Scheduled panelists include:

• Ben Flottemesch, Simma, Flottemesch & Orenstein, Ltd., discussing business valuation & structures to maximize value;
• Jeremy Price, WBD Finance Corporation, covering SBA Financing: Navigating the Process; 
• Stephen Bowman, Business & Estate Advisors, discussing structuring retirement plans & insurance options for funding buy-sell agreements; and
• Bridget Finke, Bakke Norman, discussing considerations for drafting buy-sell agreements.

The main program is free and open to the public with a prior RSVP.  Golf and lunch will follow for those who would like to participate for a registration fee of $30.00.

Register by emailing jking@bakkenorman.com or calling Janet at 715-684-4545.

Click here for a printer-friendly informational flyer.

Periodically, a municipality becomes involved in eminent domain, more commonly referred to as condemnation. Chapter 32 of the Wisconsin Statutes controls eminent domain proceedings for a municipality engaged in the taking of property from a private property owner. There are numerous bodies that may engage in eminent domain proceedings, including: any county, town, village city, school district, state department of health services, the department of corrections, the board of regents, a railroad corporation, a Wisconsin telegraph or telecommunications corporation and several others. Eminent domain is used when the property cannot be acquired by gift of purchase at an agreed price.  There are a variety of purposes for which eminent domain may be exercised, but most often the property will be used for a public purpose related to the local government or entity initiating the condemnation procedure.

In condemnation matters the first step is for the condemnor to obtain one or more appraisals of the property. Upon completion of the appraisal or appraisals, copies are provided to the property owner. The property owner then has an opportunity to obtain his or her own appraisal. The next step is a negotiation period in which the parties attempt to reach an agreement on the purchase of the property. The condemnor will provide the property owner with information regarding other adjacent properties that are receiving offers and maps of the properties being condemned upon the request of the property owner. If an agreement is not reached, the condemnor makes a jurisdictional offer. If the offer is not acceptable to the property owner, the property owner may appeal.

If an appeal is filed, the rules for determining just compensation are found in Wisconsin Statute § 32.09. The first method is to look at sales or contracts for sale of comparable property. Under the appeal process, the condemnor still acquires the property. The appeal simply determines if the property owner is entitled to additional compensation.  

In the case of a partial taking of property other than an easement, the compensation is the greater of the fair market value of the property or the fair market value of the property immediately before and the fair market value of the remaining property immediately after the evaluation.

Wisconsin has three primary methods of appraising the value of commercial property in eminent domain matters. The comparable sales approach focuses on sales of comparable properties. The income approach focuses on the income generated by the property. Finally, the cost approach focuses on the cost of replacement for the property. In Wisconsin, income evidence is not admissible for establishing property values in condemnation cases of commercial properties.  The reasoning has been that there are too many variables that affect business income in order for it to serve as a reliable guide for determining fair market value. For example the income often times depends on the labor and skill of the management of the property. Exceptions to the general rule are allowed if: 1) the income produced is without the skill or labor of the owner; 2) income reflects the property’s chief source of value; and 3) the reason comparable sales are unavailable is that the property is “so unique.”

Specific statutory procedures must be followed when a municipality exercises its eminent domain powers. When engaging appraisers as part of the eminent domain process, it is important that they are familiar with the specific rules for determining just compensation.

The panelists included:

• Joe Murray, WI Realtors Association, discussing pending legislation and emerging regulatory and political issues
• Lisa Petersen, Chicago Title, alerting realtors to frequent title issues
• Seth Sundeen, Dairy State Bank, sharing tips for realtors and recent issues on residential finance
• Adam Jarchow, Bakke Norman, discussing WB form contract issues

For an informational flyer on the May 2012 seminar, click here. 

For more information about the “Breakfast with Bakke Norman” seminar series, click here.

Seminar sessions included:

• Law update presented by Tom Schumacher
• Frac sand update presented by Adam Jarchow
• Open records & open meetings panel discussion
• Healthcare for municipalities – featuring special guest speakers Katie Cole and Jill Luken from JA Counter & Associates
• Municipal finance – featuring special guest speakers Sean Lentz and Brian Reilly from Ehlers
• Municipal Financial Statements presented by Tom Schumacher
• Regulatory ordinances & their enforcement – featuring guest speaker Lee Turonie from the Wisconsin Towns Association

Video of the presenatations is available at Bakke Norman’s YouTube channel at: http://youtube.com/bakkenorman or continue to scroll through these pages.

Tom Schumacher greeted the attendees.

For more information about the conference, click here.

On December 7, 2011, Governor Walker signed 2011 Wisconsin Act 97 into law. The new law became effective when it was published on December 20, 2011. The statutory sections affected by this change are § 125.32(3)(b) (beer) and § 125.68(4)(b) (liquor stores). It passed in the State Senate on a 23 to 8 vote, getting bipartisan support.

The only change made by this new law is that liquor stores (“Class A” license) and other retailers, such as grocery or convenience stores, which sell beer and other fermented malt beverages “to go” (Class “A” licenses) may now open at 6:00 a.m. instead of 8:00 a.m. Closing times of 9:00 p.m. for liquor stores and midnight for take away beer sales remain unchanged.

Keep in mind that this does not necessarily mean that any given liquor store, grocery store or convenience store may lawfully open at 6:00 a.m. in any given community, since a municipality may, by ordinance, impose more restrictive hours than those found in the state statutes.

What factors determine student performance? Expenditures? Demographics? Teacher education? Teacher salaries? Parents? Community expectations? Of course these questions have been debated for years with no sign of a consensus.

We do have statistics that provide clues to some of the questions. The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance publishes their studies in a booklet titled School Facts. The most recent version is School Facts 11. It includes information on student test scores, school district revenue, expenditures, staff sizes, staff ratios, property values, student demography and other district characteristics.

School Facts 11 lists 120 different statistical measures for each of Wisconsin’s 423 school districts. It represents a truly prodigious effort. Other than replicating all 120 categories, there is no way to summarize or condense the information in a meaningful way. I have pulled out a few of the items that I found interesting.  This is just a sample of the information available. [All schools in the chart are in CESA 11, except Eau Claire, which is in CESA 10.]

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