ELLSWORTH – The Ellsworth Village Board approved the 2023 budget at a special meeting Thursday night.

No residents attended the public hearing that preceded the village board action.

To support the spending plan, property taxes will increase 4.25 percent. The property tax levy is $1,402,429, up from last year’s levy of $1,345,218.

Total revenue in the budget is proposed at $3,382,218 when the levy is combined with other taxes, special assessments, intergovernmental revenue, licenses and permits, fines and forfeitures, public charges for services and long-term debt.

On the expense side, there’s a projected 15.31 percent increase in the public safety budget, from $1,051,006 to $1,211,952.

The village board also unanimously approved the sale of $330,000 in general obligation bonds for capital improvement projects. That money actually will go toward the 2022 budget. It was included in the approved budget last year, but the borrowing wasn’t done.

That money will help support village operations for the remainder of the year.

“Without it, we would have significant problems. That’s the reason we rushed to get this done before the end of the year, or else all that would do is compound the problem next year,” said Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer Brad Roy.

The village parted ways with its last administrator over the summer, and Roy realized that the bonding had never been completed.

Village President Becky Beissel said, “It was kind of a surprise when he was looking into the budget, and he’s like, ‘Where’s this money?’” The village has been working for several months to put together the budget.

With no residents in attendance, Beissel opened it up for board discussion.

“Does anyone have any additional questions or comments? This thing’s been kind of beat to death,” she said.

Roy started in the position in late September, so the expectation is that next year’s budget work will be much easier.

“I’m looking forward to next year’s process,” said Trustee Andrew Borner. “It should go a lot better.”

“The various meetings and with our administrator have helped iron out a lot of unknowns and put us on a path of systematic planning and made us a lot more aware and knowledgeable on what some of these items are in good detail,” said Trustee Dale Hines.