Rock the Ramp, an annual fundraiser for Badger Honor Flight organized by Capital Flight, again drew large numbers of people to Middleton's Morey Airport last Friday, July 22, to listen to live music by Nashville artist Jake Maurer, watch an airshow by champion acrobat Michael Goulian (pictured), and cap it all off with a spectacular laser show.
City referendum: The budgetary underpinnings and options
As the Middleton city council is agonizing over whether or not to go to a referendum in November to ask residents for more money, and, if yes, for how much and for what exactly, the city's finance director Bill Burns recently provided the council members with information that frames the issue and puts it in the context of the 2023-budget discussions.
Thus, the council needs to answer five questions: 1. Should the city plan on holding a referendum to exceed the levy limit in November 2022? 2. Should a referendum include funds for additional staffing only, and/or also for inflation and [existing-] personnel costs? 3. If there is not a referendum in 2022, should the city consider alternative revenues or budget reductions? 4. What process will be used to review ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] project allocations for 2023 and 2024? 5. Should the city continue to maintain a target of $4.0 million in annual capital borrowing [about half of which goes to road resurfacing and reconstruction - see chart]?
The city's operating budget is constrained for a number of reasons: 1. The city’s operating costs are increasing faster than its revenues. This has limited the ability to add staff to meet the additional needs of a growing community. 2. Property taxes represent 62% of the city’s general fund revenues [from which operating costs are paid]. 3. State-imposed levy limits limit the increase in general property taxes to the percentage of net new construction with no adjustment for inflation. 4. In Wisconsin there are no options for a local sales or income tax to offset reliance on the property tax. 5. After property taxes, intergovernmental revenue is the next largest source of general fund revenue, and in recent years state aid payments have been flat or negative. 6. The city will receive less in combined aids for a number of programs in 2022 than in 2018, including shared revenue, expenditure restraint [which 'rewards' a municipality for keeping its expenses under a certain threshold], exempt computer aid, recycling grants, and general transportation aids. 7. Population growth and inflation are increasing faster than property taxes and state aids.
The city of Middleton has one of the lowest property tax rates among fourteen Dane county cities and villages with a population over 5,000. Its equalized local mill rate was of $5.37 per $1,000 in the 2021/2022 tax year, which puts it in third-to-last place among peer municipalities, just ahead of the city of Verona (about $4.60) and the village of Windsor ($4.00). The city of Madison has reliably the highest mill rate at over $8.00, followed by Stoughton and Fitchburg (around $7.50), and Sun Prairie (around $6.75). DeForest, Mount Horeb, Monona, Cottage Grove, McFarland, Waunakee and Oregon (in decreasing order) also have higher mill rates than the city of Middleton. Unlike many other area cities, Middleton does not have a separate charge on the tax bill for refuse and recycling. Additionally, it has one of the lowest storm water utility rates in the state with no staff funded by the utility. [These latter two points are 'self-inflicted', if you will, as they are the direct