This election, the Village of Holmen and Town of Holland are asking residents to approve a public safety referendum to fund police and fire-EMS.
In this segment of “How it Works,” News 8 Now’s Ken Kosirowski explores the budgetary constraints that make municipalities turn to the ballot to maintain critical services. When they look down at their ballots, voters in the Village of Holmen and Town of Holland will see referendum questions asking permission to increase their municipal tax levy to enhance public safety.
“The levy is the portion of the budget that isn’t paid for by external resources,” said Karl Green, UW Extension and local government educator. A levy is an amount municipalities can place upon their residents via property taxes. Under current state law, there are caps in place to keep towns from raising property taxes too much.