The Town of Bass Lake, Wis. has begun to assess a $250 annual fee on each campsite within its jurisdiction, a fee the town has no authority to assess, according to the Wisconsin Association of Campground Owners (WACO).
WACO Attorney Mark Hazelbaker sent Bass Lake Town Chairman Justin Hall a letter on Feb. 2 requesting that the town rescind the fee, which was authorized by an ordinance that the town adopted on June 14, 2021.
“Simply, the town does not have the authority to adopt such an ordinance,” Hazelbaker wrote, noting that campgrounds are licensed by the state of Wisconsin.
“There is only one license issued to campgrounds in Wisconsin, and it is the state license,” Hazelbaker wrote. “Towns, villages, and cities have no statutory authority to require a local license. The only local involvement can be by a local health department – but then only as an agent of the State for issuance of that single state license.”
The Town of Bass Lake has not responded to WOODALLSCM.com’s (WCM) request for comment.
WACO, for its part, is prepared to take the Town of Bass Lake to court if it fails to rescind the $250 fee.
“If you do not rescind the ordinance, you will be forced to do so and refund all the money you have collected,” Hazelbaker said, adding that WACO has dealt with this issue before. “From prior experience on this issue, we are confident that the State of Wisconsin will oppose any local licensing systems as an intrusion on the State’s responsibilities. We will oppose any local licensing ordinance emphatically.”
WACO learned of Bass Lake’s $250-per-campsite fee from someone who was looking to purchase a campground in Bass Lake. Hazelbaker said it’s important that Wisconsin park operators notify WACO as soon as they hear of any proposed taxes or regulations that are contrary to park operator interests.
Hazelbaker noted that residents of Burkett County, Wis., launched an anti-campground campaign last year and persuaded county officials to adopt regulations that make it much more difficult for existing parks to expand or for new private parks to be built.
“It’s unfortunate that the propaganda capacity of misinformation had taken root and become so widespread before we heard about it,” Hazelbaker said, referencing recent ordinances in Burkett County that hurt private park operators.
But if WACO is notified early on when anti-campground efforts get underway, the association can work to use facts about the camping industry to stop misinformation before it takes root.
“People don’t spend $80,000 or more to buy an RV so they can trash a rural area with it,” Hazelbaker said. “They are looking for an escape in an attractive area, not a ghetto.”
