If you pay taxes in the City of River Falls, the municipal levy as proposed in the Tuesday November 10 Common Council packet is set at $6.996 million, a figure that when divided by $1.25 billion in equalized property values for the City comes out to a levy rate of $55.98 per thousand dollars in equalized value for city taxpayers. Take the levy rate times the equalized value of your property (related to but distinct from its assessed value), and you should have some idea as to what you should try and set aside for property taxes in the City of River Falls. It should be noted, however, that the local property tax levy set by the city government is just one rate and that other governments (such as school boards) also tend to impose their own fundraising initiatives for next year in the fall. Call it the price of federalism and independent governments if you want.

At any rate, going into its Tuesday council meeting, the River Falls Common Council was set to hold a second reading and disposition for Ordinance 2020–12, such that it might be able to fund the government and administration of the City of River Falls for the year 2021. The budget details for next year are contained in the Common Council packet for Tuesday and accessible online at rfcity.org. Speaking of which, what are next year’s planned capital improvement projects?

Listed in the capital improvement projects planned for 2021 are a total of 15 projects costing a combined $3.5635 million, along with several vehicle replacements, for which six percent ($213,810) of the total is paid for with local property taxes. That being said, not all capital projects share the same funding sources or these to the same degree.

Starting out with capital projects funded through City Enterprise Funds (the kind of funds raised by paying sewer, water, and other utilities), River Falls residents can look forward to upcoming electric maintenance projects, water/sewer maintenance projects, and Automated Meter Infrastructure work, to list just three. Also included in projects funded by Enterprise Funds are the FERC Licensing and Decommissioning of Powells Falls Dam, partial funding for IT infrastructure and Software work (the other part financed by Internal Service Funds), Golf View Channel (part Enterprise and part grant funded), replacing utility vehicles and finally one entitled “Abandon South Lift Station,” in apparent reference to water infrastructure. All told the Enterprise Fund portion of the capital project and vehicle replacement budget comes out to $2.0925 million, when including unseparated Internal Service and grant funds.

Coming up next in the revenue sources for capital projects is the tax levy set at $55.98 per thousand dollars. What are River Falls taxpayers getting for their money?

In the first place adequate police protection. A replacement police vehicle set to cost $44,500 or just under three dollars per person if divided by River Falls total population of between 15 and 16 thousand people (including non-taxpayers like children), is the first boon to come from the tax levy.

Also included in the boons from the property tax fund are $11,000 in improvements to neighborhood parks, being partly funded as well through the park impact fee, while replacing the concrete deck on Powell Avenue Bridge to continue safe travel in town is also due to be taken care of through the tax levy, for a projected total of $60,000. Finally, the reconstruction of South Wasson Lane from Cascade to Cemetery is budgeted next year for $210,000, with partial funding from the State of Wisconsin and the rest from the tax levy.

Meanwhile, not included with the property tax levy but funded instead through the Tax Increment District is “sidewalk infill” costing $25,000 from 1300 South Main to Wells Park. With a $5,000 improvement in Library Ventilation design funded through the “library fund” together with $135,000 in donations for Fire Safety House Replacement and $75,000 in donations for the Sterling Hill Disc Golf Course, good things should be coming soon to River Falls.