Politics & Government

Town of Brookfield Makes Case to Become a Village

The Town of Brookfield has filed a 62-page petition to incorporate as a village, starting a potentially six-month review by a state agency.

The Town of Brookfield has filed its formal petition to incorporate as a village, setting the stage for a possible decision by a state agency within six months.

Town resident Jay Walt, who started the process last year, said town officials remain open to discussions with adjacent cities on boundary agreements that could negate the need to incorporate.

"We will continue our attempts to work with neighboring communities in a positive manner," Walt said.

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The 62-page petition filed March 16 makes the town's case for incorporation, intended to protect the town from annexation by neighboring cities and preserve its future autonomous government and tax base.

The Corners redevelopment proposal, to be anchored by a Von Maur department store, also helped prompt the incorporation request. The town wants to make sure it will have adequate future tax base to finance public improvements.

Find out what's happening in Brookfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In order to incorporate, because it no longer has the minimum required 4 square miles of territory to become a village or city.

The petition proposes including about 288 acres of continguous land in the Town of Waukesha,Β south of Greenfield Avenue, west of Springdale Road and east of Highway 164. The lands represent about $35 million in tax base, and includes the former Wal-Mart and Don Jacobs car dealership, Town of Brookfield attorney James Hammes has said.

The Town paid the $25,000 incorporation filing request to the state Department of Administration. The state denied two previous incorporation requests filed by the town, in 1999 and 2001.

If the state did approve the incorporation, voters would decide in a referendum whether to change to village status.


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