SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (WHBL) -- Special assessments came up for a vote last night at city council, and several residents came to complain about their bills at a public hearing.
Those special assessments are being used to repair parts of Kentucky, Saemann, Georgia, 9th and 17th. Residents along those roads are being charged half the cost of repairs, divided up by the frontage they have along the street.
The city has gone back to those assessments after several years of not using them. Officials say the assessment process allows the city to actually work on roads in a time where shared revenues from the state are drying up and taxes are frozen.
A number of residents spoke out at a public hearing before the votes on the assessment, expressing their displeasure at the cost of the bills they'd received. Dave's Who's Inn owner Dave Rapinski called the process unfair. "If they want us to come up and talk about it, they have to be there to listen, not make a decision before we even walk in." City staff explained to the council that if the council didn't approve the assessments that night, they may be in violation of bids that were put out for the reconstruction projects.
The council eventually did pass the assessments, and City council president Mary Lynne Donahue says that those people with complaints over the price of their assessment bills will get a chance to argue their case to city staff. "The public hearing is on the project as a whole. We know we need to get these streets repaired, so I think, although it took us a while to get there, I think it was a good result." She says she understands that a tax bill is not always welcome, but that there are options. "The council as a whole does not sit as an adjudicative body, judge and jury on these things. There is a statutory appeal process and I hope they follow it."
Officials with the city say the roads that are being replaced are over 40 years old in some cases. Construction on the roads could start as soon as July 1st.