Posted: Nov. 13, 2009 |(0) Comments

Muskego — On a 5-2 vote, the Muskego Common Council approved an operating budget for 2010 last week.calling for a 2.64 percent property tax levy increase for city services. The increase means the owner of a home assessed at $300,000 would pay $22 more next year, officials said.

Aldermen Neil Borgman and Kert Harenda did not agree with the majority on the council that the budget could not be pushed down further.

With so many people out of work, with salaries frozen or reduced, Borgman said, "This is not the time when a government should be piling on."

Even if the increase is only $22, another property taxing unit could take another $22 and another, and those $22 increases start adding up fast, Borgman said.

Aldermen wanted wage concessions

The city should have pushed the unions harder for concessions, he said.

Harenda agreed, saying that he had suggested wage freezes and furloughs, but the council discussed but rejected both.

But Alderman Noah Fiedler who voted for the budget said, "This isn't what I wanted, but it's a reasonable budget. We can only cut so much and I think we're there or nearly there."

Cutting more will impact services, he said.

Fiedler said he is willing to pay $22 more to make sure the roads continue to be well plowed.

"When I cross the city line and go to Franklin or New Berlin all of a sudden there is snow and ice on the road," Fiedler said.

Alderwoman Tracy Snead said that people in her district have told her they want their city services.

Mayor John Johnson has said that making more cuts would affect service significantly.

The city has budgeted responsibly, he said, keeping the 2010 operating budget basically the same as it was in 2009 and actually lower than the 2008 operating budget.

"So spending isn't the problem, it's the revenue," he said. "We're not getting the money in."

As to pushing for concessions from unions, the mayor said the city was making a tactical move in granting raises next year of 1 percent in January and another 1 percent in July. It was done to set the stage for 2011 negotiations when chances are better for meaningful concessions, Johnson said.

The 2010 operating budget is $16.4 million. The total levy for all city services is $11.8 million, compared with $11.5 million this year. A tax rate increase of 1.69 percent is expected, bringing the tax rate for city purposes to $4.41 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Cuts have been uniform

Before the Common Council vote, Johnson responded to some of the criticisms that buffeted the council at the public hearing on the budget.

One was that staff reductions have not been uniformly made.

But Johnson said in the two years that the reductions have occurred, all the departments without exception have been affected.

The city's $9,000 support of the Muskego festival parade also came under fire at the hearing.

But Johnson said the city donates the money for the festival parade in lieu of a Fourth of July parade. And the city's support is crucial for the festival.

"Without the city, there would be no parade," he said.

Johnson also said the $9,000 is small compared to what many other communities spend on their Fourth of July celebrations.