New legal challenger to Neenah’s transportation fee

(The Center Square) – There’s another legal challenge to an extra fee in one Wisconsin community.

The Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce Litigation Center is suing the city of Neenah over its Transportation Assessment Replacement Fee.

“Neenah began collecting its TARF, which is imposed on every developed property in the municipality, in 2023, and sharply increased the costs earlier this year,” the WMC said in a statement. “As municipalities may impose taxes only when state law explicitly authorizes them to do so, they have no inherent power to impose taxes. Additionally, courts have resoundingly held that no state law authorizes a municipality to impose a property tax that is based on a property’s estimated use of a road.”

This is not the first time the WMC has sued over a local government fee.

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce won its case against Pewaukee’s transportation utility back in August.

“Our supreme court recently, unanimously agreed with the argument that ‘Wisconsin Statutes do not authorize municipalities to impose a TUF on property owners based on estimated use of the municipality’s roads.’” WMC’s notice to Neenah states. “Because Neenah’s TARF is materially identical to the TUF in Buchanan, Neenah’s TARF also lacks statutory authority.”

WMC Litigation Center Executive Director Scott Rosenow also said this is not the first time they’ve had to sue Neenah.

“First Neenah was imposing an unconstitutional sign ordinance, which the Litigation Center fought against and defeated in court. Now Neenah is disregarding the rule of law again with its TARF. And this time, it’s doing so in the face of directly on-point and recent case law,” Rosenow said. “[The recent supreme court case] couldn’t be any clearer: The TARF is a tax and Neenah has no authority to impose it.”

WMC’s Litigation Center says Neenah’s TARF, and all other transportation fees, are unconstitutional property taxes.

Neenah says its TARF is designed to avoid special assessments for street resurfacing, street reconstruction and sidewalk construction projects and said the fee is just $23 per unit.

“The fee is intended to raise around $400,000, which essentially replaces the revenue that the City receives from special assessments annually. There is some variability in the amount that is specially assessed for Street Resurfacing, Street Reconstruction and Sidewalk Construction projects from year to year,” Neenah said in a FAQ piece.

“Regardless of whether Neenah’s TARF is a tax or a fee, it is preempted by state law and therefore illegal,” WMC’’s argument to the court states.