Beaver Dam Budget Approved for Publication
10/28/09 - The Beaver Dam Administrative Committee last night approved the publication of an amended 2010 city budget. Deliberations on the budget will pick-up again Monday when the committee will discuss in closed session the fate of pay increases for non-union employees. Committee Chair Don Neuert says it’s important for city leaders to determine if the $67,000 in raises couldn’t be better spent somewhere else. The $13.7 million budget in its amended form includes a levy of $7.6 million, which is 4.9% higher than the current budget. The initial budget was over 12% higher, but in the past week, the mayor worked with department heads to trim another $557,000. The Police Department postponed equipment purchases of radars and video cameras totaling $16,000, the Fire Chief eliminated a new command vehicle saving over $32,000 and the Parks Department cut $15,000 for playground equipment. The budget is set to be considered for passage on the council floor in mid-November.
Hotel Tax Increase Put To Bed
10/28/09 - The city of Beaver Dam has abandoned plans to increase the hotel bed tax. The Community Development Committee last night discussed a 1% increase to generate revenue for local events like Lake Days, the Must-Skis and the Women’s Affiliate Craft Fair. In 2003, revenue in the Room Tax Fund started to dry-up after a contract change redirected hotel tax revenue to the Beaver Dam Area Development Corporation and the Chamber. Last December, the city all but depleted the diminishing account. After a short discussion last night, there was general agreement that any increase in the room tax, now at 5%, would be counter-productive. According to an interpretation of state statute by the Wisconsin Innkeepers Association, room tax revenue is not meant to fund local festivals, parades or fireworks displays. The restrictions haven’t been challenged in court yet, but committee member Phil Fritsche told the council that it’s no secret that the Association is eager to press the matter in court, and suggested that Beaver Dam not become a “test case.” The Association also says that using the room tax funds for an economic development entity, like for example the Beaver Dam Area Development Corp, is also improper. The city’s contract with the Development Corp does predate the Associations interpretation. The committee last night was in agreement that increasing the fund could also make the city vulnerable to a court challenge, putting a major funding source for the Development Corp in jeopardy.
10/28/09 - The Beaver Dam Administrative Committee last night approved the publication of an amended 2010 city budget. Deliberations on the budget will pick-up again Monday when the committee will discuss in closed session the fate of pay increases for non-union employees. Committee Chair Don Neuert says it’s important for city leaders to determine if the $67,000 in raises couldn’t be better spent somewhere else. The $13.7 million budget in its amended form includes a levy of $7.6 million, which is 4.9% higher than the current budget. The initial budget was over 12% higher, but in the past week, the mayor worked with department heads to trim another $557,000. The Police Department postponed equipment purchases of radars and video cameras totaling $16,000, the Fire Chief eliminated a new command vehicle saving over $32,000 and the Parks Department cut $15,000 for playground equipment. The budget is set to be considered for passage on the council floor in mid-November.
Hotel Tax Increase Put To Bed
10/28/09 - The city of Beaver Dam has abandoned plans to increase the hotel bed tax. The Community Development Committee last night discussed a 1% increase to generate revenue for local events like Lake Days, the Must-Skis and the Women’s Affiliate Craft Fair. In 2003, revenue in the Room Tax Fund started to dry-up after a contract change redirected hotel tax revenue to the Beaver Dam Area Development Corporation and the Chamber. Last December, the city all but depleted the diminishing account. After a short discussion last night, there was general agreement that any increase in the room tax, now at 5%, would be counter-productive. According to an interpretation of state statute by the Wisconsin Innkeepers Association, room tax revenue is not meant to fund local festivals, parades or fireworks displays. The restrictions haven’t been challenged in court yet, but committee member Phil Fritsche told the council that it’s no secret that the Association is eager to press the matter in court, and suggested that Beaver Dam not become a “test case.” The Association also says that using the room tax funds for an economic development entity, like for example the Beaver Dam Area Development Corp, is also improper. The city’s contract with the Development Corp does predate the Associations interpretation. The committee last night was in agreement that increasing the fund could also make the city vulnerable to a court challenge, putting a major funding source for the Development Corp in jeopardy.
