By Kris Leonhardt

Editor

MARSHFIELD — In Nov. 22 common council action, city leaders approved the 2017 city budget, which increases property tax from $9.07 to $9.12 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

Following a required publishing of the proposed 2017 budget and the subsequent public hearing earlier that evening, the council finalized and adopted its annual budget of $43,790,644.

“A tax levy excluding estimated tax incremental financing district levy will be $12,601,499 for 2017, and the resulting tax rate will be rounded up (from $9.115507) to $9.12 which is just short of a 5 cent tax rate increase — again within the parameters that you had established back in May,” said Marshfield Finance Director Keith Strey.

“A couple of numbers I want to point out there: The $12.6 million raised by taxation, I think that is always an important number to point out to the residents — that the taxes we collect in the community from our property taxes total around $12.6 million that fund our $43.7 million budget,” said Mayor Chris Meyer, “so property taxes are not our primary source of revenue for operating our community.

“Also, for those of you that are unfamiliar with what mill rates are, a 5 cent increase in the mill rate would work out to a $5 increase in taxes on a $100,000 home.

“We’ve been under a levy freeze or a levy limit for more than a decade, and certainly it is in the best interest of the property owners to have some controls in place, but, obviously, being limited to a very small increase yet still having several unfunded mandates and obligations to pay as a community, it’s getting tighter and tighter.”

The resolution setting the 2017 levy amount was passed in a unanimous vote by council members.