MILL RATE FROZEN FOR 2009 IN RIPON

Well, I am grateful that five of the eight Council members agreed with my position not to raise the mill rate in 2009. This does not mean the overall TAX LEVY will not go up. We did have growth through construction and valuation increases, but the mill rate (which is the amount you pay per $1,000 of your home and land's value) will remain the same in 2009. A combination of hard decisions, as well as wise decisions in past years to set aside surpluses for future capital expenditures and "rainy days", has paid off.

One irony in all of this was that, when we announced a $200,000 surplus in late spring, one resident chastised me for not "sending back" the money, via some sort of rebate or refund check. First of all, the costs of figuring out who gets what and sending actual checks out to the people would have chewed up a chunk of the surplus. Second, the surplus was used to finance projects that would have not been funded without borrowing (a new fire rescue truck and a new emergency government vehicle). That same resident came up to me last week and thanked me not raising the mill rate. As I have said before, there is a method to my madness. LOL

Ripon has a good fiscal report card. The state of Wisconsin, on the other hand, does not. Governor Doyle warned us last week of a possible $3 BILLION deficit in the current budget, and according to an October 15th article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the damage may be even worse:

"The actual deficit figure could be more than $3 billion, but a more precise amount won’t be known until Nov. 20, when Budget Director Dave Schmiedicke must estimate future tax collections and how much spending state agencies request for 2009-’11. Agencies must submit budgets with the 10% cut on Nov. 17. Doyle and Schmiedicke said they saw these signs of major economic problems in recent weeks, forcing the new deficit warning:
• Sales tax collections fell 6% in July, August and September, compared with the same period last year. The sales tax was expected to bring in $4.29 billion this year, or one-third of all general-fund taxes.
• Corporate tax collections fell almost 16% in the same three months, compared with 2008.
• Soaring claims for unemployment benefits will drain the state fund that pays them by early next year, forcing state government to borrow from the federal government to help cover those claims. That hasn’t happened since 1982.
State tax collections usually grow by more than 3% a year; the increase of every 1 percentage point brings in an additional $130 million."

It is going to be awfully hard for me to vote for ANY incumbents on the ballot next month....