Revenue Department Miscalculation Leads To Spike In Horicon Tax Rate

(Horicon) The city of Horicon is looking at a jump in the tax rate with their upcoming budget. The preliminary $3.8-million-dollar document is up roughly $100-thousand dollars and the proposed $2.3-million-dollar levy amount would be a 1.4-percent increase over last year. But that is not the reason for the anticipated two-dollar and 16-cent ($2.16) spike in the anticipated $11.89 mill rate. City Clerk Kristin Jacobson says last year the Wisconsin Department of Revenue did not include the new John Deere expansion in the city’s new Tax Increment Finance District calculations. She says in order to compensate, this year the state is allowing a one-time adjustment to the city’s equalized values. That means this year, the equalized value is lower due to the over-inflation of last year number. The Horicon School District saw the same impacts on their mill rate, with a 98-cent increase from last year. The city council will hold a public hearing and vote on the proposed 2019 budget on November 20.