Dorchester OK’s 2025 budget with 33% tax increase

By Nathaniel Underwood

Dorchester’s village board approved the 2025 budget and tax levy at its most recent November board meeting.

Overall expenses increased 28.7 percent from the 2024 budget, going from approximately $871,000 to $1.21 million in 2025. The property tax levy saw a corresponding increase, going from about $396,000 in 2024 to approximately $529,000 in 2025, an increase of 33.4 percent.

While much of the budget remained the same from prior years, two key items led to the increase in the budget. The public works department saw its street repairs budget increase from $45,000 to $165,000, and a general obligation debt of $85,000 will be used for tax-incremental district (TID) paybacks.

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With $150,000 from a one-year loan being dedicated towards street projects in 2025, the $235,000 between the two items is part of a 10year repayment plan the village will be entering into.

With the termination of two TIDs, the final accounting found that there was an excess balance of tax increment collected, which means that TIDs 1 and 2 took in more revenue than what was spent. While not uncommon for the closure of TIDs, there is a portion of that balance that is allocated to each acting jurisdiction (Colby School District, Clark County and Northcentral Technical College) which the village holds onto and pays back when the TID terminates.

However, over the decades-long lifespans of TIDs 1 and 2, this money was likely viewed as surplus and was used to supplement the general fund budget for various projects over the years.

The village is now required to pay back the other jurisdictions, but with the money collected already spent, the board had to decide how best to do that. One option would be to pay the jurisdictions with cash on hand, but that was deemed as potentially dangerous to the future financial health of the village. The other option was to look at borrowing options, which the board opted for.

While payments for the loan will not begin until 2026, the board was advised to bridge the gap year with a potential project and then put some funds aside to begin the repayment process, which will lessen the spike in taxes when the loan payments begin.

While the one-year loan for 2025 offset the money set aside for planned street repairs and the TID payback, other cuts had to be made elsewhere to balance the budget. The most significant cut came from public works capital outlays, which went from $42,000 in 2024 to $14,000 in 2025. An adjustment to the police contract with Clark County and a lower bill from Central Fire & EMS also led to public safety expenses dropping from $231,000 to $220,000 in 2025.

While the 2025 budget included the usual 3 percent raises for all village staff, the general fund expenditures decreased overall, going from $147,109 in 2024 to $145,527 in 2025 due to cuts across the board.