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Port Edwards lake-area residents urge board to fix tax and service disparities after annexation
Summary
Lake-area residents told the village board that higher property taxes after annexation have strained homeowners and left annexed lots without promised services, urging the board to review a community proposal and avoid a closed session to preserve transparency.
Dozens of Port Edwards lake-area residents told the village board they are struggling with higher property taxes and unequal municipal services since annexation and asked trustees to review a community proposal in public.
"The taxes is what's going to kill me and what's going to force me to sell my house at some point," said Marissa Buscay, who identified herself as a Napco Lake resident. Buscay told the board she is paying roughly double the property taxes she expected when she bought her home and cited tax-rate figures she had reviewed: Port Edwards 2.14, Wood County average 1.66, and Wisconsin average 1.4. Several speakers said higher taxes and added fees are already affecting resale value and household budgets.
Larry, a resident of Campfire Trails who said he spoke on behalf of many Port Edwards property owners, thanked trustees for scheduling the meeting and asked the board to present and walk through the group's proposal so attendees would not "walk away from this meeting with a misunderstanding about what's the policy." He also asked for the chance to ask one or two questions of the proposal's presenter during or after the meeting.
Mike Beam of Empire Trail said residents had been told services such as fire protection and right-of-way work would accompany annexation but that those improvements have not materialized. "We hope today's session will help alleviate the current tax and services inequity," Beam said, urging the board to consider the proposal submitted by Larry Lisonbee. Another speaker, Gary, said he had been told by a then‑administrator that annexed properties would receive comparable services but that, 2.5 years later, residents had seen little follow-up.
The public-comment speakers requested transparency, said the proposal does not involve human-resources or contract negotiations, and asked trustees to explain any legal or litigation concerns rather than moving such discussion to closed session. The meeting proceeded with a legal briefing and later a trustee motion to remove a planned closed-session agenda item.
