The Waupaca County Board approved a $22.8 million tax levy.
Supervisors voted on the 2012 budget Tuesday, Nov. 8, after a public hearing at which nobody from the public spoke.
The 2012 levy is 1.6 percent higher than this year’s, with almost half the $363,000 increase going toward interest payments on debt.
The county’s property tax rate of $6.29 per $1,000 of equalized value will increase by 4.25 percent.
Waupaca County’s 2012 operating budget will have nearly $64 million in expenditures, funded by $42.4 million in revenues, $16.6 million in local property taxes and almost $5 million in applied fund balance.
The tax levy to support county operations is up by $118,500, or less than 1 percent.
The county’s 2012 levy to cover payments on principal for its debt will be down $45,000 from 2011.
Waupaca County will pay $4.5 million on principal in 2012, while its interest payments will increase by more than $170,000 to just over $1 million.
The county’s special purpose budget, which covers local bridge aids and aid to public libraries, rose by just under $119,00.
Library aids were increased from $836,800 to $912,600 in 2012, while bridge aids were increased from $53,000 to $96,000 in 2012.
General government expenditures dropped by more than $187,000 (nearly 5 percent) and Lakeview Manor Nursing Home will receive $237,000 less (a 22 percent cut) in county tax revenues in 2012.
Property tax funding for public safety increased by 2.55 percent, from $8.33 million to $8.54 million in 2012.
The county highway department, health and human services department and economic development all have 0 percent increases for 2012.
The county will also receive about $400,000 less in state shared revenues in 2012, the biggest cut in 10 years.
County Finance Director Heidi Dombrowski said Waupaca County received almost $1.97 million in state shared revenue in 2003.
State shared revenues dropped steadily through much of the past decade. In 2011, the county received $1.74 million in state shared revenues. The state will provide $1.32 million in shared revenues in 2012.
Waupaca County’s share of the state’s gas tax is expected to drop in 2012 by just under $150,000 to $1.64 million.
Revenues from the county’s sales tax are projected to increase by $100,000 in 2012.
Over the past 10 years, sales tax revenues reached a high of $3.04 million in 2005 to a low of $2.63 million in 2009.
“We feel that the 2011 budgeted amount of $2.6 million was conservative and are projected to exceed that amount in 2011 but do not anticipate a large increase over the next couple of years,” said Dombrowski.