Public officials across Wisconsin are getting complaints about their property taxes, but Tomah Mayor Ed Thompson isn’t one of them.
“I’ve had a lot of people saying they were thankful that their taxes didn’t go up.” Thompson said.
City of Tomah residents paid virtually the same amount in property taxes they did last year. The combined rate for the six entities that levy taxes — the Tomah School District, city of Tomah, Monroe County, Lake Tomah District, Western Technical College and state of Wisconsin — rose from $21.74 in 2009 to $22.23 in 2010.
However, the “first dollar credit” from the state of Wisconsin nearly doubled to $55.46. That was enough to actually trigger a tiny decrease on some bills.
The biggest factor in the tax rate is the retirement of the Tax Incremental Finance District used to fund improvements for the Wal-Mart Distribution Center. Property taxes generated by the Wal-Mart property now go into the general fund. The city structured its budget so that retired TIF would finance the new police station.
Thompson calls the tax rate “quite an accomplishment.”
“The ones I really want to credit are the department heads — public works the most,” Thompson said. “They knocked $100,000 out of their budget. (Director) Ken Patterson was told to tighten up, and he did an incredible job.”
Other factors that kept taxes flat was an increased contribution by city employees to their health insurance premiums.
Thompson isn’t running for re-election and won’t be part of next year’s budget cycle.
City Administrator Jim Bialecki said it’s too early to forecast next year’s budget. Work on the 2011 budget begins in May. He said two factors will determine next year’s tax rates:
*Shared revenue. Local government could face another round of shared revenue cuts as the state attempts to plug a $2.7 billion budget hole.
*Health care reform. Bialecki said it’s uncertain how federal legislation will impact the cost of health care and health insurance premiums.
Bialecki said economic growth is the long-term key to achieving a stable tax rate.
“Even in tough times, where we really have to put our focus is development,” Bialecki said. “If we can market ourselves through the long-range planning process, we can continue to grow and offer the services people expect.” .
