Efforts to approve a budget for the town of Spruce came to a halt on Nov. 18 after a resident questioned the accuracy of a public notice.
Mary Marks said the posted public notice exhibited an incorrect increase in the tax levy rate of 0.9 percent.
“It’s not,” Marks said.
According to numbers distributed at the meeting and read by town Chairman Terry Brazeau, the proposed 2015 general property taxes amount is $142,965. For 2014, the estimated actual amount is $130,654, which would calculate to an increase in the levy of about 9 percent.
“You told everybody in the town the budget was going up less than 1 percent, and that’s not true,” said James Webster, a Chicago attorney who owns property in the town. “You’re playing games with numbers constantly.”
Another resident was supportive of the board, saying, “Taxes have to go up around here if you want the same benefits.”
Brazeau called for an adjournment of the budget hearing “to be sure we have the correct numbers.” He had read the budget figures aloud, but no discussion took place before the hearing was adjourned.
The board will reschedule a budget hearing in December. It will be the third time in three months the town attempts to adopt a tax levy.
In October, the board asked town residents to approve a $30,000 jump in property taxes, but the proposal was defeated when the board failed to muster a majority. The vote resulted in a 16-16 tie.
The town requested the extra funds to cover the town’s legal costs of about $22,000, ambulance fees of $32,000 and other expenses in 2015.
In a phone interview after the hearing, Brazeau said some of the misconceptions regarding the budget may stem from the $10,000 in debt service listed on the proposed budget.
In 2013, the town lost an open records lawsuit filed by Webster and took out a loan in 2014 to pay the $57,000 settlement. Its 2015 payment was set at $18,650, but the town extended the loan from five to 10 years, which dropped the payment to $10,000 for 2015.
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