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West Bend Public Budget Meeting

Here’s your public service announcement. 

The West Bend Common Council invites residents to comment on its 2009 general fund budget at Monday’s 6:30 p.m. meeting.

   The budget is $21,968,212, up 1.70 percent from last year’s budget of $21,600,621. The city’s assessed value tax rate stays at $8.0383 per $1,000 of property value in the new budget.

   The 2009 proposed tax levy is $19,308,490, up 3.65 percent from last year’s levy of $18,628,780. But the city’s estimated assessed value is $2,402,161,200, up 3.65 percent from last year’s value of $2,317,504,700. The assessed value increased because of new construction in the city.

   Because the city’s assessed property value went up by 3.65 percent, the same rate as the tax levy, the more valuable property could absorb the increased levy without passing it on to taxpayers.

   Many of the city’s departments saw cost increases from rising fuel prices. Departments limited budget increases or shrank their budgets by cutting overtime hours and delaying new hires.

   The city’s tourism department will get a big lift if the 2009 budget is approved as-is. The city will spend $137,623 on tourism, up 293.21 percent from last year’s total of $35,000. The city’s tourism department will continue to market West Bend as “The Geocaching Capital of the Midwest” after the success of this year’s Cache Bash event.

   After the public hearing, the city will vote to appropriate funds for the 2009 budget.

Posted by Owen at 1329 hrs
Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

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