The city of Port Washington approved a referendum Tuesday that would require future projects worth more than $10 million to be approved by taxpayers before being added to a tax increment district.
The initiative, in response to a large-scale AI data center in the city, passed with 2,710 votes of approval compared to 1,371 in opposition. More than 50% of the 8,257 registered Port Washington voters voted in the election.
The initiative came in response to an $8 billion data center project that is expected to receive more than $450 million in property tax breaks along with not paying state sales tax on everything from construction to the servers inside to electricity at the site, which is estimated to require as much electricity as the city of Los Angeles once fully operational.
“Tonight, democracy worked the way it’s supposed to,” said Great Lakes Neighbors Incorporated member Christine Le Jeune in a statement. “Over 1,000 residents signed the petition that put this measure on the ballot, and tonight Port Washington voters spoke with one clear voice. The people deserve a seat at the table when their tax dollars are on the line.”
Data centers have shown to be unpopular with voters as 69% of Wisconsin voters in a recent Marquette poll said that they believe that the cost of data centers outweigh the benefits.
Republican candidate for governor and Congressman Tom Tiffany vowed to “end subsidies for data centers in Wisconsin” if he becomes governor.
