Dorchester faces $388,000 deficit
The Village of Dorchester had to make extreme cuts to its 2024 budget on October 4 after the preliminary budget was estimated as being $388,000 over budget.
Partially due to the village’s closing of their tax incremental finance district earlier this year, the revenue the village was receiving in equalized value was dramatically decreased. In 2023, the village earned $451,000 in tax increment from their TID. That number for 2024 moves to $0. The village is slated to receive $296,000 in revenue from property taxes and $150,000 from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue for an allowable debt service levy exemption.
It was noted that the numbers in the budget are preliminary so an upcoming financial consultation with the village’s financial advisor could change the numbers.
Deputy Clerk Christie Erikson said she talked to the village’s municipal financial advisor Brian Reilly from Ehlers Public Finance Advisors and he confirmed that she had written up the paperwork correctly and the preliminary numbers were as accurate as they could be.
With the stark realization that the board had some work to do in order to balance the budget, Erikson said if they can get the budget balanced for now, they can potentially take out a loan to facilitate projects that would be considered essential for public works next year.
Erikson suggested the board could increase its price for operator and liquor licenses within the village noting that other municipalities charge much more for them than Dorchester does. She also said that the increase for the licensing would not make a dent in the village’s deficit.
Numerous items were trimmed from the potential public works budget as budgeted line items for chip sealing and other smaller public works projects. Public works director Clint Penney was reluctant to cut funds from his department but agreed that if they could utilize a loan, it would be one of the only spots the village could trim the budget.
The board was able to trim its budget to just over $100,000 in deficit before agreeing to take the rest of the money out of a future expenditures account to balance the budget. The future expenditures account is made up of past budgeted items that have come in under budget and saved for future expenses.
In 2023, the village was able to transfer $43,000 to the future expenditures fund. The board looked at the margins in funding for the police department, Memorial Hall, village hall, wages, library and other areas the village financially supports but the board could not come up with many options.
The budget will be edited before the village’s budget hearing in November.
