Sheboygan City aldermanic candidates debate taxes, marina plans, housing and data-center risks

Sheboygan City aldermanic candidates for Districts 2 and 8 used a forum hosted by the Sheboygan branch of the American Association of University Women to outline sharply different priorities on taxes, the marina, housing policy and the prospect of data-center development.

At the start of the forum, Christine Smith, chair of public policy for the local AAUW, explained the rules: candidates had three minutes to introduce themselves and three minutes to answer each question. The session was recorded by WSCS and will be made available to the public ahead of the April election.

The candidates repeatedly returned to taxes and development incentives. Peter Jacobs, a candidate in District 8, argued that homeowners are carrying the cost of recent development and called for a pause on new tax-increment financing (TIF) proposals: “Our assessments on average have gone up 35 percent; our tax bills have gone up 85%,” Jacobs said, and proposed not approving developments where public investment exceeds private investment. Jacobs framed the pause as a way to ensure the city gets a “consistent, positive return” on…