This story is courtesy of the Tomahawk Leader.
TOMAHAWK – City of Tomahawk voters will see a funding referendum question on Spring Election ballots.
During a special meeting at City Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 14, the City of Tomahawk Common Council gave its stamp of approval to a resolution placing the referendum question on ballots for the Tuesday, April 7 election.
The resolution had been approved by the city’s Finance Committee earlier this month before being sent on to the council.
According to the resolution, the referendum, if approved by voters, would increase the city’s 2026 levy by $276,760.00 to fund day-to-day services, including salaries, supplies, utilities and insurance; to maintain city services; and to manage budget shortfalls from inflation.
The 20% levy boost would result in an increase of roughly $75.00 per $100,000.00 of assessed property.
The Finance Committee considered several levy increase options, ranging from 5% to 25%, before ultimately settling on 20%.
The council’s approval of the referendum question follows several years of difficult budget processes for the city, caused in part by inflation outpacing state-imposed levy limits.
In recent years, the city has sought various ways to generate additional revenue.
A 2018 advisory referendum saw 69% of city voters support the implementation of a 0.5% Premier Resort Area Tax (PRAT), a retail sales tax that allows tourism-related retailers to collect an additional state tax, with the funds being allocated to infrastructure needs, such as road maintenance and bridge repairs.
The following year, State Senator Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) and several other lawmakers introduced legislation that would have authorized the City of Tomahawk, the Town of Minocqua and the City of Sturgeon Bay to become premier resort areas, which would have allowed the municipalities to put a PRAT in place. The bill ultimately died in committee.
In 2021, the council began considering the implementation of a transportation utility fee, which would have generated $500,000.00 in infrastructure revenue annually. The following summer, the council voted to indefinitely delay taking action on the proposed fee after a judge ruled that an Outagamie County township’s transportation utility fee violated state levy limits.
The city has also worked to sell numerous city-owned properties in an effort to return them to the tax roll.
With the referendum question now headed to April ballots, the city plans to shift its focus to community outreach. It was noted during the meeting that public informational meetings will be held, and a document providing information on the referendum will be mailed out to city residents.