I'll Gladly Pay You Tuesday for a Hamburger (Free Garbage Pick up) Today

Kenosha County Town of Paris has a $21 million Budget Surplus due to Waste Management and We Energies 

There has been widespread news coverage recently, except for the 4 local Menomonee Falls newspapers, of The Town of Paris (population 1,500) in Kenosha County and their burgeoning budget surplus of $21 million as a result of landfill and power plant payments from Waste Management and We Energies in a time when other governmental entities are cashed strapped and looking for ways to raise taxes and fees to meet their endless spending habits instead of reducing costs to lower taxes in severe recessionary times. 

The coverage goes all the way from Chicago to Minneapolis/St. Paul to Green Bay about this stash for cash phenomona with the following links:

Chicago - http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-wi-townsurplus,0,6454898.story

Minneapolis/St. Paul - http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-wi-townsurplus,0,6454898.story



Appleton - http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=postcrescent&sParam=30550697.story

Madison - http://www.channel3000.com/news/19178726/detail.html



Green Bay - http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=10180426&nav=menu24_2 and http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090414/GPG0101/90414072/1207/GPG01



WISN TV - http://www.wisn.com/money/19179653/detail.html



WTMJ TV - http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/43012192.html



History of Landfill and Power Plant Revealed



The landfill was started in

The power plant was started in

List of power plants in Wisconsin http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/teacher/Climateguide/pdf/PowerGenerationWisconsin.pdf

Landfill Expansion Talks are Ongoing

http://www.co.kenosha.wi.us/plandev/smart_growth/documents/TParisUtilities.pdf

Free Garbage Service

Town of Paris residents have free garbage and recyclable service from Waste Management at the landfill (http://www.co.kenosha.wi.us/plandev/smart_growth/documents/TParisUtilities.pdf) 

Town of Paris residents do not pay local property taxes or county taxes

Because of the agreements negotiated by the Town of Paris with Waste Management and We Energies, residents do not pay local or county property taxes.  This arrangement has been in place for

.  They do pay school taxes.

Waste Management (landfill) and We Energies (power plant) pay about $3 million a year to the Town of Paris for the privilege of domiciling their businesses in the community.

The breakdown of the $3 million annual payments from Waste Management and We Energies is as follows:

Rather than spend the money from Waste Management and We Energies before they actually get it like Menomonee Falls has done for the last 16 years, the Town of Paris has saved it for tax relief and other obligations such as when the landfill is eventually closed and the $3 million revenue stream stops.