An intergovernmental agreement to ensure that infrastructure costs associated with the development in Mount Pleasant do not land on other municipalities, or water/sewer utility ratepayers, is now headed to the Racine Common Council.
The Mount Pleasant Village Board reviewed and approved the agreement Thursday. It must also be approved by the Racine Common Council and the Racine Water Utility.
The City of Racine, Racine Water Utility, and Village of Mount Pleasant have developed an intergovernmental agreement to ensure that infrastructure costs associated with the Foxconn development are funded through the company’s $10 billion investment. The Foxconn investment is tied to a Mount Pleasant tax increment finance district. It will reportedly not impact other municipalities or utility ratepayers. The agreement also provides additional funding to the City of Racine to support transit and public safety systems.
When it achieves final approval, the agreement also triggers an 85 percent reduction in the fee that helps pay for water-related infrastructure improvements.
New developments within the City, Village of Mount Pleasant and Village of Sturtevant help fund water-related infrastructure improvements through the payment the Residential Equivalent Connection (REC) fee. Currently, payments on existing debt and interest require a REC fee of $3,623. To enable the Utility to reduce this fee to approximately $500, the Village will deposit funds into a separate account that will be used to retire the existing debt.
The Village of Mount Pleasant is served by the Racine Water Utility as a retail customer. The relationship is governed by the 2004 Retail Water Agreement that provides cost sharing between the City and Village to fund the expansion of water facilities within the Village. The new Intergovernmental Agreement ensures that the project costs associated with the expansion of the system to meet the needs of Mount Pleasant tax increment financing district for the Foxconn development area will be funded by the Village.
“This is a transformational agreement and a game-changer for our community,” said Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave. “The agreement promotes economic development while protecting City and Village taxpayers. It is a testament to the importance of municipalities working together to develop common-sense solutions that benefit our entire community.”
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