20 supervisors’ votes required to pass
By Robert Cloud
Waupaca County may borrow $37.8 million to cover capital projects.
The proposed new highway facility would account for $26.6 million of the borrowing.
At a Sept. 15 joint meeting of the finance and executive committees, Finance Director Heidi Dombrowski said the borrowing would cost taxpayers about 7 cents per $1,000 of assessed value or $7 more on a $100,000 home.
In large part, the borrowing has less impact on the tax levy because the county is no longer subsidizing Lakeview Manor.
The nursing home that closed earlier this year cost the county nearly $1 million annually.
The property tax levy that supports the county’s operating budget is projected to drop from $17.88 million in 2017 to $17.65 million in 2018.
That equates to a tax rate of $4.68 per $1,000 in 2017 and $4.41 in 2018.
The tax levy that supports the county’s debt service is projected to rise from $6.11 million in 2017 to $6.56 million in 2018.
That equates to a tax rate of $1.60 in 2017 and $1.64 in 2018.
In 2017, Waupaca County levied $968,519 for capital improvements, which equates to a property tax rate of 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
In 2018, the capital improvements levy is projected to rise to $2.2 million, with a 55-cent per $1,000 tax rate.
In 2019, the county’s levy on debt service reaches its peak at nearly $8.8 million with a tax rate of $2.17.
However, the 2019 levy for capital improvements is projected to drop to nearly $443,00 with a levy of 11 cents per $1,000 while the tax rate for the operating levy is projected to drop by 2 cents.
The total tax rate would grow by 7 cents per year for four years, then drop by 6 cents in 2022.
Dombrowski said the county could borrow $9.9 million through a general obligation note in December of this year and $27.9 million through a general obligation bond in June 2018.
The December borrowing would provide $958,000 to cover initial costs for the highway facility project, nearly $400,000 to run fiber optic from Manawa to the Symco tower, $933,000 for two emergency communications towers in Clintonville and Weyauwega and $7.5 million for county highway construction.
The $27.9 million bond would cover $26.6 million for the construction of the new highway facility and $958,000 for highway projects.
Dombrowski said the cost of the construction project has not been fully determined yet and without actual bids, the amount of borrowing needed could change.
The county board will vote to authorize the $9.9 million debt at its Oct. 31 meeting.
It will require a three-quarters majority, or 20 board members, for the vote to pass.
The county board will need another three-quarters majority to authorize the issuance of a $27.9 million bond.