TPA Submits Testimony to City Council of Superior, Wisconsin

This week, TPA submitted written testimony to the City Council of Superior, Wisconsin. TPA argued against the measure, O23-4326, which would provide funding for a city-owned broadband utility. The City Council previously voted 7-3 on O23-4326 to grant the city the funding to build and maintain their own broadband utility.  Opponents of the ordinance were concerned with the use of taxpayer funds for this project. Such government-owned networks (GONs) are often duplicative in nature and fail to recoup enough investment to avoid leaving taxpayers footing the bill.

Unfortunately, the City Council thought it was best for the municipality to approve taxpayer funds to build another GON in their city. The project is estimated to cost taxpayers up to $62 million over 5 years, though GONs typically end up exceeding costs. The full testimony can be found below.