Referendum

The formal resolution requisition permission to exceed the state revenue limit will appear as follows on April 7, 2026 Ballot:

Shall the City be allowed to increase the city’s tax levy for 2026 (to be collected in 2027) by 20 percent, which would increase the City’s levy by $276,760 over the past year's levy, for a City tax levy of $1,660,563, the increase to be used for funding day-to-day services (salaries, supplies, utilities, salaries, insurance, etc) to maintain city services and to manage budget shortfalls from inflation?

Our current funding mechanisms are insufficient to maintain the existing quality of services with operational cost increases beyond the City’s Control, such as inflation.  While our departments have risen to meet the needs of our community by working smarter, creating efficiencies, prioritizing types, of services we can provide, and department downsizing, it has become increasingly difficult to provide services as expected, and a new funding solution is needed.  The referendum will help sustain and improve the quality of life her in the City for the next several years.

The State of Wisconsin limits the amount of property taxes a city can collect each year.  In order to exceed the limit, the city needs voter approval through a city-wide referendum.

While increases in shared revenue from the State of Wisconsin have provided a much-needed boost in municipal funds, it is not enough to offset the decades of underfunding and rising costs.  The City received an additional $125,441 in 2025, which has been used to fund general City operating expenses.  This amount, while helpful, has not come close to covering the funding gap across all services from the last decade of levy limits. 

The average increase to the base revenue share payments to cities was 41% in 2026 with the City of Tomahawk receiving an increase of 19%.

The situation we are facing in the City of Tomahawk is not unique.  Across the State, the needs of municipalities have grown, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide and maintain the level of service that the community has come to expect with the current funding available from the State.

The City received and additional $124,441 in shared revenue in 2024 – 3.5% of the overall operating budget – which has been used to fund general City operational expenses.

This amount, while helpful, has not come close to covering the gap across all services from the last decade of levy limits, given the way costs for goods and services are also increasing.

The City’s Annual Budget is made up of two components: the Operating Budget and the Capital Budget.

The Capital Budget funds major improvements to City facilities and infrastructure.  The Capital Budget is supported through multiple funding sources, including different types of bonds (i.e. borrowing, debt), grants, and cash as well as other smaller sources of funding.  Capital Budgets are not restricted by the state’s levy limits and are funded through the debt levy portion of the City’s property tax.

The Operating Budget pays for expenses such as personnel costs, facility operating costs and other expenses that fund City services.  It is funded primarily through local property taxes, shared revenue from the State, licenses, such as building and other fees, charges for services, fines, and other smaller sources of revenue.  Increases to the property tax levy for the Operating Budget are limited to the City’s annual percentage of net new construction by Wisconsin State Statutes and can otherwise only be increased through a referendum.

The City is able to leverage low interest loans for these types of projects making the City’s annual “mortgage” payment lower and affordable for our residents.  These loans are paid through the debt service portion of the property tax levy.

Unlike payments for debt service, the property tax levy for ongoing operational expenses are subject to levy limits that can only be exceeded through approval by referendum.  These operational expenses include the day-to-day expenses that are required to ensure service to the community, including facility costs, facility expenses – such as fuel and utilities, personnel cost, liability, property, and worker’s compensation insurance, and many others.

Since 2016, inflation has increased by nearly 35%, while the City’s tax levy, because of state-imposed limits, only increased 11.62%.

No.  The City’s budget has been well-managed for years, within the constraints provided by State law.  We knew that, eventually, additional funding would be necessary because of those constraints, but the need has been accelerated in recent years as the impact of inflation on all our costs has been greater than in the past. 

The City is facing operational cost increases just like the average resident, with fuel, utilities, and insurance increasing year after year.  In the past decade, inflation has increased 34.99% over the last decade (approximately 3.39% annually) while the City’s operation levy has increased $166,031 over the same time period.  Over that same time frame, the City’s share of property taxes on a $200,000 home has only gone up 4.17%, well below the rate of inflation.

The property tax collected by the City of Tomahawk includes funds from other taxing jurisdictions, including the school district and Lincoln County.  The City specific property taxes are a result of the operational levy and debt levy.  The operational levy can only be increased by “net new construction” in the city due to limits imposed by the State of Wisconsin. 

To increase the operational levy beyond that amount requires approval from voters in a referendum.

A reevaluation of property values does not automatically change the total amount of taxes collected by a municipality.  It redistributes the existing tax burden among property owners based on updated market values. 

The amount of money needed by taxing jurisdictions (City, School, County, and Nicolet) is the main factor of the overall property tax rate, not the property values themselves.

Without additional funding, the City will not be able to maintain existing service levels or make the investments necessary to improve priority services.   

Facing a budget deficit starting in 2027, difficult decisions will have to be made each year about how to cut services, programs and staffing levels to balance the budget.  Decisions about specific cuts would occur at the City Council during annual budget deliberations.

If Tomahawk voter approve the referendum, the City would institute a permanent $276,760 increase to the property tax levy, beginning with the property tax bills issued in December 2026.

This translates to a property tax increase of an estimated $74.59 annually per $100,000 in assessed property value.  The impact to average Tomahawk home assessed at $177,173 is estimated at $132.15 annually.