Posted: Jan. 3, 2010

Muskego — Property tax bills are out and taxpayers wanting to pay their property taxes before the end of the year lined up every day at the treasurer's office at the Muskego City Hall. Nearly all taxpayers saw a 2.7 percent overall increase in their property tax rate from last year. The 2010 rate is $16.07 per $1,000 of assessed value. That is 42 cents more per $1,000 than the 2009 rate of $15.65 per $1,000.

The few property tax payers in the Mukwonago School District, however, are paying less than those in the Muskego-Norway District. The tax rate on properties in the Mukwonago District is $14.38 per $1,000 of assessed value for 2010. While lower than the Muskego-Norway rate, it is 5.7 percent higher than in 2009. The increase is driven by a 7.5 percent increase in the property tax just for the Mukwonago schools. The total property tax rate is the sum of several tax rates, including separate rates for the schools, the city, vocational schools, Waukesha County and the state.

Despite the 5.7 percent increase from 2009, the Mukwonago school tax of $8.50 for 2010 is lower than the Muskego-Norway School District rate of $10.19 per $1,000.

The various tax rates per $1,000 of assessed value that make up the total tax bill are $10.19 for the Muskego-Norway schools, $4.41 for the city, $1.85 for Waukesha County, $1.15 for WCTC and 17 cents for the state.

That adds up to a gross tax rate of $17.77 per $1,000. But the state tax credit of $1.70 per $1,000 brings the net rate down to $16.07.

Of the five taxing units, the highest increase was for the Mukwonago schools, followed by a 3.6 percent increase for WCTC, 2.8 percent for the county, 1.6 percent for the city of Muskego, and no increase for the state.

 

- Jane Ford-Stewart