Village of Sussex Raises Tax Levy in 2012, Public Hearing Announced
With the 2012 village budget complete, Sussex announces a public hearing slated for next Tuesday where residents can get one final word in.
Sussex is proposing to raise the tax levy nearly $200,000 in 2012, meaning a big impact on homeowners in the village.
The increase would equal a $47.45 increase in taxes for the owner of a $290,000 home.
The tax hike comes after multiple budget workshops where officials added new items to the financial plan, like increases in elected officials’ pay and compensation for losses in revenue.
The village also added several more items totaling almost $64,000 of the levy, including money for more senior recreation programs, weed control in neighborhood islands and a Parks and Recreation brochure that will be mailed to neighboring communities.
The proposed levy in 2012 is $5.3 million, a 3.72 percent increase over last year.
Now it’s time for Sussex residents to voice their comments about the budget. On Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m., Sussex will hold a public hearing at Village Hall to hear any statements or concerns.
However, although the village increased the levy, Village Administrator Jeremy Smith says he expects the overall budget to reduce taxes by almost $20. Taxes collected by the Hamilton School District are slated to decrease by almost four percent, meaning it would cover the village’s increase.
The complete budget can be found on the village website.
In This article
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Sussex Parks and Recreation Department
W240 N5765 Maple Ave, Sussex, WI -
Sussex Village Hall
N64w23760 Main St, Sussex, WI (Parking and entrance at rear of building.) -
Hamilton School District
W220n6151 Town Line Rd, Sussex, WI (Use main high school entrance; district offices to the right (north).) -
Joseph
9:41 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
So just because taxes are going down due to Act 10 means the Village thinks it is a good idea to raise taxes for other things? What is all this money being spent on? I would love to see a detailed report of what they think they need to spend my money on.
Andy Ambrosius
10:44 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
Joseph, the list is SO long (about 100 pages), so that's why I just linked to it on the village website rather than outlined everything the money is being spent on. I just listed a few new things in the article that seemed interesting, like wage increases, weed control and senior citizen programs.
The money goes towards paying back debt, paying salaries, budgets for things like cutting grass in the parks, maintaining buildings, utilities bills, etc. You'd be surprised at how easy it is to spend that much money.
Joseph
10:55 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
I rarely click on links in articles. Thanks for letting me know. It looks like I have some reading to do.
Pete
12:59 pm on Thursday, November 10, 2011
If they dont spend money they dont have debt to pay back. This board never looks to reduce spending, all they want to do is spend money like its not theirs. oops wait a minute its not their money. If I ran my household or business budget like these people run the village, i would unemployeed and homeless.
Andy Ambrosius
1:12 pm on Thursday, November 10, 2011
Pete, is there something specific in the village that you think Sussex is wasting taxpayer money on?
Pete
7:15 pm on Thursday, November 10, 2011
Well, there is talk of a $20,000 speed bump. How about a pay and benefit cut for village employees and a pay cut for the board instead of an increase. Its time for all forms of government reduce spending not increase it. The parks brochure, does the village get any revenue from this mailing to the surrounding municipalities?
Funding of needed senior programs is fine but at a time of high unemployment and less disposable income is a time to live within your means not raise taxes. Andy, do you represent the village? You seem to always defend their spending habits. If politics is your ultimate goal maybe some place like the Peoples Republic of Madison would be more suited to you.
Andy Ambrosius
10:15 am on Friday, November 11, 2011
Pete, is the speed bump you're talking about on Ivy Street? I think I remember the board looking into putting one there a few months ago.
Also, I don't think my writing supports the village. I try to remain as unbiased as possible when writing my stories, and I apologize if you feel there is some sort of unbalance to my stories. Please let me know if you'd be interested in blogging for our site as an opinion writer. You seem very passionate about the village's spending habits, and I'd be happy to welcome you aboard.
Joseph
2:44 pm on Friday, November 11, 2011
Speed bumps don't slow anyone down (well, anyone that knows how shocks actually work). The faster you go over them, the less you feel them.