Category: Taxes
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Marathon County Board: Please use the funds from the wheel tax to improve our roads, not to build a Highway Garage
Marathon County implemented a wheel tax in 2017. The wheel tax was promised to be in place only for 1 year and most residents believed it was intended to be used to improve Marathon County roads. In reality, an amount approximately equal to the annual wheel tax (about $3,000,000 per year) went into County Highway…
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Marathon County Budget: Combating Misinformation
Marathon County has, in my opinion, been providing materially false information in its audited financial statements for many years. When this was pointed out, the response was to double down on the misinformation in an effort to continue to raise property taxes and avoid a repeal of the wheel tax. While it is probably too…
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Talking Marathon County Taxes on Air with Meg
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Marathon County Public Hearing – Budget
November 11th, 2024 at 3:00 PM – Marathon County Courthouse. Please consider attending this Public Hearing to give the County Board your input on raising property taxes and abolishing the wheel tax. If you want to speak on the Budget and taxes, you should do that during the Public Hearing part of the meeting, not…
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Marathon County has more than $64 MILLION in EXCESS Reserves and still wants to raise your property taxes.
SYNOPSIS: Call or Email your County Supervisor and ask them to cut $1.6 million from the proposed 2025 property tax increase AND rescind the County wheel tax. The $64M+ in EXCESS reserves are just from the County’s General Fund, Social Improvement Fund, and Highway Fund and DOES NOT include the normal fund balance reserves needed…
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Do the County’s Large Reserves Violate State Law? – Part 2
SYNOPSIS: The evidence strongly suggests that the County has been typically funding perhaps 20 to 35 positions that it has little or no intention of filling during the upcoming year. The funding for these planned unfilled positions would presumably provide additional funding “earmarked” for future CIP rollover. While I don’t have definitive proof that this…
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Do the County’s Large Reserves Violate State Law? – Part 1
Synopsis: The general rule in Wisconsin prohibits municipalities from accumulating unappropriated surplus tax revenues. Accordingly, unspent funds in municipal accounts, if not designated for any particular purpose, must be considered “funds on hand” under Wis. Stat. 65.90(1), and used to defray budgetary costs and reduce the tax levy for the ensuing year. Immega v. City…
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Reminder: Marathon County 2025 Budget – Public Hearing
Friday, November 1st, 3:00 PM at Court House https://www.marathoncounty.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/1736/17 https://www.marathoncounty.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/13992/638658139371696413
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Marathon County Board: Rules for Thee but Not for Me
Chair Gibbs, HRFC Committee Chair Robinson, and Supervisor Hart – 3 out of 38 County Supervisors – amended the proposed 2025 budget to expand the size and scope of County Government as well as increase the 2025 tax levy. This action disregarded the County Board’s practice of discussing and voting on proposed actions first at…
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Marathon County 2025 Budget: Vote No on Amendment 1
The goals and purpose of Amendment 1 could be discussed and decided on after the budget process and could be easily implemented with out an additional tax increase using funds already included in the 2025 Budget Proposal. Administrator Leonhard and County Staff have prepared and provided a very good 2025 Budget Proposal. The proposal follows…