By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
With the countdown to actual adoption fast approaching, Whitewater officials continue to go through the city’s 2015 budget with a fine-tooth comb.
At a meeting Nov. 6, the Common Council looked through several components of the proposed budget, which hovers around $9.47 million. The departments reviewed included fire and rescue service, the city’s cable TV operation, neighborhood services and planning and each of the tax incremental financing (TIF) districts.
Aside from the scrutiny and contention concerning the city’s investment in Janesville Transit Service’s bus line (see related story), council members have been amenable to most of the provisions proposed by City Manager Cameron Clapper and other department heads.
If adopted, the proposed 2015 budget will clock in at $94,360 less than the version of the budget that was adopted in 2014.
“This budget is the result of the diligent efforts of city staff in striving to maintain very modest and responsible department budgets,” Clapper wrote in an introductory report in a 289-page document pertaining to the 2015 budget proposal.
During last week’s discussion of some of the specific issues within the budget, council members did wrangle briefly on the possibility of bringing a newly created position — a full-time administrative position — into the fold at the Community Development Authority (CDA).
But most of the other specific components of the budget have been reviewed without any major discussion.
In a big picture sense, the property tax levy is expected to rise next year. As with all municipalities across the state, however, Whitewater has constraints on the rate of increase. Madison lawmakers have capped it at the rate of new construction.
Next year, Clapper said he anticipates adding $26,066 in levy dollars to Whitewater’s 2015 budget.
While the city is finding a few new revenue sources, including the additional taxation, Clapper laid out some of the ongoing challenges, including rising costs for existing services.
The council is expected to hold a public hearing on the budget next Tuesday, Nov. 18, before acting on the document.
