Shawano County’s share of area residents’ property tax bills is expected to drop slightly in 2014 if the Board of Supervisors approves the proposed 2014 budget Wednesday.
The plan includes a drop of about 0.87 percent, or 4.5 cents, in the tax rate, from $5.167 per $1,000 of equalized value this year to $5.122 next year. Owners of a property valued at $100,000 can expect to pay $512.20 in county taxes, compared with $516.70 this year.
The total levy for the county is also dropping, for the first time in more than a decade. The county expects to bring in $14,760,128 in 2014, a 1.03 percent decrease from the more than $14.9 million collected last year.
“We’re at the levy limit,” Finance Director Diane Rusch said.
One reason the levy dropped was because the county’s debt payment is down significantly, according to Rusch. With the fairgrounds grandstand and the Huber Work Release Center paid off, the county will be spending $1 million toward its debt, a decrease of almost $792,000.
“There’s a big difference in there,” Rusch said.
Equalized values are staying flat, up only 0.17 percent. The total equalized valuation for property in Shawano County is $2,881,488,000.
Also, the county saw minimal growth in new construction in 2013, Rusch said. The real growth increased by only 0.66 percent.
Sales tax is estimated to be staying flat in 2014 at $2.1 million.
The total budget for the county is almost $57.8 million in 2014, a 4.4 percent decrease from the $60.5 million budget blessed by the County Board for 2013. The Finance Committee spent several days in full-day sessions in September to plug an anticipated $1.5 million deficit and bring the budget into balance.
“We asked the departments to look at their budgets and make some wholesale cuts,” said Tom Madsen, administrative coordinator.
After 2014, the county expects to lose environmental impact fees, which help finance capital improvement projects. This year, the county is spending $879,740 on capital projects, with $440,490 coming from the impact fee fund, which will leave $50,000 in the account, according to Rusch.
“I have no idea what we’re going to do with those kinds of projects in the future,” she said.
There will be no across-the-board pay raises for county employees, as the $200,000 planned for a 2 percent hike was cut from the budget. There are plans for new dispatchers and highway workers to get significant increases to put them closer in hourly rates to their veteran counterparts.
Other cuts included spending $225,000 less on county road restoration work by the Highway Department, and the Maintenance Department cut most of its projects intended for the courthouse.
Madsen believes the county will have to look at more collaborations with other counties to absorb future cuts. The county belongs to regional consortiums for revolving loan funds, community development block grants, and aging and disability resources.
“In government, we’re a service industry. We don’t make money,” Madsen said. “I think we’re in an era of tightness.”
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