Falls Town Board opposes county sales tax hike

Sheboygan Falls Town Board supervisors took a firm stance in opposition to a proposed Sheboygan County sales tax hike, during a meeting Monday, March 1, at the Sheboygan Falls Town Hall.

During the Sheboygan County supervisor’s report, Town Board Supervisor Peggy Feider spoke out against county’s .5-percent sales tax increase.

“I have been gathering a lot of information and feedback from citizens throughout the county,” she said. “I do have many concerns with the tax increase.

“The plan is good in that more tourism dollars would be brought in. However, it does not address the issues of uncontrolled costs and financial irresponsibility that the county is facing right now.”

Feider also expressed concern that the sales tax proposal does not include an exit clause, and provides no linkage with a property-tax reduction.

“I have many concerns with this,” she said. “We have no ideas what effect this would have on our businesses in the county.

“There is also a strong possibility that county residents will be more likely to take business out of the county.”

Feider went on to note that the Oostburg Village Board has submitted a formal opposition to the salestax increase.

She urged the Sheboygan Falls town Board to compose a letter to the Sheboygan County Board.

Supervisor Skip Theobald spoke out against the proposal.

“It is true that we need to find ways to trim the costs of operating our county government,” he said. “But this proposal just takes money from one pocket and puts it in another. I am not in favor of it.”

Town Chairman Steve Bauer also expressed his displeasure with the sales-tax increase.

“Adam Payne [Sheboygan County administrator] said at a recent meeting I was at that if the sales tax does not pass, property taxes will go up,” Bauer said. “I’m not in favor of it.”

Bauer, as well as Supervisors Cliff Otte and Gerald Meyer voiced their disapproval of the sales tax.

Members of the Town Board agreed to write a letter to the County board in opposition to the sales tax.

A final vote on the .5-percent countywide sales tax increase will take place Tuesday, March 16, at 6 p.m., in the County Board Chambers on the fifth floor of the Sheboygan County Courthouse in Sheboygan.

Feider also updated the board on the status of the county’s uniform rural numbering system.

“It has been 21 years since the numbering system on residents in the county were updated,” she said. “The cost will be $20 for property owners, which is a one-time fee.”

The board approved a building inspection and surveying contract with Hinze and Wade, through Dec. 31, 2010.

“This is a short-term contract, which is very similar to the one we had with them before,” Bauer said. “It will get us through the summer season.”

The board also approved building inspector agreements.

Bauer discussed the town’s mobile home park ordinance.

“I looked over the ordinance, and I didn’t find anything that we should change, add or delete,” he said. “I think we just need to aggressively enforce what we already have in place.”

In other business, the board agreed to table an ordinance establishing fire protection and rescue charges.

“This is something we need to have in place, if we ever want to feel the need to charge the county for fire service,” Bauer said. “Under state law, we can charge the county fire-protection fees for emergency calls on county roads.

“If the board passes this ordinance, we would have something to work off of, if this situation ever comes up,” he said. “This doesn’t mean that we have to charge, but it would be an option.”

Bauer pointed out that a similar arrangement is already in place for fire and rescue calls on state highways.

“The town has the authority to charge for emergency calls on state roads,” he said. “If the individual’s insurance company does not pay the bill within three or four months, we then bill the state.”

Theobald and Otte requested that a decision on the ordinance be tabled to allow for further evaluation.

“I think we should look through the ordinance a little more, before considering it for approval,” Theobald said. “From my point of view, there are things in his ordinance that I’m not quite sure about. I think having more time to check it over is a good idea.”

“We should hold off on this until next month,” Otte said. “Some of this is still unclear to me.”

The board agreed to continue not to charge a tax-exempt property-filing fee.

Town Clerk-Treasurer said the town is required to send out reports for all tax-exempt properties in the township.

“We have never charged a filing fee before,” Meyer said. “We need to send out these reports, and the town does have an option to issue a filing charge.”

Meyer said 33 properties in the township are tax-exempt.

“Of the 33 tax-exempt properties we have, 15 are churches, which can’t be charged,” she said. “However, the other 18 properties could be charged. I know Plymouth, Sheboygan and town of Herman do have filing fees for this.”

During a discussion of roads, the board approved a bid notice for a planned improvement and overlay project on Meadowlark Road.

Scott Theobald of C&S Construction spoke to city of Sheboygan Falls Director of Public Works Mike Mersberger about snow plowing near the city and town property lines.

“The city has been plowing our property on Pinehurst Court, Pine Street and Gregory Court,” Theobald said. “In turn, we have been plowing part of Bluebird Lane and Happy Lane for the city.

“The city is seeking a $1,000 reimbursement for a previous bill issued by the town for snow plowing services,” he said. “I said it would be okay for the town to reimburse the $1,000, and after that he and I agreed that our snow-plowing bills will be a wash.”

The board backed a plan to conduct crack-filling work on several town roads for a total of $7,5000.

The board also approved a comprehensive slurry-sealing plan for portions of Rio Road, Crestview Road, Woodland Road and Pigeon Lane at a total cost of $62,700.

Bauer had proposed including Alpine Road from County J to County O at a cost of $82,100. However, the board voted to push back the project until the fall.

The board briefly discussed the possibility of installing a sound system in the Town Hall meeting room.

“We definitely need to bring the echo down in this room, because it still is pretty hard to hear,” Bauer said. “It is my opinion that microphones will just make the echo louder.

“I have been exploring the idea of getting some quotes for insulated draperies, which could help to reduce the echo a bit,” he said.

The board ended the discussion by agreeing to test out a microphone system at a future meeting.

The next Sheboygan Falls Town Boad meeting will be held Monday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m., at the Sheboygan Falls Town Hall.

The 2010 town of Sheboygan Falls Annual Meeting was announced for Tuesday, April 13.