RACINE COUNTY, Wisc. — A dispute between top officials in Racine County could threaten the development of a Microsoft data center in the area.
The conflict between the City of Racine and Village of Mount Pleasant is over a water and wastewater services agreement, that makes Racine responsible for some of the village’s water supply.
Tuesday Village President David Degroot addressed the issue publicly at a Racine Common Council meeting, speaking directly to Mayor Cory Mason and other city leaders.
"Generally speaking I'm kind of a live and let live kind of guy,” he said. “I believe that people should manage their own sandboxes and I manage mine, except when it starts to impact my constituents."
Degroot alleged Racine city leaders haven’t been doing their part to honor their services agreement, instead holding up projects beginning in August 2023.
Village leaders said those projects are specifically tied to approving water and sewer connections for Microsoft and other proposed developments in Mt. Pleasant’s Tax Incremental District 5.
"What's immediately clear to me is we have a serious dispute,” Degroot said Tuesday.
In a statement Thursday Racine’s Mayor Cory Mason claimed their city has not received the benefits that were advertised by Mt. Pleasant Officials when they last amended the agreement in 2018.
He specifically cited Foxconn’s job projections in the area falling significantly short by 2021. Microsoft doesn’t fill the gap, so Mason wants to renegotiate.
“The failed Foxconn deal and its empty job promises, combined with changes made to the law and the circumstances around providing water and sewer service to the region, have been devastating for the City of Racine,” Mason said. “Mount Pleasant received the substantial economic benefits of development directly resulting from the city providing water and wastewater service but fell short on its job promises that would have been enjoyed by the region.”
Degroot and other village leaders have alleged a breach of contract and shared plans to file a complaint with the state’s Public Service Commission.
“Currently, the City has failed to abide by the terms of that contract and is withholding water service for new developments,” Degroot said in a Friday statement.
In turn, the City of Racine has filed a notice of its own, planning to use “legal remedies” to settle the dispute.
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