We are attempting to inform taxpayers that a potential levy increase of $60,000 will be voted on at the November Annual Budget Meeting. We would like everyone to talk about this potential increase to their neighbors and ask that if you have a concern or question to contact any board member. For your information we have listed below some of the reasons we feel a levy increase is necessary:
We do not receive enough income from the WDOT to maintain our roadways. Because of the amount of snow we get each year we go thru two-thirds of that amount just to plow the roadways. Last year Zenith Tower Road washed out during it’s annual flood, and due to lack of funds and the high cost of blacktop, we were unable repair the road. It has not improved since then. This year we had another incident on Old 8 where a culvert washed out. Both need repair and the cost for repair will run over $30,000. By repairing these two areas we will exhaust what contingency funds we have available. That leaves us with NO money to maintain the rest of the roadways.
The Tomahawk Fire Department has increased our annual contract fee from a normal cost of $6500-$7000 to a cost of $15,961.16 this year. This higher fee will be ongoing.
Last year our usual mower of road right-of-ways retired. We had to hire the county to do the mowing as required by law at a cost of 3 times the normal fee he charged.
Last year our Town Assessor retired as well. We did hire a replacement and while his fee is lower than previously charged – he will be re-evaluating our township in 2026 and 2027 at a cost of approximately $8,000 more each of those two years.
We hired a new handyman to take care of much needed maintenance at the town hall. His payroll and expenses need to be covered as well as the supplies he needs to maintain the building. This year we purchased snow roof guards so we don’t have snow falling on us during the winter months.
We were required last year to change our website and email addresses to a wi.gov address. This is an additional cost to us of $500 more per year.
Most of our software programs and security programs are coming in at double or even triple the cost of the previous years.
Cost of fuel adds additional costs to any entity we deal with like garbage pickup or roadwork.
We will be required to purchase 2 new voting machines in the near future at a cost of $9,000 to $12,000.
And interest rates paid by banks have significantly decreased and programs from governmental funding is lowering slowly as we proceed into the future.