has the meaning given in s. 292.01 (4), except that “environmental pollution” does not include any damage caused by runoff from land under agricultural use.

66.1106(1)(e)(e) “Environmental remediation tax increment” means that amount obtained by multiplying the total city, county, school, and other local general property taxes levied on taxable property in a year by a fraction having as a numerator the environmental remediation value increment for that year in such district and as a denominator that year’s equalized value of that taxable property. In any year, an environmental remediation tax increment is “positive” if the environmental remediation value increment is positive; it is “negative” if the environmental remediation value increment is negative.

66.1106(1)(f)(f) “Environmental remediation tax incremental base” means the aggregate value, as equalized by the department, of taxable property that is certified under this section as of the January 1 preceding the date on which the environmental remediation tax incremental district is created, as determined under sub. (1m) (b).

66.1106(1)(fm)(fm) “Environmental remediation tax incremental district” means a contiguous geographic area within a political subdivision defined and created by resolution of the governing body of the political subdivision consisting solely of whole units of property as are assessed for general property tax purposes, other than railroad rights-of-way, rivers, or highways. Railroad rights-of-way, rivers, or highways may be included in an environmental remediation tax incremental district only if they are continuously bounded on either side, or on both sides, by whole units of property as are assessed for general property tax purposes which are in the environmental remediation tax incremental district. “Environmental remediation tax incremental district” does not include any area identified as a wetland on a map under s. 23.32.

66.1106(1)(g)(g) “Environmental remediation value increment” means the equalized value of taxable property that is certified under this section minus the environmental remediation tax incremental base. In any year, the environmental remediation value increment is “positive” if the environmental remediation tax incremental base of the taxable property is less than the aggregate value of the taxable property as equalized by the department; it is “negative” if that base exceeds that aggregate value.

66.1106(1)(h)(h) “Hazardous substance” has the meaning given in s. 292.01 (5).

66.1106(1)(i)(i) “Period of certification” means a period of not more than 23 years beginning after the department certifies the environmental remediation tax incremental base under sub. (4), a period before all eligible costs have been paid, or a period before all eligible costs or project costs of a recipient district designated under sub. (2) (c) have been paid, whichever occurs first.

66.1106(1)(j)(j) “Political subdivision” means a city, village, town or county.

66.1106(1)(je)(je) “Project expenditures” means eligible costs and other costs incurred by a political subdivision to create and operate an environmental remediation tax incremental district.

66.1106(1)(k)(k) “Taxable property” means all real taxable property located in an environmental remediation tax incremental district.

66.1106(1m)(a)(a) Describes the boundaries of an environmental remediation tax incremental district with sufficient definiteness to identify with ordinary and reasonable certainty the territory included within the district.

66.1106(1m)(b)(b) Creates the district as of January 1 of the same calendar year for a resolution adopted before October 1 or as of January 1 of the next subsequent calendar year for a resolution adopted after September 30.

66.1106(2)(a)(a) A political subdivision that develops, and whose governing body approves, a written proposal to remediate environmental pollution may use an environmental remediation tax increment to pay the eligible costs of remediating environmental pollution on contiguous parcels of property that are located in an environmental remediation tax incremental district within the political subdivision and that are not part of a tax incremental district created under s. 66.1105, as provided in this section, except that a political subdivision may use an environmental remediation tax increment to pay the cost of remediating environmental pollution of groundwater without regard to whether the property above the groundwater is owned by the political subdivision. No political subdivision may submit an application to the department under sub. (4) until the joint review board approves the political subdivision’s written proposal under sub. (3).