County board will act on 2010 budget Oct. 24, 2009 What officials have called a tight, but realistic 2010 budget will be the focus of the Langlade County Board of Supervisors Tuesday.
The board will convene for its regular monthly session, a week later than usual due to special budget meetings earlier in the month, at 9 a.m. in the board room of the Langlade County Safety Building.
The spending plan was the focus of a review by supervisors earlier this week. Tuesday’s action will include a public hearing allowing members of the gallery to comment on the package followed by formal resolutions to approve the tax levy and adjust the capital improvement project plans to reflect cutbacks.
At this week’s review, Langlade County’s Director of Finance Gary Olsen detailed what he called a “realistic” budget for 2010.
It calls for an $8.4 million tax levy in what Olsen called difficult times.
Property valuations are down in Langlade County after steady growth for years. Add to that problem, the amount of interest money paid to the county is sharply down creating a pinch.
For 2010, equalized values are expected to decline .54 percent, or $9,454,700, and stand at $1.731 billion. That comes after years of increases, including a high of 9.66 percent in 2002 and generally in the 5 to 7 percent range in subsequent years. The 2009 increase was 4.56 percent.
The tax levy will increase $245,015, right at the 3 percent limit allowed by the state, and is anticipated at $8.412 million. The tax rate is estimated at $4.85 per $1,000 of equalized valuation, a 3.56 percent or a 17 cent increase. That means that the owner of a $100,000 piece of property will pay $485 in county property taxes, a $17 increase.
The county levy is only a small portion of the overall bill that will be distributed to taxpayers in December. Dollars for schools, state, and the city, town or village must all be added before the final bill is determined.
The county started the budget process at $418,385 over the amount needed to meet the state mandated freeze, which allows counties to increase their levies by the percentage of new construction or 3 percent, whatever is higher. With only a 1.15 percent gain in new construction, the county was allowed the 3 percent, or $245,015, figure.
The final tally was reached following a series of difficult reductions in most departments along with reductions in the capital improvement project list.
Projects removed from the fund include $116,719 in general undesignated dollars, $28,600 for a new tractor, $105,000 for work in the maintenance shop, $165,000 to re-roof and paint the cattle barn, and $30,000 to recarpet the corridors in the Health Care Center.
Those reductions must be approved through a separate resolution.
In other matters Tuesday, supervisors will hear an update from Dr. Lori Weyers, president of Northcentral Technical College on accomplishments and future directions of the college.
This past week college officials, joined by supervisors, broke ground on a new $2.5 million wood technology building in a joint project. Weyers will certainly touch on that project plus others.
In other business, the board is expected to re-appoint Linda Falkowski to the Community Development Advisory Board; and recognize Bernice Andraschko for 23 years of dedicated service to the Department on Aging, where she is retiring as office manager.
Six zoning changes will come to the board, all with approval recommended by the Water and Land Use Planning Committee. They include:
—Harold Pomar, land in the town of Polar from exclusive agriculture to agriculture/forestry/residential for a possible residence.
—Dean Williams, land in the town of Elcho from single family residence to multiple family and condominium district for establishing a duplex in an existing home.
—Kurt and Lynn Pecha, land in the town of Upham from single family residential to commercial for boat storage.
—the estate of William Dahlke, land in the town of Polar from exclusive agriculture to agriculture/forestry/residential for creation of two lots less than 35 acres.
—and two requests from James Draeger to rezone land in the town of Neva from exclusive agriculture to agriculture/forestry/residential for creation of residential lots.
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