By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The Delavan Common Council was expected Tuesday to approve a 2014 budget that reduces the city’s debt without increasing its tax levy.
The Common Council had a public hearing on the budget and $5.34 million tax levy Nov. 12. The budget was set to be formally approved at a special meeting Tuesday.
City Administrator Denise Pieroni presented the budget to the council. While the tax levy has been set, Pieroni said final mill rate numbers that help residents determine the effect on their taxes were not available at that time. Pieroni said the city is waiting for final numbers from the state and the hoped they would be available before Tuesday’s meeting to formally approve the budget, although the council could approve the budget and levy without the numbers.
“The council is trying to reduce debt without increasing the tax levy,” Alderman Bruce DeWitt said. “It is a very aggressive goal.”
DeWitt said that if the city can stick to its debt reduction plan through 2018, it can reduce its debt from about $19.3 million to $6.9 million.
“That would be a huge accomplishment,” he said.
DeWitt also said property values have gone down but that does not mean taxes will as well. He said he believes the mill rate and tax level will be very close to what they were last year for the city portion of property tax bills. Last year the tax levy was $5.29 million and the mill rate was $9.31 per $1,000 of equalized property value.
The tax levy included in the 2014 budget was for the same amount as 2013 and 2012 with a $49,750 adjustment for new construction in the city. Pieroni said the city will use $213,421 of fund balance to ensure a balanced budget. City revenues were listed as $8.13 million while expenses totaled $8.34 million.
Among the goals Pieroni listed for the 2014 budget are to:
• Reduce reliance on debt issuance;
• Restructure to improve operational efficiencies and reduce costs;
• Implement a performance-based compensation plan;
• Enhance internal communications;
• Revitalize downtown;
• Recruit and retain business;
• Establish a team to develop a long-term plan for providing quality public safety services; and
• Enhance property maintenance enforcement.
The budget includes the continuation of Tax Incremental District No. 5 for the downtown but no revenues or expenditures are expected in 2014. The city continues to remain committed to a conservative approach to funding projects in the TIF on a cash basis.
The budget covers all operating costs of Delbrook Golf Course, absorbs a $60,197 loss in state aid for road projects and decreases the city’s reliance on debt.
Personnel expenditures include transitioning from two part-time positions to one full-time supervisory position in the Park and Recreation Department and the addition of four sworn officers to help serve the Village of Darien.
There were no questions or comments from the public about the budget.
Sewer rates to rise
The council approved an ordinance designed to allow the city to recover all of the costs it is charged by the Walworth County Metropolitan Sewerage District. DeWitt said WalCoMet has been charging the city more than what the city has been allowed to recover from users since 2007. The new ordinance will allow the city to recover those costs instead of putting the city utility into debt.
“We can’t continue to do that,” DeWitt said.
The result will be an increase in the city sewer rate. An average customer using 1,000 cubic feet of waste will see an increase of $9.37 per quarter.
“We can all say we don’t want to pay increases, but we have no choice,” DeWitt said.
The ordinance allows the city to develop rates based on what the city anticipates it will be billed by WalCoMet in the upcoming fiscal year. The ordinance also provides for the city to recoup or return money if there is a difference between what is collected and what is needed.
Monument restoration
Ken Wargo, chairman of the Civil War Monument Restoration Committee, reported to the council that the committee reached its fundraising goal of $20,000 and much work has been completed in restoring the monument in Spring Grove Cemetery. Wargo said the monument has a new foundation and the new star-shaped walkways are nearly complete as the project surpassed its 26-month anniversary.
“This is an important project for the community and our veterans,” Wargo said a day after Veteran’s Day. “It gives Spring Grove Cemetery an important lifeline, and it refocuses the values of the community.”
Wargo said the community has stepped up to help clean up the cemetery and repair damage caused by vandals.
Wargo also proposed a new project and asked for city help to make it happen. He said the road from the cemetery’s entrance to the monument is in very poor condition and should be replaced and renamed “Freedom Road.”
“It is long overdue,” he said. “It is an artery to the community.”
Wargo said the project should be a public project or money could be raised through fundraising.
Mayor Mel Nieuwenhuis agreed the road is in bad shape and directed the Public Works department and committee to look into the cost and feasibility of the project. He said the funds for the Spring Grove Association are quite limited.
