Spending to jump 23%, village taxes to follow suit

By DAN BENSON

Ozaukee Press staff

The Fredonia Village Board on Thursday will consider a 2023 budget that calls for a property tax levy increase of 8% and corresponding hike in the village tax rate.

According to the budget submitted by village Administrator Christophe Jenkins, the levy moves from $934,894 in 2022 to $1.17 million for 2023. The tax rate shifts from $5.21 per $1,000 of assessed value to $6.87.

That means the owner of a $200,000 home will see the village portion of his December property tax bill grow from $1,042 to $1,374. That does not include property taxes levied by the Northern Ozaukee School District, Ozaukee County or the Milwaukee Area Technical College.

The maximum levy allowed by the state is $858,409 but state limits do not apply to the $375,037 in debt payments, up $117,004.

The village currently has $6.53 million in total debt, equaling 3.6% of the village’s total property valuation of $179.36 million. The village established a policy in 2017 that total debt should not exceed 5% of valuation.

General fund spending in the 2023 budget totals $1.76 million, up 23% from 2022.

Payroll, the largest single spending category in the general fund, is projected to increase 23% to $695,968 from $539,187, due mainly to the hiring of a public works superintendent to replace Roger Strohm, who left the village earlier this year, and an additional public works crew member.

Capital spending dropped 55% to $141,608. Capital projects in the 2023 budget include $75,000 to replace culverts on Meadowbrook Drive and Wheeler Avenue and $55,000 for a well and booster pump upgrade at Well No. 1.

The budget also includes a $184,000 transfer from the general fund to the Fire Department.

A public hearing on the budget will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, followed by the Village Board meeting where trustees are slated to vote.