Budget / taxes
Ted Neitzke: The tax-relief statement and the City's ten-year forecast
Promise vs outcome
Exact statement
“With this agreement in place, we can move forward on a generational opportunity to improve our infrastructure, relieve the tax burden on our residents and boost our local businesses.” [1]
Ted Neitzke, City of Port Washington press release, Agreement for New Data Center Campus, August 20, 2025
The City issued the release after the Common Council approved a development agreement with Vantage Data Centers.[2] The release estimated that property taxes on a $350,000 home would decrease by $170 per year, assuming a flat budget.[3]
What the record shows
The City's 2027–2036 Financial Outlook projects the city-only tax on a $400,000 home at $2,205 in 2027, then rising every year to $3,413 in 2036, an increase of about 55 percent from 2027.[4] The same table shows a $98, or 4.2 percent, decrease in 2027 from the prior year.[5][6] The plan assumes the operating levy rises 5.0 percent each year, while the total levy used in planning rises from $10,575,540 in 2027 to $16,557,364 in 2036.[7][8]
“Estimated City Tax Bill for a $400,000 home (2025 base) $ 2,205 $ 2,328 $ 2,370 $ 2,409 $ 2,484 $ 2,672 $ 2,819 $ 2,956 $ 3,149 $ 3,413” [9]
2027–2036 Financial Outlook, August 18, 2026
Context
The document says its forecasts and projections are meant to inform future planning and annual budget decisions.[10][11] It also says the capital-project schedule is not a budget or City Council approval and will be reviewed and updated annually.[12][13] The homeowner figures cover only the City portion of the property-tax bill.[14]
Analysis
Neitzke described the agreement as an opportunity to relieve residents' tax burden, and the release's $170 estimate expressly assumed a flat budget.[1][15] The City's later planning forecast does include a one-year 2027 dip: $98 for the modeled $400,000 home.[16][6] It then projects that home's city-only tax rising every year, from $2,205 in 2027 to $3,413 in 2036, while the operating levy grows 5.0 percent annually.[9][8] The forecast therefore does not show sustained city-tax relief over its ten-year horizon, but it is not a like-for-like test of the release's estimate because the home values differ and the estimate assumed a flat budget.[15][9] The outlook is a planning document rather than an adopted budget, and its homeowner figures exclude the school district, county, MATC and other non-city portions of a full property-tax bill.[17][14]
Sources
Statement source
Agreement for New Data Center Campus — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Pinpoint: PDF p. 1, Neitzke quotation; p. 2, section “Near-Term and Long-Term Tax Revenue Boosts for the City”.
Record source
2027–2036 Financial Outlook — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Pinpoint: PDF pp. 3–4 and 8–9; p. 9, lines 14 and 20–32.
Every source on this page
Each numbered mark in the text links here. Every excerpt is quoted word for word from the source.
Agreement for New Data Center Campus — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Where: PDF p. 1, Neitzke quotation
“With this agreement in place, we can move forward on a generational opportunity to improve our infrastructure, relieve the tax burden on our residents and boost our local businesses.”
Agreement for New Data Center Campus — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Where: PDF p. 1, opening paragraph
“The Port Washington Common Council on Tuesday night voted to approve a development agreement with Vantage Data Centers, a milestone that advances the data center project with significant benefits for the city, its residents and the broader region.”
Agreement for New Data Center Campus — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Where: PDF p. 2, section “Near-Term and Long-Term Tax Revenue Boosts for the City”
“This new revenue would provide property tax relief for residents; according to City estimates, property taxes on a $350,000 home would decrease by $170 per year, assuming a flat budget.”
2027–2036 Financial Outlook — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Where: PDF p. 9, lines 28 and 30, 2027–2036 columns
“$400,000 home (2025 base) $ 2,205 $ 2,328 $ 2,370 $ 2,409 $ 2,484 $ 2,672 $ 2,819 $ 2,956 $ 3,149 $ 3,413”
2027–2036 Financial Outlook — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Where: PDF p. 9, lines 31–32, 2027 column
“Change from prior year (98) 124 42 39 75 188 147 137 194 264”
2027–2036 Financial Outlook — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Where: PDF p. 9, line 32, 2027–2036 columns
“% Change from prior year -4.2% 5.6% 1.8% 1.6% 3.1% 7.6% 5.5% 4.8% 6.5% 8.4%”
2027–2036 Financial Outlook — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Where: PDF p. 9, line 14, 2027 and 2036 columns
“Levy Used in Planning (17+18) $ 10,575,540 $ 11,449,671 $ 11,982,475 $ 12,054,869 $ 12,296,502 $ 13,075,257 $ 14,188,950 $ 14,705,133 $ 15,476,694 $ 16,557,364”
2027–2036 Financial Outlook — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Where: PDF p. 9, lines 20–22, 2027–2036 columns
“% Chg in Operating Levy 5.0% 5.0% 5.0% 5.0% 5.0% 5.0% 5.0% 5.0% 5.0% 5.0%”
2027–2036 Financial Outlook — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Where: PDF p. 9, lines 28–30, 2027–2036 columns
“$400,000 home (2025 base) $ 2,205 $ 2,328 $ 2,370 $ 2,409 $ 2,484 $ 2,672 $ 2,819 $ 2,956 $ 3,149 $ 3,413”
2027–2036 Financial Outlook — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Where: PDF p. 3, opening paragraphs
“The primary objective of this analysis is to be able to use forecasts and projections to help evaluate the various fiscal impacts that would occur as a result of implementing the attached 10-year capital project planning schedule.”
2027–2036 Financial Outlook — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Where: PDF p. 3, second paragraph
“We undertake this process in order to better understand the context in which the numerous project planning and annual budgetary decisions will be made in the coming months, and future years.”
2027–2036 Financial Outlook — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Where: PDF p. 4, section “Appendix A: 2027-2036 Capital Project Planning Schedule”
“The project planning schedule does not represent a budget or the City Council’s approval to move forward with these projects.”
2027–2036 Financial Outlook — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Where: PDF p. 4, final paragraph
“This schedule will be reviewed by staff and updated annually to reflect any additionally identified needs, updated costs, or changes in anticipated project schedules.”
2027–2036 Financial Outlook — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Where: PDF p. 9, lines 28–30
“City Only Tax Rate”
Agreement for New Data Center Campus — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Where: PDF p. 2, section “Near-Term and Long-Term Tax Revenue Boosts for the City”
“property taxes on a $350,000 home would decrease by $170 per year, assuming a flat budget.”
2027–2036 Financial Outlook — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Where: PDF p. 9, lines 30–32, 2027 column
“Change from prior year (98) 124 42 39 75 188 147 137 194 264”
2027–2036 Financial Outlook — City of Port Washington, Wisconsin
Where: PDF p. 3, opening paragraphs; p. 4, Appendix A qualification
“The project planning schedule does not represent a budget or the City Council’s approval to move forward with these projects.”
Correction or added context
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