Politics & Government

Woodbury Plans No Levy Increase For 2012

The City Council went through its first major budget workshop on Wednesday night.

Woodbury will not see a levy increase in 2012.

The City Council on Wednesday went through its proposed 2012 budget during a five-hour workshop at the newly expanded .

The flat property tax levy marks the lowest increase for the city in two decades, City Administrator Clint Gridley said.

Find out what's happening in Woodburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The proposed general fund expenditures would increase 3.6 percent to $27.1 million in 2012, bringing the overall budget to just over $64.4 million.

Property taxes, at $19.8 million, account for 73 percent of the general fund revenues—an increase of $910,255 from 2011. Other sources of revenue include permit fees from new home and business construction, charges for services, miscellaneous revenues and transfers from other funds, according to a city memo.

Find out what's happening in Woodburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The city is proposing only one rate increase for next year—7 percent to EMS ambulance service, mostly due to an increased workload for staff regarding paperwork requests from law firms. A proposed fee increase for residential water was shot down and the city will look into charging commercial properties more.

For a detailed looks at the city’s revenues and expenditures, check out the PDF with this story.

The council will discuss the budget again in September to set the preliminary tax rate, which can only be lowered from that point. It’s expected the city will finalize the levy and budget at its Dec. 14 meeting.

While council members examined nearly every dollar that will be spent in 2012, they managed to keep things light during the long meeting, often joking with the many staffers in attendance. (Councilman Paul Rebholz said his Packers tickets have the Lombardi Trophy on them.)


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