Marathon City increases taxes by 6.92 percent
Marathon City’s property tax rate will stay the same for 2023, but the village will collect $51,287 more in taxes next year due to $11 million in new construction this year.
The village board last week Wednesday approved a $1.8 million general fund budget with a total property tax levy of $915,631, an increase of 6.92 percent over this year. The mil rate will stay flat at $7.42 per thousand dollars of property value, or $742 on a $100,000 home.
According to a budget overview, the village’s total equalized property values have grown to over $201 million, with assessed value at around $156 million.
Village administrator Andy Kurtz told the board that a village-wide reassessment of property values is planned for 2024, to bring assessed values more in line with equalized values. The last reassessment was done in 2009.
Kurtz said state aids have mostly stayed the same or gone down, with the exception of transportation aid, which went up 3.72 percent this year, to about $140,000.
The budget packet outlines several priorities for 2023, including “continued residential and commercial growth of the village, focusing on infrastructure expansion north of STH 29.”
A pair of street projects are also included in the 2023 budget: resurfacing of Second Street and reconstruction of Third Street, from Chestnut to Pine Street.
The budget also includes a 5 percent wage increase for all full-time village employees, and a 4.62 percent hike in insurance premiums. Paid-on-call emergency medical responders will see their pay rate rise to $25 per call, and firefighters’ on-call rate will also go up to $25 per hour.
“Total compensation and benefits for personnel accounts for 31 percent of the total expenses of the 2023 budget,” the village budget document states.
At the beginning of 2023, the village will have $3.4 million in outstanding debt, with a total of $635,384 in debt payments planned for next year. By the end of next year, the village is projected to have $6 million in debt capacity remaining.
