A tentative city budget for 2014 was approved Tuesday evening during a meeting of the Sturgeon Bay City Council. The $12.3 million budget features a tax levy of $5,914,072 & a tax rate of $7.65 per thousand dollars of equalized valuation for city purposes. It should be pointed out that taxing numbers from the State of Wisconsin, Door County, NWTC & individual school districts will be incorporated in the final budget numbers. As part of the action taken at the meeting, council-members also agreed to restore their pay to $600 per month & set a public hearing on the budget for Tuesday, November 12th at 6PM. Following the hearing, the council is expected to vote on the final budget numbers for next year.
Two committee of the whole meetings, featuring Sturgeon Bay aldermen & Mayor Thad Birmingham, were the final briefings related to a budget process that started several months ago. During Tuesday’s meeting, City Administrator Steve McNeil talked about the principals that guided the budget process…[audio:http://wdor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/N1650.mp3|titles=City Administrator Steve McNeil]
McNeil noted during his presentation that the City of Sturgeon Bay consistently compared favorably among communities in Wisconsin with a population ranging from eight to eleven thousand residents. For instance, from 1995 to this year, only four of 18 cities showed a lower growth in its tax rate. McNeil explained how the budget’s capital improvements list was arrived…[audio:http://wdor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/N1651.mp3|titles=City Administrator Steve McNeil]
Some of the items on the list included funding for a future revaluation, gear & vehicles for the police & fire departments, street work in keeping with the city’s five year plan, two tandem axle salters, rest rooms at Martin Park, & an upgrade at market square.
