Menomonee Falls Village Board approves budget, slight levy increase

The Menomonee Falls Village Board on Monday approved a 0.95 percent increase to the property tax levy for the 2013 budget.

The 2011 tax rate was $5.1947 per $1,000 of assessed value; the 2012 rate has been set at $5.1997 per $1,000 of assessed value. The total levy for the 2013 budget is $21,915,109, which reflects a $205,589 increase, or a 0.947 percent rise from last year's levy of $21,709,520. The 2013 general operating budget also increased 0.9 percent.

Fees and utility rates will remain the same in 2013.

"This year, with very minimal increase in the tax rate, the direct impact to citizens is minimal," said Village Manager Mark Fitzgerald. "We think in this economy, it would have made no sense to do anything radically different."

Since 2006, the total tax increase for a property valued at $250,000 was $29. For homes assessed at $250,000 and less, the 2013 budget reflects a tax increase of about $1.

To help balance the budget, there are 10 fewer positions going into 2013. To counteract that, the village is issuing more service contracts, an expenditure that is slightly more in the 2013 budget, Fitzgerald said.

"There will be no switch in service level or noticeable changes to service that citizens would see out in the street," he said.

Under state statutes, municipalities can raise a levy based on the rate of new construction, which is reflected in the Menomonee Falls' 2013 budget. The village saw $43 million in new construction and had the eighth largest amount of new construction in the state. Fitzgerald said the village also lost $12 million in value. This equates to the 0.95 percent increase.