City River Falls v. St. Bridget's Catholic

MYSE, J. St. Bridget's Catholic Church of River Falls appeals a judgment ordering it to pay to the City of River Falls charges associated with the cost of providing water for public fire protection (PFP) under § 196.03(3)(b), STATS. 1 The church contends that the trial court erred by concluding that § 196.03(3)(b) imposes a fee and not an unconstitutional tax on otherwise tax exempt properties. The church argues that PFP charges under § 196.03 constitute a tax because the primary purpose and effect of the charge is to raise revenue and not to collect charges for services rendered. The church further argues that allowing the city to assess a PFP charge on the church under § 196.03 results in the church's property being partially exempt and taxed without uniformity, in violation of the uniformity clause of Art. VIII, § 1 of the Wisconsin Constitution. Because we conclude that the PFP charge is a fee and not a tax, we affirm the judgment. The relevant facts are undisputed. The city provides water services as a public utility under § 196.01, STATS. Among the services the city provides is water production, storage and transmission for public fire protection. Prior to the enactment of § 196.03(3)(b), the city paid for the expenses of providing water for public fire protection out of general property tax revenues under ch. 70, STATS. After § 196.03(3)(b) was enacted, the city elected to collect PFP charges as part of each utility customer's water bill. In 1989, the Public Service Commission approved two methods of apportioning the cost of providing water for public fire protection. One method the PSC approved is to calculate the amount of PFP charge each customer pays according to the customer's property value. The city uses this method to calculate the amount of PFP charge each customer pays. Since January 1990, the city has included a PFP charge in all city water utility bills.