Monkeyleg
Member.
I find it fascinating that cities and towns will try to keep a mom-and-pop gun store from opening, or try to shut it down through zoning appeals, but elected officials have no qualms about the chain stores.
Another example of the Bill of Rights being less important than tax revenue.
Anywho, here's the story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
********
West Bend - Washington County would give Cabela's up to $4 million as an incentive to build a retail store at U.S. Highways 41 and 45 only if state agencies also contributed cash to lure the outdoor gear retailer to the county, under a revised resolution that the County Board is to consider Tuesday.
The board's Finance Committee on Wednesday agreed to forward the resolution authorizing officials to borrow up to $4 million that would help pay for museum-quality displays of North American and African wildlife at the store.
The committee, however, did not recommend approval of the resolution.
"I am not in the business of giving money away," committee Chairman James Esselmann of Trenton said in explaining his opposition to the project.
Supervisor Joan Russell of the City of Hartford questioned why a successful company would request $10 million from state and local governments.
"Why do they need this kind of seed money?" Russell asked.
Supervisor Donald Roskopf of Germantown said he would support the borrowing proposal, even though he had voted against a similar resolution last month.
"Large companies now require partnerships" with municipalities, Roskopf said. "We have to offer incentives or they won't come."
Cabela's has received incentives from other states where it has built stores.
Hoffman Estates, Ill., is offering the company up to $40 million in state and local incentives to locate there.
At a special meeting Tuesday night, the Germantown Village Board adopted a resolution in support of the Cabela's project.
The company wants to build a 165,000-square-foot store with an aquarium, gun library, animal displays and replica mountain on the border of the Towns of Richfield and Polk.
The Richfield and Polk town boards have adopted general resolutions of support.
"I strongly believe this project will be an economic benefit to the county, the state, the region," County Board Chairman Ken Miller of Germantown said at the meeting Wednesday.
"We would be remiss if we didn't get this project in Washington County."
Cabela's has estimated that up to 4 million people would visit its showroom each year.
The company expects to hire 300 employees in the first year.
In August, the board approved giving Cabela's $500,000 from the county's property tax reserve fund to pay for educational programs, such as hunter safety classes, at the facility. But the board fell three votes short of the three-fourths majority needed to approve the original $4 million borrowing resolution.
The Executive Committee last week agreed to forward the new borrowing resolution to the Finance Committee and the full board. The latest proposal requires the support of only a simple majority of supervisors at the meeting Tuesday, County Attorney Kim Nass said.
The reason for the change is that the revised resolution is contingent on state government's becoming a partner in the project, Nass said.
State law allows municipal boards, on a majority vote, to authorize borrowing for so-called regional projects if more than one municipality would benefit.
The state and the county would gain sales tax revenue from the store.
In addition, the value of the building, estimated to cost $70 million to build, would increase property tax collections for the county and towns.
Another example of the Bill of Rights being less important than tax revenue.
Anywho, here's the story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
********
West Bend - Washington County would give Cabela's up to $4 million as an incentive to build a retail store at U.S. Highways 41 and 45 only if state agencies also contributed cash to lure the outdoor gear retailer to the county, under a revised resolution that the County Board is to consider Tuesday.
The board's Finance Committee on Wednesday agreed to forward the resolution authorizing officials to borrow up to $4 million that would help pay for museum-quality displays of North American and African wildlife at the store.
The committee, however, did not recommend approval of the resolution.
"I am not in the business of giving money away," committee Chairman James Esselmann of Trenton said in explaining his opposition to the project.
Supervisor Joan Russell of the City of Hartford questioned why a successful company would request $10 million from state and local governments.
"Why do they need this kind of seed money?" Russell asked.
Supervisor Donald Roskopf of Germantown said he would support the borrowing proposal, even though he had voted against a similar resolution last month.
"Large companies now require partnerships" with municipalities, Roskopf said. "We have to offer incentives or they won't come."
Cabela's has received incentives from other states where it has built stores.
Hoffman Estates, Ill., is offering the company up to $40 million in state and local incentives to locate there.
At a special meeting Tuesday night, the Germantown Village Board adopted a resolution in support of the Cabela's project.
The company wants to build a 165,000-square-foot store with an aquarium, gun library, animal displays and replica mountain on the border of the Towns of Richfield and Polk.
The Richfield and Polk town boards have adopted general resolutions of support.
"I strongly believe this project will be an economic benefit to the county, the state, the region," County Board Chairman Ken Miller of Germantown said at the meeting Wednesday.
"We would be remiss if we didn't get this project in Washington County."
Cabela's has estimated that up to 4 million people would visit its showroom each year.
The company expects to hire 300 employees in the first year.
In August, the board approved giving Cabela's $500,000 from the county's property tax reserve fund to pay for educational programs, such as hunter safety classes, at the facility. But the board fell three votes short of the three-fourths majority needed to approve the original $4 million borrowing resolution.
The Executive Committee last week agreed to forward the new borrowing resolution to the Finance Committee and the full board. The latest proposal requires the support of only a simple majority of supervisors at the meeting Tuesday, County Attorney Kim Nass said.
The reason for the change is that the revised resolution is contingent on state government's becoming a partner in the project, Nass said.
State law allows municipal boards, on a majority vote, to authorize borrowing for so-called regional projects if more than one municipality would benefit.
The state and the county would gain sales tax revenue from the store.
In addition, the value of the building, estimated to cost $70 million to build, would increase property tax collections for the county and towns.
