Colfax approves total tax levy of $496,147 with mill rate of $20.98
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax Village Board has approved a total property tax levy for the 2024 budget of $496,147 with an overall mill rate of $20.98 per $1,000 of property value.
The village board held a public hearing on the 2024 budget the evening of December 7, although no members of the public attended the hearing to comment on the budget or to ask questions.
Jeff Prince, village president, kept the public hearing open for nearly 20 minutes to see if anyone from the public would attend, and during that time, the village board also discussed various aspects of the budget.
Following a closed session meeting December 4, the Colfax Village Board approved pay raises for village employees of 6 percent, with larger increases going to police patrol officers and to the police chief.
Colfax Police Chief William Anderson had presented a wage study to the village board showing that Colfax ranked 105th out of 107 agencies in terms of starting pay for patrol officers at $22 per hour.
The police chief also presented job listings for police chiefs and had contacted local police chiefs for wage information.
Starting salaries for police chiefs ranged from $30 per hour to $40, and the wages paid to local police chiefs ranged from $33 to $37.56 per hour.
Police Chief Anderson has been on the job in the Colfax for nearly 10 years and is making $28.15 per hour.
The 2024 budget that the Colfax Village Board approved December 7 had been adjusted to reflect the increase in pay for village employees and the police department.
Revenue and expenses
The revenue and expense budget of $1,323,242 for 2024 published in the budget summary with the public hearing notice compares to a budget of $1,326,685 approved by the Colfax Village Board following the public hearing.
Revenue limits set by state law allowed Colfax a budget levy of $490,564, which compares to the levy approved for the 2024 budget of $496,147.
Colfax has $5,583 in property tax levy carryover from previous years, said Lynn Niggemann, village administrator-clerk-treasurer.
In other words, the property tax levied in previous years was nearly $5,600 less than allowed by state law.
“This would be a good year to use it,” Niggemann said.
The four members of the village board who attended the budget meeting unanimously approved using the prior year unused levy of $5,583 for the 2024 budget.
Voting in favor of the motion were Jeff Prince, village president, and village trustees Margaret Burcham, Carey Davis and Jen Rud.
Absent from the meeting were village trustees Clint Best, Anne Jenson and Gary Stene.
Village levy
The property tax levy that will be paid by the residents in Colfax of $496,147 includes $324,329 for general village operation, along with $47,344 for the ambulance service received by the village, $16,674 for the public library, and $62,800 for debt payments with interest.
The total property tax levy of $547,246 includes a TID increment of $51,099 that will be paid by new development above the base value in the Tax Increment Finance districts.
Total levy
The total property tax levy that will be paid by properties in the village, including the properties located in the TIF districts, is $1,392,869.
In addition to the levy paid to the Village of Colfax of $547,246, Dunn County will collect $404,662, while the Colfax school district will collect $459,729 and Chippewa Valley Technical College will collect $55,779.
Adding the $5,583 in property tax levy carryover from previous years adds 4 cents per $1,000 to the property taxes paid by village residents, Niggemann said.
On a property valued at $300,000, that represents an increase of $12.
Mill rate
The mill rate for 2023 was $20.04 per $1,000 of property value, which compares to the mill rate of $20.98 for 2024, representing an increase of 94 cents per $1,000 of property value.
Based on a mill rate of $20.98 per $1,000 of property value, which includes all of the property taxes levied by the village, Dunn County, the Colfax school district and CVTC, according to information Niggemann provided to the village board, property taxes for the 2024 budget on a property valued at $80,000 in Colfax will be $1,679, compared to property taxes of $1,603 for the 2023 budget, representing an increase $76.
For a property valued at $80,000, property taxes for the 2024 budget of $1,889 compare to property taxes of $1,804 for 2023, representing an increase of $85.
For a property valued at $100,000, property taxes for the 2024 budget of $2,098 compare to property taxes of $2,004 for 2023, representing an increase of $94.
For a property valued at $120,000, property taxes for the 2024 budget of $2,515 compare to property taxes for 2023 of $2,405, representing an increase of $110.
For a property valued at $150,000, property taxes of $3,148 for 2024 compare to property taxes of $3,006 for 2023, representing an increase of $142.
For a property valued at $200,000, property taxes of $4,197 for 2024 compare to property taxes of $4,009 for 2023, representing an increase of $188.
Although a $300,000 property was not included in the chart, property taxes of $6,294 (based on a mill rate of $29.98) compare to property taxes of $6,012 for 2023 (based on a mill rate of $20.04), representing an increase of $282.
Enterprise funds
The Colfax Village Board also approved budgets for solid waste and recycling, the Colfax Rescue Squad and the sewer and water utilities.
The village board approved a budget of $323,633 for Colfax solid waste and recycling.
In addition to the Village of Colfax, the Towns of Colfax, Grant, Otter Creek, Tainter and Wilson, along with the Village of Elk Mound and the Towns of Elk Mound and Springbrook, are members of the Colfax Responsible Unit for solid waste and recycling.
The village’s expenses for solid waste for the 2024 budget are $20,300, which compares to $22,189 for 2023, representing a decrease of $1,889.
The village’s expenses for recycling for the 2024 budget are $35,000, which compares to $36,247 for 2023, representing a decrease of $1,247.
The Colfax Village Board approved a budget of $619,451 for the Colfax Rescue Squad, compared to $525,558 for the 2023 budget, representing an increase of $93,893.
The increase for the Colfax Rescue Squad is mostly related to hiring more full-time EMTs in an effort to make sure there are two EMTs on duty 24 hours per day.
The Colfax Village Board approved a budget of $285,640 for the water utility for 2024, which compares to a budget of $281,260 for 2023, representing an increase of $4,380.
The Colfax Village Board approved a budget of $233,078 for the sewer utility for 2024, which compares to a budget of $215,972 for 2023, representing an increase of $17,106.
