Abby council takes closer look at 2025 budget

By Kevin O’Brien

After accepting an 8.7 percent hike in health insurance premiums and factoring in raises approved earlier this month, the Abbotsford City Council last week reviewed a revised budget proposal with a 4.5 increase in revenues and expenditures.

City administrator Josh Soyk went over the proposed budget at the council’s Oct. 17 meeting, with the document remaining largely the same as when it was first presented on Oct. 7. Soyk pointed out a few line items that had changed since the budget was first unveiled, including a $4,500 increase for liability and property insurance in case premiums increase by more than expected.

Once raises were approved for next year, Soyk said he still had about $28,000 to allocate in the budget, so he bumped up line items for parks, cemetery maintenance and overtime pay for public works employees to prepare for extra hours spent on snowplowing.

“That’s something we can’t account for,” he said. “We have no idea how much snow we’re going to get.”

Soyk also continued to budget for a “worst-case scenario” in Clark County library funding, which could drop by thousands of dollars next year under a proposal being considered by the county board. To accommodate for this loss in county funding, the city is prepared to increase its contribution to the library by over $37,000 (12 percent), up to nearly $106,000 next year.

Under its current budget for next year, the library is expecting Clark County’s contribution to drop by about $17,700, but the ultimate funding level won’t be decided by the county board until its Nov. 7 meeting. The funding cut would be the result of a change in the rate of reimbursement for items checked out to Marathon County residents, which would plummet from an average of 70 percent to just 25 under a proposal by the county’s Finance Committee.

If the county board ends up increasing its library contribution for next year, Soyk said the council can always pass a budget amendment to reallocate that money elsewhere in the budget.

On the revenue side of the general fund budget, the total amount of property taxes to be collected by the city will drop by $807, to $936,071, due to Wisconsin Act 12, which exempted all personal property from taxes. The state agreed to compensate for the loss of revenue with additional aid, which equates to about $33,400 more for Abbotsford next year.

Abbotsford will also see its transportation aid increase by 15 percent, up to $335,634, and its shared revenue is estimated to jump by $13,500, up to $602,734. When combined, the hikes in transportation aid and shared revenue account for more than half of the city’s overall revenue increase.

One portion of next year’s budget that is a little uncertain is the municipal court, which was expanded to cover the city of Colby starting next year. Soyk projected the revenue from fines and forfeitures to basically double in 2025, up to $81,000, because of all the citations issued in Colby (the neighboring city will cover the entire increase in wages for the judge and clerk of courts).

“So, being year one, it’s kind of a shot in the dark,” he said. “We’re kind of basing it on how many fines Colby issued last year, and the average fine being around $100 to $110.”

The council is slated to vote on publishing the proposed general fund budget at its Nov. 4 meeting, after which it will be printed in the Tribune-Phonograph for two weeks before it is considered for adoption in December.

Soyk also briefly reviewed the city’s water and sewer utility funds, which will fluctuate based on revenue from outside sources, including loans for rehabilitating the water tower and adding two new wells and federal aid for sewer line replacements.

With tax revenue from the city’s TIF districts available to pay for sewer and water projects, Soyk said the city has not had to raise its rates in recent years. He noted that revenues for TIF district 6, which includes the new apartments on the northwest corner of the city, have increased by 11 percent due to new construction.

Other business

■ ■ The council voted to switch its health insurance plan from Premier HMO to Enrich HMO, which Soyk said will limit the two employees on the plan to Marshfield Clinic instead of allowing them to also use Aspirus Hospitals. If the city had stayed with its current plan, the premiums would have jumped by nearly 25 percent next year, but by switching plans, the increase will be 8.7 percent – about $2,800 for the city’s share. Soyk said both employees on the plan were OK with the switch, which will keep the deductibles at $1,000 for individuals and $3,000 for families.

■ ■ Soyk told the council that an appeals court has upheld a Marathon County Circuit Court decision to award the city $133,084 from Chelt Development, the owner of the East Town Mall. The judgment stems from a lawsuit filed by the city in 2019 after the company failed to pay back a loan taken out by the city in 2010 for improvements at the mall that never fully materialized.

Soyk said the only option left for the owner of Chelt Development is to file a request for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to review the case.

“If he doesn’t, it’s a done deal,” he said.

■ ■ Soyk said the public works crew has been working on leaf pickup and laying out the footprint for pickleball courts to be installed at HK Christensen Park.

■ ■ Accountant Lucas Dorn of Johnson Block presented the city’s 2023 audit report, which showed a net increase of $314,000 in the city’s fund balance, up to $783,778 at the end of last year. Dorn said this represents 43 percent of the city’s total annual operating budget, or five months worth of expenses, which is well within the range recommended by auditors. Dorn also noted that the city has 61 percent of its general fund debt capacity available.

■ ■ In response to one of the auditor’s recommendations, Soyk said he applies for a simplified water rate increase every year from the Public Service Commission, but the city does not currently qualify based on its revenues and expenditures.