After a brief business meeting in an open session on Tuesday, the Sturgeon Bay Common Council unanimously agreed in a closed session to settle with Walmart and avoid litigation over the store's tax assessment over the past two years.  For the past several years, Walmart has been challenging cities around the country concerning the evaluation of property taxes.  Mayor David Ward says the city's decision boiled down to agreeing to about $300,000 less than the original $6.6 million assessment.  The 2025 assessment in Walmart's initial offer was not accepted since Sturgeon Bay is planning a city-wide assessment next year.  Mayor Ward explained that the council decided to settle mainly because they could only lose in court, and the value could never be raised.

Ward added that the settlement would reduce Walmart's city tax by $3,300 per year for 2023 and 2024.  Walmart's original protest or claim would have reduced their city tax by over $10,000 in both years.