Columbus Closer to Finalizing ’10 Budget
10/28/09 - Columbus Administrator Boyd Kraemer and the common council met last night to discuss what could be the final city budget figures for 2010. The public hearing on the budget will be held November 10th. Kraemer says Columbus is in an “enviable” position with a proposed tax levy of a little more than 3-million-dollars, which is a 6.4-percent increase over the 2009 levy. The proposed budget includes major facility improvements and staffing changes. Council member Roger Sneath said the budget reflected the council’s efforts to keep the City’s tax levy numbers out of the list of top taxing cities of similar size.
Horicon Preliminary Budget has $200K Deficit
10/28/09 - The preliminary budget for the city of Horicon is running a $200,000 deficit. City Clerk/Treasurer Dave Pasewald says the council will meet tomorrow to pour over the preliminary $3.3-million budget. He says as the years go on budgets are becoming leaner making it difficult to find areas where they can cut costs. The current budget was about $190,000 in the red at this time a year ago but the city used some of their fund balance to plug that hole.
Dodgeland Schools Mill Rate up More Than a Dollar
10/28/09 - The tax rate for Dodgeland School District residents will jump more than a dollar from 2008-2009 budget. That’s according to District Administrator Annette Thompson who say the rate will go from $11.73 to $12.75 per $1,000 of assessed value as part of the 2009-2010 budget. That means a resident with property valued at $175,000 would pay more than $2,200 for the school portion of their tax bill. Thompson listed a $157,000 decrease in state aid and property values not increasing at previous rates as reasons for the increase. The total budget approved by the board Monday was about $9.5-million with a tax levy of $4.3-million.
Panel Will Give Jeff Wood a Chance to Defend Himself
10/28/09 - The head of a new state committee promises to give Representative Jeff Wood a chance to defend himself, before it makes a recommendation on whether he should be expelled. Assembly Democrat Mary Hubler (hue’-bler) of Rice Lake is a chairing a six-member panel appointed yesterday to consider a resolution to expel Wood. That’s after the Chippewa Falls Independent was arrested three times in the last year for driving while intoxicated – the last two times while under anti-anxiety medications. Wood’s latest arrest came a week ago in Tomah, while on a day-pass from a treatment program at the V-A Hospital. He says he’ll enter a more stringent program this week at a veterans’ clinic in Saint Cloud Minnesota. It’ll last 30-to-45 days, and Hubler says she’ll wait until it’s over before giving Wood his hearing. Another panel member, West Allis Democrat Tony Staskunas, says the committee should think about getting a day-pass for Wood so he can testify. But Wood says those passes won’t be allowed – and he won’t even be able to see his family except on Sundays for lunch at the treatment site. Hubler says she might try to get law enforcement and prosecutors to testify at Wood’s expulsion hearings – but they might not want to do so, for fear of jeopardizing his three pending court cases. In any event, Hubler says she wants to act carefully. Only one state legislator has ever been expelled – Senator Frank Reguse of Milwaukee in 1917 for making comments considered disloyal to the U-S during World War One. Wood says he won’t seek re-election next year, but he won’t step down in the meantime.
Gas Prices Way Over Past Month
10/28/09 - Gas prices are up 30-cents on average in the past month. That’s according to WisconsinGasPrices.com who reports a statewide average of $2.73 this morning. In Beaver Dam, prices sit at $2.74 while Watertown and Fond du Lac are reporting $2.72. The high price in the state is in Eagle River at $2.85. The low price is $2.60 in Grafton. Gas prices are also 19-cents higher than a year ago at this time.
Final Financial Impact Hearing in Waupun Tonight
10/28/09 - The Waupun School District will hold its fourth and final meeting on the impact of next week’s referendum. The city and town of Fox Lake are attempting to detach from Waupun and join the Randolph School District following the closure of its elementary school at the end of the last school year. The meetings are to inform the public about the financial impact of Fox Lake’s departure. The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. in the LGI at Rock River Intermediate School.
