The Lake County Commission will host two additional town hall meetings to discuss potential county property tax increases.
Since 2022, the county commission has considered increasing property taxes through a road and bridge levy or an opt out to raise funds for county services, including road and bridge repair. Shelli Gust, the commission’s administrative officer, said the county will have to reduce services in the near future, as it’s currently not making enough in property taxes to fund current services. While the county has supplemented its budget by taking out cash reserves and using federal COVID-19 funds, this is unsustainable, she said.
The first town hall meeting will be in the commission’s meeting room in the Lake County Courthouse on Tuesday, May 30, at 6 p.m. Several commissioners requested hosting this town hall meeting after seeing strong turnout at an April 11 town hall and hearing feedback from constituents.
The second meeting will take place at The Hillside Resort, located at 46042 238th St. in Wentworth, on Wednesday, June 7, at 6 p.m. This meeting was directly requested by a member of the Lake Madison Development Association, Gust said. Several individuals at the April 11 town hall asked the commission to host town halls in Madison’s surrounding communities.
Both town halls will provide education on the options the county is considering as well as open the floor up to public feedback. The April 11 meeting began with a half-hour educational session, and the rest of the time was dedicated to dialogue between commissioners and residents. Gust said these town halls will likely have a similar format.
An opt out and a road and bridge levy are the two options the county is currently considering.
Each year, county governments can only ask for a certain amount in property taxes from residents. Typically, counties can only increase property taxes by the Consumer Price Index percentage, which caps out at 3%. An opt out is when a taxing entity needs more money from property taxes and it “opts out” of the tax increase limitation.
Funds generated via opt out go into the general fund and can be used on a variety of county services.
A road and bridge levy is dedicated to the repair, maintenance and replacement of roads and bridges. A potential road and bridge levy in Lake County would be $0.60 per $1,000 of taxable property value.
The commissioners will need to vote to increase property taxes by July 15 if they want the increase to come into effect in 2024.
The commissioners have not decided which route to take, and they will not make a final decision or vote at the town hall meetings. Commissioner Deb Reinicke said she is leaning toward a road and bridge levy based on discussions she’s had with residents.
“I don’t hear about ‘this office needs this’ and ‘this office needs that.’ Yes, they do, but it’s the roads,” Reinicke said. “I’d rather see the levy and have it be dedicated. That way, the public can see we’re concerned about our roads.”
The last time the county tried to raise revenues was in 2017, when they passed a road and bridge levy of $0.90 per $1,000 of taxable property value. It was referred to a popular vote and was defeated 1465-310.
Another commissioner, Dennis Slaughter, said he’s still torn on the issue.
“There’s other departments that need help, too,” he said. “As much as I’d like to see [both], … I think given the option of one or the other or both [at a public vote], we’d probably lose them all.”
Whether an opt out or road and bridge levy is passed, Gust stressed the funds won’t help the county do more than it is currently.
“This is not going to allow you to do more. It’s just going to maintain, and maybe not even maintain,” Gust said.
The Lake County Commission will also have a special joint meeting with the Planning Commission in the courthouse on Tuesday, May 30, at 9 a.m. to discuss zoning regulations. The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, June 6 at 9 a.m.
