Muskego Meeting Recap: Council Votes On Public Input, School Board Talks Taxes

There was additional work to be done on the Common Council last Tuesday night, as well as items that came out of the school board meetings from Jan. 23 and Jan. 30. Let's get caught up:

The common council voted unanimously to adopt a new policy for public input sessions, striking a time limit of 30 minutes on the open forum. As happened on Jan. 24, enough speakers required the rule to be waived, and as none of the aldermen felt there would ever be a time they would not extend the time period, the limit was taken out of the verbiage.

Farm lease agreements were approved for Park Arthur, which allows the Schaefer and Theisenheusen farms to work and plant on land now owned by the city. The agreements cover the next year and allow for the planting of hay.

The Muskego-Norway School board was advised by Business Service Director Scot Ecker that while there was no projected need to cut any budgets for the 2012-13 school year, revenue will need to be recaptured through local property taxes. State aid has comprised 38 percent of the total funding for 2010-11, eroding to 36 percent for the present year, and is projected to be 33 percent in the coming year.

The preliminary total property tax for 2012-2013 is $34.7 million, which is a 4.89 percent increase from the current year. However, Ecker said no decision needs to be made on property taxes for another nine months, and had listedseveral suggestions of lessening any increase, including applying the fund balance and refinancing debt.

The school board also began its search for a new superintendent with the anticipated departure of Dr. Joe Schroeder, who will be taking a position with the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators in July. Closed session meetings were held on Jan. 23 as well as during a special session on Jan. 30.