Judge Shoots Down Anti-Confluence Lawsuit
A lawsuit filed by a group opposed to the Confluence Project won’t stand in the way of the public-private performing arts development, an Eau Claire County judge ruled Monday.
Judge Paul Lenz dismissed a lawsuit by a citizens’ group and a Milwaukee law firm that challenged the city of Eau Claire’s use of money from two special tax districts to help pay for the performing arts-centered project in downtown Eau Claire.
Voters With Facts, which has campaigned against the Confluence Project, claimed in the lawsuit that the city acted unlawfully when it created one Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) district and modified another. New tax revenues generated by development in those TIF districts will pay for the city’s $5 million investment in the Confluence performing arts center and $5.9 million spent toward the mixed-use Haymarket Landing, which is under construction on Barstow Street.
In his ruling, Lenz said that the debate over the Confluence commitment “is a legislative decision of the City Council, not one for courts to decide,” the Leader-Telegram reported ...
Lenz said the city acted within authority granted by Wisconsin’s laws on TIF districts. Furthermore, he ruled the 14 individual taxpayers and four small corporations that filed the lawsuit did not have a stake in the controversy or suffer actual damages.
“The alleged harms are highly speculative injuries,” he said. “The courts do not deal with hypothetical questions.”
In a Facebook message, Eau Claire City Council President Kerry Kincaid praised the ruling. “Once again, the City proves that it is a responsible governing body, neither exceeding its power nor skirting its duty,” she wrote. “I am very grateful to the City's legal department for their excellent arguments in defense of City Council action.”
In a press release, Voters With Facts said its law firm, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, will appeal the judge’s decision.