Fox Valley Soldier Killed in Afghanistan
10/28/09 - One of 10 Americans killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan is from the Fox Valley. 26-year-old Army Sergeant Nicholas Mueller of Little Chute was the crew chief on a Chinook chopper. It crashed Monday after leaving a fire-fight with suspected drug traffickers from the Taliban. A second helicopter crash killed four Americans the same day. The Pentagon said neither crash appeared to be caused by hostile fire – but the Taliban claimed they shot down a U-S chopper in the western province of Badghis. The military did not confirm Mueller’s death. His parents said they got the word early yesterday, when three members of his unit woke them up. Mueller was part of the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. He was the 11th Wisconsin service member to be killed in Afghanistan. Mueller graduated from Little Chute High School in 2002 where he wrestled, played football, and was on the track team. His parents, Larry and Sharon Mueller, said their son always wanted to be a fighter pilot – and the September 11th terrorist attacks re-affirmed his career plans.
New License Plate for Endangered Resources
10/28/09 - If Wisconsinites have their way, a badger will be featured on the state’s newest license plate. 68-percent of on-line voters chose the state’s official animal for the new specialized plate that supports the D-N-R’s program which protects endangered resources. The badger got 16-thousand votes to about 29-hundred for the great blue heron, 28-hundred for the Eastern bluebird, and 19-hundred for the red-headed wood-pecker. The vote was advisory. But with the landslide vote, the D-N-R and transportation officials would be hard-pressed not to choose the badger design. The endangered resources plate currently features the grey wolf – and that one will still be offered as well. The plates cost an extra 25-dollars, and all the proceeds go to the endangered resources conservation fund.
Jack Daniel’s Steak Could Net Man 9-Months in Jail
10/28/09 - A Sheboygan man blames a steak he ate for his latest brush the law. 23-year-old Ian Baker was supposed to maintain absolute sobriety as part of his bond from a fourth drunk driving arrest in late July. But when he was checked on Monday, authorities found about two-thirds-of-a-gram of alcohol in his system. Baker told his case manager he ate a Jack Daniels steak the night before – and it caused him to test positive for the alcohol. Baker now faces a misdemeanor bail jumping charge, and it could net him up to nine months behind bars.
10/28/09 - Columbus Administrator Boyd Kraemer and the common council met last night to discuss what could be the final city budget figures for 2010. The public hearing on the budget will be held November 10th. Kraemer says Columbus is in an “enviable” position with a proposed tax levy of a little more than 3-million-dollars, which is a 6.4-percent increase over the 2009 levy. The proposed budget includes major facility improvements and staffing changes. Council member Roger Sneath said the budget reflected the council’s efforts to keep the City’s tax levy numbers out of the list of top taxing cities of similar size.
Horicon Preliminary Budget has $200K Deficit
10/28/09 - The preliminary budget for the city of Horicon is running a $200,000 deficit. City Clerk/Treasurer Dave Pasewald says the council will meet tomorrow to pour over the preliminary $3.3-million budget. He says as the years go on budgets are becoming leaner making it difficult to find areas where they can cut costs. The current budget was about $190,000 in the red at this time a year ago but the city used some of their fund balance to plug that hole.
Dodgeland Schools Mill Rate up More Than a Dollar
10/28/09 - The tax rate for Dodgeland School District residents will jump more than a dollar from 2008-2009 budget. That’s according to District Administrator Annette Thompson who say the rate will go from $11.73 to $12.75 per $1,000 of assessed value as part of the 2009-2010 budget. That means a resident with property valued at $175,000 would pay more than $2,200 for the school portion of their tax bill. Thompson listed a $157,000 decrease in state aid and property values not increasing at previous rates as reasons for the increase. The total budget approved by the board Monday was about $9.5-million with a tax levy of $4.3-million.
