A Lake District is a special unit of local government authorized under Wisconsin law (Wis. Stat. Chapter 33) to manage and protect a lake and its surrounding resources. Lake Districts can be created to address a wide range of ongoing issues, including water quality, aquatic invasive species, dam operation, lake planning, shoreline restoration, boating regulation, and other lake-related projects.
A lake district has its own budget and taxing authority. Each year, the district determines what it wants to spend on things such as lake management, studies, water quality, weed control, legal expenses, equipment, or major projects. It can fund those expenses through property taxes, special assessments, grants, fees, and potentially borrowing.
Forming a Lake District is a multi-step complex legal procedure including, but not limited to:
-Defining the district boundaries,
-Obtaining signed petitions of at least 51% of the proposed district members,
-Obtaining approval by the County Board,
-Obtaining approval of the petition and agreement to be part of the district by each town,
-Setting up the organization and electing commissioners (3 from the lake district, one from the County Board, one from the town with the largest portion of the district by valuation).
The Towns of Jacksonport and Sevastopol have suggested that forming a Lake District may be an appropriate way to address long-term management of Clark Lake, specifically to handle the regulation of artificially-enhanced wake boating.
The question is whether creating a new governmental entity is necessary to address the current issue of enhanced wake boating. Wisconsin law already gives towns the authority to adopt boating ordinances, subject to advisory review by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Because that authority already exists, PCL believes the towns can address wake-enhanced boating directly without requiring lake residents to establish and operate a Lake District. There are already 94 towns that have passed ordinances to protect 420+ lakes in Wisconsin.
If the towns already have the legal authority to address the issue through a town ordinance, why create a new governmental entity to accomplish the same objective?
Most likely, yes, as the Lake District will assume the lake-related expenses for which the towns currently use our tax dollars, in addition to any spending that requires a tax levy or assessment. That would be an additional charge on your property tax bill, on top of the taxes you already pay to the town, county, schools, etc. The amount could be relatively small in years with limited activity, but could become substantially larger if the district undertakes an expensive project or takes on an expensive project or takes on debt, e.g. maintenance/replacement of the dam or AIS management.
Lake Districts can be an important and effective tool authorized under Wisconsin law. There are about 250 Lake Districts across the state, some of which include more than one lake. PCL has spoken with several Wisconsin lake associations and is aware of only one that created a Lake District for the sole purpose of passing a wake surfing ban.
A Lake District is not inherently "good" or "bad"—it is simply one option for governing and managing a lake. Whether it is the right solution depends on the specific needs of the lake and the problems being addressed.
For lakes with ongoing management responsibilities, no support from local municipalities, or a need for dedicated funding and administration, a Lake District may be entirely appropriate.
For Clark Lake, however, we believe the immediate issue is much narrower: regulating enhanced wake boating. Clark Lake Advancement Association has been incorporated since 1979, done its own water quality and fish management as directed by DNR guidelines, and created ordinances with both towns to protect multiple DNR-designated 'sensitive areas' in the lake. At no point in these nearly 50 years has CLAA seen a need to form a lake district. Because Wisconsin law already authorizes towns to adopt boating ordinances following DNR review, they believe the current objective can be achieved without creating a permanent governmental entity with its own administration and potential taxing authority.
The question, therefore, is not whether Lake Districts are beneficial. The question is whether creating one is necessary when existing town authority can already accomplish the same goal.
They can.
Wisconsin law already gives towns the authority to regulate boating on waters within their jurisdiction through a local boating ordinance. Before an ordinance can take effect, it must be submitted to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for review as required by state law.
Submitting a proposed ordinance to the DNR does not enact the ordinance. It simply begins the statutory review process, during which the DNR evaluates whether the proposal complies with Wisconsin law. After the review is complete, the Town Boards decide whether to adopt, modify, or reject the ordinance.
Protect Clark Lake believes this existing process provides the Towns of Jacksonport and Sevastopol with a direct, lawful, and well-established way to address enhanced wake boating without first creating a new unit of government. If the Towns already possess the authority to accomplish the objective through their existing powers, creating a Lake District is unnecessary.