Is a Milwaukee suburb proposing a 'transportation utility fee' that would cost supermarkets $10,000 per year?

The city of Wauwatosa estimates that its proposed transportation utility would impose an annual fee of $10,143 on a 24,000-square-foot supermarket.

Wauwatosa, a Milwaukee suburb, is proposing to fund road improvements with revenue from the fee.

Fees would be based on how many vehicular trips come and go from a property, as determined by national engineering standards.

Single-family homes would be charged $51 per year. The estimated fee for a 1,000-square-foot convenience store/gas station is $4,552.

The Common Council is tentatively scheduled to vote Aug. 1, 2023 on creating the utility.

The city of Wisconsin Rapids, the villages of Pewaukee and Weston, and the towns of Buchanan and Gibraltar are among Wisconsin communities with a transportation utility fee, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has heard oral arguments but not yet ruled in a case that challenges the legality of Buchanan’s transportation utility.