West Allis Mayor addresses dark store referendum on upcoming primary ballot

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- West Allis Mayor Dan Devine held a news conference on Tuesday to talk about a dark store referendum on the August 14th primary ballot.

Mayor Devine says he's concerned about the potential shift in property taxes to residents if the dark store loophole isn't closed.

Retailers use the loophole to allow their store's property tax value to be comparable to empty stores.

Homeowners and other taxpayers will pick up more of the costs.

"So what may be a six million dollar store is now paying taxes on a three or four million dollar store and the three million dollars they are not paying goes to the homeowners and business owners in West Allis," said Mayor Devine.

A "yes" vote supports legislative to close the dark store loophole while a "no" vote tells legislators not to take action on the issue.