“Jefferson County is in good shape financially,” said Dick Jones on the 2018 proposed county budget last Tuesday. Jones, chair of the Finance Committee for Jefferson County, mentioned the fact that there is about a three month reserve that the county is currently enjoying.
During the public hearing, there were no comments from the public regarding the budget, so the meeting continued as planned.
Jones, along with County Board chairman Jim Schroeder and Finance Director Marc Devries, met with students before the budget’s public hearing to discuss finer points of the budget.
The total budget sits at $72.3 million, compared to the current tax levy of about $27.4 million. With the library system and the health department factored in, this adds almost $2 million for a total county tax levy of $29.3 million.
Compared to the 2017 budget, the 2018 budget boasts a tax levy increase of $289,155, or 1.07 percent. The tax levy has been steadily increasing since the 2012 budget, with a massive 5.62 percent increase in the 2015 budget.
To make up the difference in the budget between expenditures and the tax levy, the board is projecting a little over $40 million in revenues for the county. Some of the biggest sources of revenue, and also the biggest source of expenses, include human services, the highway department, and the county sheriff. They board is also projecting $2.8 million from other financing services.
The new mill rate for the county is set at 4.16, meaning a person who owns a $100,000 home will have to pay $4.16 in property taxes per $1,000 of property value. The 2017 budget’s mill rate is set at 4.3, meaning the new mill rate is a 3.17 percent decrease. This is the biggest decrease in the mill rate in the last ten years.
The debt service portion of the expenditures is listed at $1.1 million. The main factor behind this is the new $16 million highway shop that was desperately needed, according to Schroeder. He mentioned that the shop will be paid off in 20 years.
Both Schroeder and Jones touched on the fact that some counties in Wisconsin have found themselves in financial trouble due to their tendency to borrow money to fix roads. “Roads should be funded out of the operating budget,” Schroeder said. However, Jones added that sometimes “you need to borrow money to build.”
The total equalized value of taxable property is set at $6.6 billion for the 2018 budget. This is an increase of $275.8 million from last year.
Overall, the equalized value is starting to return to the mark it was at in 2009, which was also $6.6 billion. The recent increases are due in part to the housing market rebounding after the crash of 2008.
The County Clerk office will see a 44 percent increase in the tax levy in the new budget. This is due to the fact that there will be a gubernatorial election, and the county needs new voting machines. When the 2019 budget arrives, this number will go back down to more normal levels.
With $24.1 million listed in expenditures, human services commands the highest percentage of the budget. Jones mentioned opiate addiction as a major obstacle in keeping costs down. In Jefferson County, Jones estimated there are 200 people in treatment for opiate addiction.
The County Board plans to vote on final approval on the budget in the meeting on Nov. 14.
UW-Whitewater Chancellor Beverly Kopper, Vice Chancellor of Administrative Affairs Grace Crickett, and Police Chief Matt Kiederlen attended the Whitewater Common Council meeting on October 3 to discuss the issue of parking spaces and parking meters on and around the campus.
In August, parking meters were removed from Prince and Prairie Streets. This forces students and faculty to purchase a parking pass from the university.
The passes themselves also saw changes, with permits divided between the lots north of Starin Road and the lots to the south.
Ald. Stephanie Goettl (District 5) is concerned about the price of these new passes, saying there has been an “unreasonable rise in cost.” According to Kiederlen, the permit price has increased by $20. Daily visitor parking passes have become more expensive, going from $3 to $5.
Kiederlen also mentioned that during the weekend, students can park anywhere on campus after 5 p.m. for free.
A major factor in why the city is upset about the parking meter removal is the fact that UW-Whitewater made these changes without city approval. Kiederlen brought up a June 2012 agreement between the city and university which stated that the university has the right to manage their own parking.
Reading from the agreement, Kiederlen stated, “The city will not be responsible for parking enforcement for university spaces.” He then added that the university is in the right to remove the meters.
The agreement also stated that the university can charge students to park on Prairie and Prince streets if the university paid the city $40,000 each year.
Crickett stated that “Parking is an integral part of our infrastructure.” She also mentioned that parking needs to be more self-sustaining so that, “we can direct resources to student success, housing, and infrastructure.”
Citizens of Whitewater also criticized the university’s decision. Comments were made about the increasing number of students parking farther off campus, taking up spots formerly used by citizens.
Pam Zarinnia, a citizen of Whitewater, is furious with these changes. “I am embarrassed to be part of this city because of what the university has done with parking.”
Ald. James Allen (At-Large) is also concerned about taxpayers paying twice for parking. Once with the taxes they are already paying, and secondly if they are forced to buy and parking pass for a space they should already be entitled to.
City Budget
City Manager Cameron Clapper gave his budget presentation at the meeting. Clapper started out by stating that the budget has decreased by $30,000. The total budget now stands at $9.1 million.
Taxes and governmental revenues will account for about 87 percent of the total revenue. For expenditures, administration and safety take command the largest portion of the budget.
A few changes were added to the proposed budget. Clapper talked about a debt service levy, along with changes to wages and health insurance. The plan is for wages to increase by 1.5 percent to help offset the rising cost of health insurance.
With the slight decrease in the budget, Clapper is looking toward the future to prevent further budget issues. To make up some of the losses, Ald. Jimmy Schulgit (District 2) proposed ticketing drivers more frequently for not yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks.
Landmark Ordinance
After a crowd of protestors gathered outside, the six council members seemed geared up for a battle on the first few topics of the night. The first ordinance related to the landmark issue passed with no opposition. Ald. Carol McCormick (District 1) was the only council member absent from the vote.
The proposal requires the council to review possible landmarks that are on city property before they can be approved.
The second proposal proved to be more difficult to pass. This proposal would give the city of Whitewater the power to remove the status of a landmark.
Ald. Chris Grady (District 3) tried to defend the proposal by saying that people have been misinformed about the idea behind the proposal. “The goal of this ordinance change was to treat city-owned landmarks the same as private landmarks.”
Council President Patrick Singer received one motion to approve it, but after asking multiple times for a second, declared the proposal dead on the floor.