New officer, fire department funding drive tax rate hike

The 2025 Saukville budget approved last month by the Village Board is about $207,000 more than last year’s to fund the Ozaukee Central Fire Department and a new police officer position, but it retains a “cushion” of unused tax levy, Village President Andy Hebein said.

The village’s tax rate increased by 11.65%, or 81 cents, from about $6 per $1,000 in assessed home value to $6.81. The tax for a $300,000 home is $2,043.

The biggest addition to the budget is the promotion of a police officer to detective and replacing the officer.

Unlike the Village of Grafton and the towns of Grafton and Saukville, the village did not need a referendum to fund its portion of the newly created Ozaukee Central Fire Department this year.

“That was nice,” Hebein said, adding the village only needed to raise an additional $39,000 to fund its $926,000 share of the OCFD’s $5.2 million budget.

Challenges loom for the village, however.

According to a financial management plan presented to the Village Board by Ehlers Inc. in August, the village is in a solid financial position but is expected to face a deficit by 2028.

Hebein noted the plan used an “all-in” model when predicting a $45,266 shortfall in 2028 and a $280,750 shortfall in 2029. Those amounts include all potential, not guaranteed, project costs and equipment expenses during that time period.

“Historically, the village doesn’t go all in like that,” he said.

The village’s property levy is about $2.5 million and the debt levy is about $1.2 million. The total budget is $5.9 million.

The police department budget increased by 8.55% to about $2 million, the library budget increased by 4.6% to $365,000 and the parks budget increased by 2.2% to $153,000.

The village has $8.7 million in debt. It is at 25% of its debt limit of $35 million.

Hebein said the village has worked to cut costs where possible and find creative ways to save money.

“We have really been trying our hardest to keep costs down: refurbished equipment, foregoing expenditures, being judicious with our spending,” he said.