MOUNT PLEASANT, WI JANUARY 21 2022 – On Monday, January 24th the Village of Mount Pleasant Board of Trustees will discuss and take possible action to adopt a charter ordinance to expand trustee terms in office from two years to three years. If approved, Mount Pleasant would be the only municipality in Racine County with three year terms in office.
Wisconsin statutes state that “except as otherwise provided by law, the term of office of all village officers is 2 years.” A charter ordinance will allow Mount Pleasant to deviate from state guidelines and join several other villages in Wisconsin who have expanded the length of terms for officials.
“This ordinance, as written, makes clear that the Village Board has no intention of conducting a ballot referendum to allow voters to decide how often they think elections are appropriate,” said Kelly Gallaher of A Better Mt. Pleasant. “There is no benefit in cost or convenience to the village, except to political candidates who wish to avoid the imposition of having to run for election every two years. This is a power-grab, plain and simple.”
With the Foxconn development in Mount Pleasant at a current standstill, public scrutiny has focused on the hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds already spent, and concerns about the economic future of the small village—whose investments are guaranteed, in part, by state funds.
Gallaher continued, “Village Trustees have shown they were never qualified to negotiate the Foxconn project. They conceded their curiosity and responsibilities to overpaid consultants who continue to drain the TIF created to fund this fiasco. Now they want to sit in office an extra year without having to ask residents for their support? No.”
