Village of Greendale Conducts Budget Work Sessions

The owner of an average home in Greendale can expect to pay approximately $22 more next year on their property taxes, according to the recommended 2012 Greendale Village Budget.

That figure is one of the numbers being looked at by the village board as they conduct work sessions on the budget for the upcoming year.

The board met on October 25 at the village hall to review Village Manager Todd Michael's proposed budget.

The overall budget shows an increase of seven percent over last year, from $13,125,079 to $14,045,708. In preparing the budget report, Michaels indicated this increase is primarily due to additional debt service payments funded by the new .

He went on to say that from the outset, the Village was facing a difficult budget year with extraordinary downward pressures affecting the United States economy. However, he says he is pleased that despite the difficult scenarios, the recommended budget meets the goals of using the minimum amount of fund balance necessary to maintain the existing services residents expect.

Other highlights of the budget include:

• a 9.93% decrease in Assessed Value while decreasing the tax levy by .27% from last year’s total. The combination makes the 2012 Recommended Budget Assessed Tax Rate increase by 75-cents (10.8%) from roughly $6.97 to $7.72 per $1,000 of Assessed Value. Assuming that the assessment on an average Greendale home decreased by approximately 8.4% in 2011, the Budget’s impact on that home will mean that their Village taxes will increase by $21.81 to $1,554.11 from $1,532.30 last year.
• Including the revisions in taxes and fees, the 2012 Budget projects the total cost for Village services to a $201,373 assessed home to be $1,663.19. This is a $22.75 (1.39%) increase for the same home last year. The 2012 Budget represents a monthly cost of $138.60/month to cover all Village service costs (except Water and Sewer Utilities) including police, fire, garbage collection, curbside recycling, stormwater, snow plowing, street lighting, etc.
• No services or service levels are decreased in the 2012 Recommended Budget.
• This Budget includes only 1% inflationary increases in wages and a 12% health insurance co-pay for Village employees. Most Village employees received no wage increase for 2011. If the wage and benefit goals are not reached through collective bargaining, the Village will very likely have to consider other options during 2012 including a hiring freeze, furloughs or other cost saving measures.

The next Committee of the Whole meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 27 at 6:30pm at the .

The board will review additional budget items including a request by the Greendale Police Department for a new records management system. The department has indicated that the current records management system is out-dated and that it is the last agency in Milwaukee County using the dated system.

Additional upcoming budget-related meetings include:

• A Finance Committee Public Hearing on Monday, November 28.
• Board Adoption Meeting on December 6.