St. Croix County Board approves $114 million budget for 2022, $37.7 million tax levy
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
HUDSON — The St. Croix County Board has approved a budget of $113.7 million for 2022 and a property tax levy of $37.7 million.
The budget of $113,728,502 for next year approved at the November 1 meeting compares to a budget of $106,944,023 for 2021, representing an increase of $6,734,479.
The property tax levy of $37,711,390 represents a 1.41 percent increase over the 2021 levy, and includes an increase of $663,256 for the operating levy, a decrease of $80,543 in the debt service levy and a decrease of $59,788 for the special purpose levy, resulting in a total increase in the property tax levy of $522,925.
St. Croix County’s equalized value has increased, and net new construction is up by 2.2 percent, said Ken Witt, county administrator.
The county’s net new construction is the fourth highest in the state, he said.
The most recent census results also show that St. Croix County’s population has increased and is now 93,150 residents, and the county is the second-fastest growing county in the state, only behind Dane County, Witt said.
The increases in population and equalized value are “good news” from a financial standpoint but from a service demand standpoint, the county has more citizens expecting services, he said.
“There a good and a bad side to growth,” Witt said.
Although the net new construction does represent a decrease over the past several years, it has still resulted in a $660,000 increase in operating levy that is allowed by the state’s levy limit law, he said.
The 2022 budget includes $6.7 million in new revenue sources, which will cover a $1.2 million increase in health insurance premiums and salary increases for county employees, $500,000 for new positions and a $500,000 increase in personnel costs for the sheriff’s department, Witt said.
The property tax levy accounts for about one-third of the budget’s revenue sources, he noted.
The health insurance increase of 5.6 percent is “good news” because the average in health insurance increases has been between 8 and 9 percent, Witt said.
St. Croix County is switching to self-funded dental insurance, which will be administered by Delta Dental, he said.
Wages and benefits account for about 49 percent of the budget, debt service is about 5 percent of the budget, and the majority of the remaining budget is services for county residents, he said.
New positions
The 2022 budget started out with 15 requests for new positions, but the final budget has 3.37 new positions, which includes one new position in the Clerk of Courts office, four new positions in justice services, offset by a reduction of three positions in corrections, and a .37 child support position, Witt said.
An additional social worker was needed because of an increase in child placement, a fiscal associate has been added to the health and human services administration to help with grant reporting, and one facilities position has been contracted out, he said.
If the union contract is approved for the sheriff’s department, deputies will be going to a 12-hour shift rather than the current eight-hour shifts, Witt said.
Under a regular eight-hour shift, people work 2,080 hours per year, but with a 12-hour shift, the number of hours worked per year increases to 2,184. Full-time equivalency is measured by 2,080 hours per year, but with with 12-hour shifts, the sheriff’s department will be able to have more hours of coverage, he said.
The increase in hours adds $250,000 to the budget, but changing to 12-hour shifts add hours for coverage by the sheriff’s office without adding more people, Witt said.
The county’s nursing home does not require tax levy to cover increases in staff because the nursing home charges for services and covers expenses, he said.
The remaining position requests would have required money from the tax levy, and with the levy law limit, there is no more capacity in the tax levy, Witt said.
Mill rate
The mill rate for the 2022 budget will be $3.11 per $1,000 of property value, representing a 6.2 percent decrease in the mill rate, Witt said.
The record low mill rate in St. Croix County was $3.02 per $1,000 of property value in 2007, he noted.
Witt also noted that a 6.2 percent decrease in the mill rate does not mean county taxpayers will see a 6.2 percent decrease in their property taxes.
St. Croix County accounts for 20 percent of a tax bill, and whether an individual property owner’s taxes increase, decrease or stay relatively the same depends on the municipality where they live, he said.
A general rule of thumb is when the equalized value increases, the mill rate decreases.
The mill rate of $3.11 compares to a mill rate last year of $3.32 per $1,000 of property value, and St. Croix County has had an increase of 8.11 percent in the equalized value, Witt said.
Amendment
Bob Feidler, county board supervisor for District 9, offered a budget amendment similar to an amendment the St. Croix County Board had approved last year to transfer 1.4 percent of the unassigned fund balance to debt service, which would decrease the property taxes by 1 percent.
Feidler said he would make a motion for the budget amendment “if the administration feels it is appropriate.”
Transferring the money would be “legal” to do and would have no impact on the levy limit, Witt said.
If the county uses cash resources to avoid debt, that would reduce the mill rate from $3.11 to $3.07, a reduction of 4 cents per $1,000 of property value, while the cost to taxpayers to borrow the money is 5 cents, he said.
The 1-cent difference between using cash resources and borrowing the money would be a $2 difference on the property taxes for a property valued at $200,000.
Using cash resources to pay off debt and reduce the mill rate is a “political decision,” Witt said, adding that he would recommend using cash differently.
Using cash provides “instant gratification,” but borrowing for capital improvements is a better use of the money in the long run, he said.
The St. Croix County Board approved the 2022 budget of $113,728,502 and the levy of $37,711,390 on a vote of 16 “yes” to three “no.”
The county board supervisors who voted no were Bob Long, Paul Berning and Judy Achterhof.
Budget amounts
Here are the expenses listed for 2022 budget:
• General government — $15.2 million.
• Public Safety — $15.5 million.
• Education and Recreation — $2.3 million.
• Conservation and Development — $3.3 million.
• Health and Human Services — $25.1 million.
• Nursing home fund — $8.9 million.
• Highway and bridges — $18.5 million.
• Capital improvements — $6.4 million.
• Internal service funds — $12.8 million.
• Debt service fund — $5.7 million.
The total property tax levy includes $30.86 million for the county operating levy, $5.72 million for the debt service levy and $1.13 million for the special purpose levies.