Panel Will Give Jeff Wood a Chance to Defend Himself
10/28/09 - The head of a new state committee promises to give Representative Jeff Wood a chance to defend himself, before it makes a recommendation on whether he should be expelled. Assembly Democrat Mary Hubler (hue’-bler) of Rice Lake is a chairing a six-member panel appointed yesterday to consider a resolution to expel Wood. That’s after the Chippewa Falls Independent was arrested three times in the last year for driving while intoxicated – the last two times while under anti-anxiety medications. Wood’s latest arrest came a week ago in Tomah, while on a day-pass from a treatment program at the V-A Hospital. He says he’ll enter a more stringent program this week at a veterans’ clinic in Saint Cloud Minnesota. It’ll last 30-to-45 days, and Hubler says she’ll wait until it’s over before giving Wood his hearing. Another panel member, West Allis Democrat Tony Staskunas, says the committee should think about getting a day-pass for Wood so he can testify. But Wood says those passes won’t be allowed – and he won’t even be able to see his family except on Sundays for lunch at the treatment site. Hubler says she might try to get law enforcement and prosecutors to testify at Wood’s expulsion hearings – but they might not want to do so, for fear of jeopardizing his three pending court cases. In any event, Hubler says she wants to act carefully. Only one state legislator has ever been expelled – Senator Frank Reguse of Milwaukee in 1917 for making comments considered disloyal to the U-S during World War One. Wood says he won’t seek re-election next year, but he won’t step down in the meantime.
Gas Prices Way Over Past Month
10/28/09 - Gas prices are up 30-cents on average in the past month. That’s according to WisconsinGasPrices.com who reports a statewide average of $2.73 this morning. In Beaver Dam, prices sit at $2.74 while Watertown and Fond du Lac are reporting $2.72. The high price in the state is in Eagle River at $2.85. The low price is $2.60 in Grafton. Gas prices are also 19-cents higher than a year ago at this time.
Final Financial Impact Hearing in Waupun Tonight
10/28/09 - The Waupun School District will hold its fourth and final meeting on the impact of next week’s referendum. The city and town of Fox Lake are attempting to detach from Waupun and join the Randolph School District following the closure of its elementary school at the end of the last school year. The meetings are to inform the public about the financial impact of Fox Lake’s departure. The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. in the LGI at Rock River Intermediate School.
Fox Valley Soldier Killed in Afghanistan
10/28/09 - One of 10 Americans killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan is from the Fox Valley. 26-year-old Army Sergeant Nicholas Mueller of Little Chute was the crew chief on a Chinook chopper. It crashed Monday after leaving a fire-fight with suspected drug traffickers from the Taliban. A second helicopter crash killed four Americans the same day. The Pentagon said neither crash appeared to be caused by hostile fire – but the Taliban claimed they shot down a U-S chopper in the western province of Badghis. The military did not confirm Mueller’s death. His parents said they got the word early yesterday, when three members of his unit woke them up. Mueller was part of the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. He was the 11th Wisconsin service member to be killed in Afghanistan. Mueller graduated from Little Chute High School in 2002 where he wrestled, played football, and was on the track team. His parents, Larry and Sharon Mueller, said their son always wanted to be a fighter pilot – and the September 11th terrorist attacks re-affirmed his career plans.
New License Plate for Endangered Resources
10/28/09 - If Wisconsinites have their way, a badger will be featured on the state’s newest license plate. 68-percent of on-line voters chose the state’s official animal for the new specialized plate that supports the D-N-R’s program which protects endangered resources. The badger got 16-thousand votes to about 29-hundred for the great blue heron, 28-hundred for the Eastern bluebird, and 19-hundred for the red-headed wood-pecker. The vote was advisory. But with the landslide vote, the D-N-R and transportation officials would be hard-pressed not to choose the badger design. The endangered resources plate currently features the grey wolf – and that one will still be offered as well. The plates cost an extra 25-dollars, and all the proceeds go to the endangered resources conservation fund.
Jack Daniel’s Steak Could Net Man 9-Months in Jail
10/28/09 - A Sheboygan man blames a steak he ate for his latest brush the law. 23-year-old Ian Baker was supposed to maintain absolute sobriety as part of his bond from a fourth drunk driving arrest in late July. But when he was checked on Monday, authorities found about two-thirds-of-a-gram of alcohol in his system. Baker told his case manager he ate a Jack Daniels steak the night before – and it caused him to test positive for the alcohol. Baker now faces a misdemeanor bail jumping charge, and it could net him up to nine months behind bars.
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