Colfax reviews revenue and expense budget of $1.32 million for 2024
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax Village Board — or rather, the audit and finance committee, which is a committee of the whole board — has reviewed a revenue and expense budget of $1,323,242 for 2024.
While the general revenue and expense will likely stay the same, the budget has to be adjusted to account for a $75,000 increase in health insurance premiums, said Lynn Niggemann, village administrator-clerk-treasurer, at a meeting held November 29.
The 2024 budget of $1,323,242 compares to the 2023 budget of $1,307,219, representing an increase of $16,023.
Revenue for the 2024 budget includes an increase in state shared revenue from $276,271 to $331,512, representing an increase of $55,241.
Property taxes for the 2024 budget are listed at $688,640, compared to $730,695 for the 2023 budget, representing a decrease of $42,055.
The 2024 budget for administration is listed at $186,770, compared to a budget of $193,720 for 2023, representing a decrease of $6,950.
The 2024 budget for the police department is listed at $226,950, compared to a budget of $219,750 for 2023, representing an increase of $7,200.
The 2023 budget had the amount of $127,130 for fire protection and contains $132,663 in 2024, representing an increase of $5,553.
The Colfax Community Fire District approved the same amount in property tax levy that has been assessed for the last 10 years.
Any differences in the amount assessed to the municipalities — Village of Colfax, Town of Colfax, Town of Grant and Town of Otter Creek — will be due to changes in equalized value.
The amount in the 2024 budget for the per capita for the Colfax Rescue Squad, which has a total budget of $594,623 for 2024, is $43,901, compared to $32,777 in 2023, representing an increase of $11,124 for the Village of Colfax.
The per capita for the Colfax Rescue Squad is increasing to allow the ambulance service to hire more full-time EMTs so that the director of the Colfax Rescue Squad, Don Knutson, does not end up working over 100 hours per week.
Ambulance services across Wisconsin and around the nation are experiencing difficulty in being able to hire enough part-time EMTs to provide the coverage needed for the service area.
The budget amount for solid waste and recycling for 2024 is $55,300 compared to $58,436 for 2023, representing a decrease of $3,136.
The solid waste and recycling fee also is per capita, and the Colfax Solid Waste & Recycling Committee reduced the amount of revenue needed for 2024 since there is a sufficient amount set aside to replace equipment if needed, which reduced the per capita by about $3.
The amount for debt service in the 2024 budget is $62,800, compared to $77,721 in 2023, representing a decrease of $14,921.
The decrease in the debt service amount is due to the village being able to pay off a certain amount of debt.
A public hearing on the 2024 budget will be held December 7 at 6 p.m. at the Colfax Village Hall at 613 Main Street.
