Town of Lisbon residents vote overwhelmingly to become a village
After decades of trying to become a village and being unsuccessful, town of Lisbon residents voted to become a village at a Jan. 10 special referendum election.
And it wasn't close.According to the unofficial results, 86.2% of residents, 2,108 voters, cast their ballots in favor of the town becoming a village. Only 13.8%, 337 voters, were against it."Oh my goodness, absolutely, this is good," said Joe Osterman, Lisbon town chair. "I waited for 15 years."
Osterman emphasized that the biggest aspect to becoming a village is that "we will always now be Lisbon," saying that the residents of Lisbon can vote for what is right for them.
He said that other neighboring municipalities had been able to make decisions for Lisbon residents. "And that is not right," he said. "We will always now be Lisbon. Lisbon can be what it has been forever."According to incorporation information on Lisbon's website, property taxes will not go up by becoming a village, residents' mailing address and ZIP code will not change, people will not have to change school districts and the fire and police services will remain the same. Also, curb, gutter and sidewalks will not be installed on all the roads, according to the website.
Lisbon's past incorporation efforts
Lisbon has tried incorporation many times in the past, but the incorporation application was never approved or town officials never completed the process. Town officials tried incorporation last in 2020 through an application process. The state, however, rejected its border agreement with Lannon, without the possibility of revision, and requested a resubmission of the border agreement with Merton.
The town of Lisbon was not able to get the matter settled by the deadline of June 30 that year.
Previous incorporation efforts include Lisbon and Sussex exploring the option of merging in the 1980s, but ultimately deciding against it.
Lisbon officials revisited incorporation in 1990 but tabled it indefinitely.
In 2008, two former town supervisors and a former plan commissioner launched a petition drive to support incorporating as a village. The petition later failed.
In 2011, the state Incorporation Review Board dismissed the town's attempt at incorporation because it failed to meet all the requirements, including homogeneity and compactness of the town, the territory beyond the core, the impact on the remainder of the town and the impact on the metropolitan community. Tax revenue and the level of services were the only two standards met.
After the referendum election results are certified and the Secretary of Administration issues the Certificate of Incorporation, which should be later this week, the village of Lisbon will elect its new board members. That is expected to take place in mid to late March.
For more information about Lisbon's incorporation process, visit www.townoflisbonwi.com/273/Incorporation.
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Cathy Kozlowicz can be reached at 262-361-9132 or cathy.kozlowicz@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kozlowicz_cathy
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: In a lopsided vote, town of Lisbon residents vote to become a village
