Muskego city budget gets mixed reviews

Muskego - A proposed city budget for 2012 which holds the tax increase to zero is headed to taxpayers for a hearing on Mondayand possible approval on Tuesday.

But it comes with reservations by some aldermen. While everyone likes the zero levy increase, some say the budget doesn't take the long view.

On Tuesday, voters will be able to comment on an operating budget of $14 million, up 1.7 percent from this year's nearly $13.8 million budget. The levy will remain at $11,935,917 with the estimated tax rate dipping slightly to $4.41 per $1,000 of assessed value from $4.43 per $1,000.

But the numbers aren't telling enough, some aldermen say.

For one thing, the mayor has not addressed the switchover from analog to digital radios coming in 2013 that will set the city back an estimated $1.2 million, said Trustee Kert Harenda.

Also, the city should brace for additional maintenance expenses when Park Arthur opens in 2013, said Alderman Dan Soltysiak, to say nothing of the additional cost to take care of the new medians and landscaping that will be installed along Janesville Road.

Personnel pay issues

Soltysiak had concerns about personnel, too.

"I don't agree with the 2 percent increase in employee pay," he said, noting that many taxpayers are getting no raises at all or are losing their jobs.

Alderman Neil Borgman concurred, citing one major employer in the state, Oshkosh Corp., that settled with union workers for a 5.25 percent raise over eight years and an employee increase in health care premiums.

Even with a pay freeze for Muskego city employees in 2011, a 2 percent hike next year seems generous in comparison to the private sector, he said.

Another budget area that bothers both aldermen is expanding the duties of city engineer, who would no longer be part of the planning department and whose duties would include overseeing the Department of Public Works.

The city has two DPW superintendents, an arrangement that has worked well and doesn't need fixing, Soltysiak said. He also predicted that the city would find itself needing to hire an engineer to take some of the additional workload off.

Borgman noted that the city previously adjusted the pay of the planning director when the city engineer was moved to the planning department. Splitting the engineer from planning and giving him added compensation to oversee DPW workers, without readjusting the planning director's pay, represents a kind of double whammy for the city, he suggested.

Borrowing for spending?

The city's plan to borrow $14.5 million for several large projects over three years also came under fire.

For one thing, the city should take the money out of its reserves and save interest payments, Soltysiak said.

Borgman also has concerns about the $14.5 million proposed borrowing. Many of those dollars are not attached to a specific purpose, he said. Not having such an anchor on those dollars could allow them to drift around into other parts of the budget.

Further, the nearly $2.3 million that is part of that borrowing is for a Pioneer Road project that is far too grand for that area, Soltysiak said, who particularly objected to the $500,000 cost of burying the utilities.

Before the city spends nearly $2.3 million on a street that hasn't seen development in many years, Soltysiak said he wants to see some data that there would be a payoff.

The city has hired a consultant to do a marketing study that should answer questions like that, he said. The study should be done by the end of the year.

But regardless of what the study says, a large chunk of that cost will have to be spent anyway because the street needs to be repaved and sidewalks replaced, said Jeff Muenkel, community development director.

The council moved the project up to next year because the area will be torn up anyway with the Janesville Road widening project. Aldermen didn't want to subject residents and businesses to two bouts of construction, Muenkel said.

Budget backers

Despite doubts by some, the majority backed the budget as it will be presented to the public.

"It was well-thought out by the mayor," said Alderman Keith Werner.

While there is a potential for tweaking, everything in the budget is reasonable, Werner said, who pointed ot the Janesville and Pioneer roads projects as well as the enhanced city trail system.

"It maintains a high quality of life, we are able to do projects we couldn't do before and all with a zero increase tax levy," Werner said.

Mayor Kathy Chiaverotti said things came together to enable the city to try to catch up on smaller road projects all over the city next year. Those projects had to be delayed because of uncertain finances.

Making sure the city could afford the repercussions in case it lost a grievance with the police union, the city socked away money that now can be used for roads because the city won the case, Chiaverotti said.

Additional money came in as employees started to pay toward their retirement, she said.

The extra money comes at a good time.

"The bidding climate is favorable and interest rates are at an all-time low so we are able to get road projects completed with a zero levy increase," Chiaverotti said.

The increase would have been nearly 1 percent except that the city got more than expected state funding in the form of shared revenue and transportation aid.

The proposed operating budget for 2012 is $200,000 higher than the current budge because of the catchup roadwork, she said.