Mill rate may rise 66 cents
By Bert Lehman
The proposed 2020 budget for the city of Clintonville includes a property tax rate increase of 66 cents per $1,000 valuation, which equates to a $52.49 increase on an $80,000 home.
City Administrator Sharon Eveland shared that information with the Finance Committee at a special meeting Oct. 28.
Some of the increase is due to health insurance premiums increasing by about 34 percent.
Eveland said the city is researching other health insurance carriers, but there isn’t enough time to find a different carrier before the 2020 city budget must to be approved.
The proposed tax rate for 2020 would be $10.74.
State lowers Creative Converting’s assessed value
In addition to higher insurance premiums, Eveland said the loss of assessed value on the city’s tax roll because of the settlement between Creative Converting and the state regarding its assessed value also contributed to the tax rate increase.
“We lost out on about $4 to $5 million in value,” Eveland said.
If the city had not lost that assessed value for Creative Converting, Eveland said the proposed tax rate would be increasing by around only 30 cents.
Even though the proposed tax rate would increase, Eveland said it was always the city’s plan for the tax rate to be below that of the 2018 tax rate, which was $11.64.
“The department heads have done a great job of going through their budgets,” Eveland told the committee. “I don’t know that there is anywhere to cut without making major changes to our structure. And that might be something that’s coming down the pipeline.”
Eveland said that some sort of reorganization could potentially save the city about $60,000.
Expenditure increases
Expenditures in the proposed 2020 city budget increase by around $73,000.
“From year-to-year, our total expenditures are increasing by, what I believe, are very reasonable amounts,” Eveland said.
The proposed budget also includes a decrease in city revenues by about $60,000.
“It’s not just our expenses going up that is driving our levy and tax rate to go up,” Eveland said. “It’s that loss of non-tax supported revenue.”
She said the proposed budget does meet the state’s Expenditure Restraint Program requirements.
“Although our picture is not completely rosey, it’s still positive and it’s moving us in the right direction,” said Finance Committee member Brad Rokus. “I want to thank Sharon and the department heads for their hard work to make it so we’re still coming in under our ERP, and still being able to progress beyond the – ‘let’s just tape things together and hope for the best’ – that we have been in for quite awhile.”
The public will have an opportunity to provide their input regarding the proposed 2020 city budget at a public budget hearing scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18.