Grafton town will ask voters for $125,000 in fall referendum Funds would be used for road improvements By Melanie Boyung - News Graphic Staff GRAFTON — Under the recently finalized town of Grafton referendum, residents could see a rise in their taxes of up to 25cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. The board of supervisors settled on asking for $125,000 in the referendum. For a taxpayer, this would mean an approximate increase of $62.50 a year for a $250,000 home or $75 a year for a $300,000 home. The town board has spent the past several months planning the referendum that will be on the ballot this fall, which they are hoping will help fund roadwork needed in the town of Grafton. The town has 42 miles of roads and a current roads budget of $400,000. According to a study the town undertook several years ago, roads should be maintained on a cycle where any given road is redone every 20 to 25 years; the current budget only allows for about 1 mile each year – about $170,000, according to board discussion – with the rest of the budget going to necessary repairs and routine maintenance. “It (roads) is probably the single most common request we get from residents,” said Supervisor Karron Stockwell. “It’s the residents coming in and asking us to repair the road.” The referendum is designed to increase the road budget by increasing the tax levy and mill rate of town residents. There are state laws limiting how much the town can levy in the normal course of things, board members said, but passing the referendum would allow them to exceed it with resident approval. “Our property values are based on good, solid residential value,” said town Chairman Lester Bartel. “Good infrastructure, like roads, are part of what keeps our value up.” Bartel said 90 percent or more of town property is residential, with little remaining area taken up by businesses. The meeting last week included discussion on several target amounts for how much the town wished to raise the levy, and the impact it would have on citizens. There were suggestions for both $100,000 and $170,000. “It makes sense to keep with the pattern you’re on now, bump it by 50 to 70 percent,” town Engineer Matt Clementi told the board of supervisors. Several of the supervisors supported $170,000, which would be enough to about double the amount of road length completely redone each year and place the roads on a 20-year cycle instead of the 42-year cycle town roads are on now. Bartel argued for $100,000, saying they didn’t need to do it all at once, and making the financial request so large decreased chances of residents approving the referendum. “Over a five-year period, I think this is going to put us where we need to be,” Bartel said. Others worried about shortfalls. “I want it to pass, but I don’t want us back in four or five years asking for more again,” Supervisor Tom Sykora said. The decision on the referendum is final, as the paperwork to get it on November’s ballot must be filed by Aug. 27. The vote was 3-1, with Bartel dissenting and Tom Grabow absent.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 12:10:46 +0000
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