City of Marshfield Has Some Wiggle Room in its 2012 Budget Development

Marshfield City Council weighs tax rate freeze or $2 increase. (Marshfield News Herald, 8/24/2011)

Excerpt:    Under the state budget signed by Gov. Scott Walker, Marshfield lost about $240,000 in shared revenue. There were also losses in other areas, such as general transportation aid, Barg said.

"We're looking at $400,000 or a little more in cuts," said Barg, who added that there is the benefit of 5.8 percent employee contribution to health insurance and the Wisconsin Retirement System from nonprotective service employees.

The levy, which is the amount of money the city can collect, is frozen for at least two years, except for any funds that come from new building development, Barg said.

Earlier this month, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue released a report showing the equalized value for Marshfield rose in 2010.

"We're the envy of other communities," Barg said. "We've seen a 2.4 percent increase in equalized value. A lot of communities have seen a drop, we're fortunate it's gone up. We've seen an increase in net new construction, so we have an opportunity to raise the levy to account for the fact of new growth."


Budget calendar:
Mid-September. Department heads finalize review of their budgets.
October. Council members review budget proposal.

Other Wisconsin county and municipal budget news.
Soglin on 2012 Madison budget:  "Every service we rely on is vulnerable".  (8/23/2011)
With a ballooning budget deficit, Marathon County considers a tax increase.  (8/23/2011)
Sheboygan's Strategic Fiscal Planning Committee to determine what city will look like.  (8/19/2011)
Brown County Exec looks at same tax levy, impact on services to be determined.  (8/18/2011)
City of Shawano wrestles with $128,000 deficit.  (8/16/2011)
Possible double whammy for Shawano City-County Library.  (8/15/2011)
Portage County Executive looks to "create a bridge to a new design, a way of functioning on less".. (8/15/2011)
Antigo cuts fire, police positions.  (8/15/2011)
Adding up the budget numbers in the Fox Valley.  (8/14/2011)
Sauk County officials ask for input.  (8/12/2011
Marathon County ranks services to address $500,000 budget shortfall.  (8/12/2011)
City of Beloit faces a challenging budget process.  (8/8/2011)
Fond du Lac city manager sez Governor's tools not enough to offset cuts.  (8/2/2011)
Manitowoc mayor asks department heads for 10% budget cuts.  (8/2/2011)