Land lost to data center won’t ding budget

Although the Town of Port Washington lost about 1,900 acres of land that was annexed to the City of Port for the Vantage Data Centers Lighthouse Campus, that loss won’t impact the town’s 2027 budget, Town Chairman Mike Didier said Monday.

That’s because the town is receiving an annual $150,000 payment from the city for five years because of the annexation, and officials plan to use enough of that money to make up for the lost tax revenue due to the data center.

The remainder of the funds will be set aside until the town decides on a plan for their use, Didier said.

Didier said the proposed $1.06 million budget for 2027 is largely a status-quo document.

This year, the town didn’t do any road projects, so the money is being carried over into 2027, when the town will take on three projects, he said.

The largest is the replacement of the bridge on Dixie Road, Didier said. Of the $750,000 cost, federal funds will cover $500,000 and the towns of Port and Belgium will each pay $130,000 toward the work since each community owns half the road.

The towns of Port, Grafton and Saukville and the City of Port will reconstruct Sauk Road from I-43 to Highway 32, Didier said.

The project is expected to cost $450,000, with each community paying a portion of the cost that’s proportional to the frontage it has, he said. For the Town of Port, the cost is expected to be $78,000.

The town is also considering repairs to Sunset Road that are estimated to cost $200,000, he said.

The town’s expenditure budget will increase 19%, with the largest increases coming from the public works and capital outlay budgets.

The town’s fund balance is expected to be $786,500.

A public hearing on the proposed budget will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, at Town Hall followed by a meeting of the electors to approve the $480,000 tax levy.