Town of Baraboo backs 2.8% tax hike

By Brian D. Bridgeford / News Republic

 

After serious discussion town of Baraboo residents Wednesday unanimously approved a  2.8 percent rise in the 2010 property tax levy and the budget worked out by local officials.

An audience of 14 people attended the annual budget hearing and meeting of town electors. Town Chairman Bill Klemm and Clerk Kay Bainbridge presented the 2010 budget, which includes a $438,200 tax levy. It is about $11,900, or 2.8 percent higher than the levy of $426,300 for 2009.

The tax rate rose about 5 percent, from $2.26 per $1,000 of property value in 2009 to $2.38 per $1,000 for 2010.

Total spending fell $3,000 or half a percent, to about $638,600. The town faces a nearly $8,000 decline in state aid, from $187,200 in 2009 to $179,300 for 2010.

One resident who refused to give his name said he was frustrated the town’s tax levy and tax rate are rising while the value of property he owns is falling.

"We recently sold a lot out there and basically got half of what we got two years ago," he said. "Our property taxes are the same, $1,100 for a vacant lot, and yet we’re getting only a little bit more than half the money for it."

Klemm noted the tax levy and town spending are driven by what the town needs in order to cover its operations.

"We try to go through it line by line trying to estimate our costs," he said.

Town Supervisor Randy Puttkamer said that if property values in general are falling, the town still has to divide its budget among all property owners. Also, a large chunk of land is no longer sharing the tax burden after the Nature Conservancy exercised its right under tax laws to declare its property within the township tax exempt, he said.

"We lost nearly $3.7 million in equalized value when Nature Conservancy went tax exempt." Puttkamer said. "There’s nearly $3.7 million less to spread our budget out over."

Resident Sharon Terry asked why the town officials had dropped the fund for equipment from $24,000 in 2009 to only $6,000 in the new budget.

Klemm said as the officials hashed out the budget, the equipment fund was an area they decided they had to cut.

"We tried to keep our (tax levy) below the  3-percent increase we were allowed," Klemm said. "We had budgeted it for $24,000, but when we got to the tail end (of the budget process) we had to bring it back from somewhere.

"That was the only place we could do that," he said.

One issue that impacted on the township was the city of Baraboo’s resistance to dividing payments to Baraboo District Ambulance Service on a per-capita basis rather than the present assessment system. Klemm said the change would reduce their costs for ambulance service and allow the township to shift more money to uses like the equipment fund.

"If they would pass on population for the ambulance, we would have some funds to put back in there," he said. "It would bring our budget down close to $8,000."

"It’s got to go to the City Council and they will not pass that," said Puttkamer, the town’s representative on the Baraboo District Ambulance Commission.

Town officials kept many budget items at status quo compared to 2009. That includes the salaries of board members, town clerk and town treasurer.

After about 40 minutes the assembled residents and officials voted unanimously to approve the $308,700 town road budget and the tax levy of $438,200.

 

Send e-mail to bbridgeford@capitalnewspapers.com