2018 Adopted Budget Book Now Available

The 2018 Budget was presented at the Committee of the Whole meeting on November 13th and was adopted at the Common Council meeting on November 21st. We have finished compiling the final material for the budget books. Again this year we have created a digital book for your viewing online.  This digital book, as well as previous year budgets, can be viewed at the following link – 2018 Adopted Budget.

The overall levy amount went up by $446,258, while the City portion of the tax rate also increased by 5.35%.  Spending by department, for the most part, remains consistent with the previous budget.

This budget presented a few challenges. The biggest being the fluctuation in assessed value within the City of Kaukauna. The City lost over $10,000,000 in assessment value within the Machinery, Tools and Patterns segment.  Much of this has to due to how the State assesses manufacturers within the City and the agreements between the two parties.  This challenge by itself caused fluctuation in the tax rate because of the reduced value that would have otherwise shared in the division of the total levy.

The new Municipal Services Building proved to be as efficient as expected.  With the unknown operating cost in the 2017 Budget, the City was able to reduce the estimated heating expense by $25,000 in the 2018 Budget.  The 2018 Budget includes the addition of one full-time Principle Planner position and a part-time Paralegal position.  With the new Principle Planner position, additional services in economic development, as well as code enforcement, will be gained.

Overall, staff feels this budget is as efficient as possible to continue providing the same services to the City residents as it has in years past.  Staff is continuously looking to incorporate initiatives to improve processes and create efficiency that will ultimately save taxpayer dollars.