There are as many income brackets and there are ways to plug a budget hole. With updated numbers for 2018 down at the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the following can be ascertained.

In the first place, there is a general though not absolute trend towards a higher average income tax return the closer one is to the Twin Cities, but only up to the eastern boundary of Pierce County. Durand residents in the nearby Pepin County seat bounce back to Ellsworth income levels, scoring an average tax return of $58,000 to Ellsworth’s $57,000 average. Stationed south of Menomonie along the Chippewa River, the city of Durand apparently holds a mid-prime location for commercial traffic and with it the income brackets. For those who like other things besides commerce—without hating the former—there’s that budget hole to fill, at least potentially. So how to do it?

Shared revenue is one way, debt another.

Beginning with Prescott at the confluence of the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers—plus several highways— the 2018 debt burden stood at $2,058 per citizen, while shared revenue covered another $89 of local expenditures. For the City of River Falls with more people and a similar highway situation but only one river, the 2018 debt burden per citizen stood at $1,263, with shared revenue covering $125 of city expenditures “per citizen.” For Maiden Rock meanwhile, with far fewer people and the Great River Road along the Mississippi, the debt burden per resident stood at $0 with $481 per citizen the amount of shared revenue flowing in. Lest it be presumed that Maiden Rock is comparatively poor in relation to its nearby neighbors, the average 2018 tax return for Maiden Rock stood at $60,000, or third best out of seven municipalities featured. No debt, great finance. So what of elsewhere?

For the fulcrum point of the seven total municipalities, Durand east of Plum City registered $1,295 per citizen in public accrued debt as of 2018, with $253 per citizen in shared revenue income registered.

Back at Ellsworth at the heart of Pierce County meanwhile, debt per citizen stood at $916 with another $162 per person of city expenditures financed through shared revenue. For Bay City at the head of Lake Pepin, public debt stood at $5,569 per citizen or 110 percent of the state imposed debt limit, while $166 per person of village expenditures was payed for with shared revenue. Finally, for Plum City located inland along Plum Creek, municipal debt stood at $504 per capita with another $252 per person covered by shared revenue. Moral of the story? Know your figures, and how to balance them.