Connect Willmar Means Higher Property Taxes

Willmar, Minnesota is considering building a government owned internet network, “Connect Willmar,” in spite of the fact that taxpayer funded networks have a long history of failure across the country.

Minnesota has been ground zero for some of the biggest taxpayer disasters on record:

• Monticello’s city-owned internet system defaulted on their debt and the town settled with creditors for pennies on the dollar.
• Lake County received a nearly $50 Million grant to start a County-owned internet network, which they later sold for $8.4 Million.
• Crosslake and Alexandria tried their hands at running an internet system, but later sold them off because of low demand and the need to continually spend taxpayer’s money on upgrades.
• RS Fiber, a consortium of more than 25 Minnesota towns that own an internet network, is actively trying to sell off that system, even at a potential multi-million dollar loss to taxpayers in those communities.

These government owned internet networks fail because the cost to construct the infrastructure ends up higher than projected and the revenue needed to sustain the network can’t keep up with the costs. Unfortunately, this same dynamic is occurring in Willmar, even before the first shovel of dirt is turned.

In 2023, the cost to build Connect Willmar was reported to be $19.3 million. In 2024, the cost to build the network increased to $25 million. Now, the latest projections released in March peg the cost at $37.7 million. In less than two years, without even starting construction, the projected impact to taxpayers has doubled. 

If Connect Willmar can’t make enough money to pay off this increasing debt, the government will have to find the money and that will mean higher property taxes for every resident of Willmar.

This dynamic of high construction costs, low revenue and continual maintenance has led many other communities to get out of the internet business. In fact, Bryan, Ohio, Norway City, Michigan, Ruston, Louisiana, Dayton, Texas, Bardstown, Kentucky, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Braintree, Massachusetts, Russell, Massachusetts, Lawrenceburg, Indiana, San Bruno, California, and Houston, Missouri, have all sold, or are in the process of selling, their government internet networks in just the last three years.

Bardstown, Kentucky, City Manager Aaron Boles put it succinctly, “It’s very difficult for a government entity to try to take on a private entity. The revenue is just not there. Meanwhile, expenses continue to climb because running fiber isn’t a cheap endeavor…The city is having difficulty competing against the larger companies that have an endless amount of money to market their product, send people door to door [and] advertise on all networks. A city is most adept at dealing with legacy utilities – things that don’t change very much. No private entity wants to be in the sewer business.”

Government owned internet networks like the proposed Connect Willmar project are harmful to taxpayers. The Taxpayers Protection Alliance encourages Willmar citizens to contact their City Councilmember to put a stop to Connect Willmar. A vote for Connect Willmar is a vote for higher property taxes.