City Council to vote on $1 million referendum to hire additional officers

There's one item on tomorrow night's City Council agenda: approving a Nov. 4 referendum to raise $1 million to hire 12 more police officers.

The council is scheduled to vote on Alderman Greg Helding's proposal to address crime in the city. If passed, city residents would vote on the same ballot as the presidential election to exceed state revenue caps to hire the additional officers.

Here's the JT's story on the proposal.

Here's the full resolution that will be introduced tomorrow night:

Resolution for Exceeding the State Imposed Levy Limit

Whereas, the State of Wisconsin has imposed limits on town, village, city and county property tax levies for 2007 and 2008 under Wis. Stat. sec. 66.0602; and

Whereas, it is anticipated that a similar levy limit will be imposed by the State of Wisconsin for 2009 and subsequent years; and

Whereas, the Common Council of the City of Racine, Racine County, believes it is in the City’s best interest to exceed the state levy limit as described above by a greater percentage than 2% for the purpose of hiring additional police officers; and

Whereas, the City of Racine’s levy before adjustments was $40,760,800 for the tax levy in 2007 (collected in 2008); and Whereas, the state limit would limit the increase to $815,216, for a total allowable city tax levy before adjustments of $41,576,016 for 2008 (collected in 2009).

Now, therefore, the Common Council of the City of Racine, Racine County, does hereby resolve and order as follows:

The Common Council hereby supports an additional increase of $1,000,000 in the city tax levy for 2008 (to be collected in 2009) and an identical amount in 2009 and 2010 (to be collected in 2010 and 2011, respectively) in excess of the state levy limits, before adjustments.

The Common Council directs that the question of increasing the city tax levy for 2008, 2009 and 2010 (to be collected in 2009, 2010 and 2011 respectively) if the State of Wisconsin imposes levy limits during the referenced time period, by $1,000,000 for each of the referenced years for the purpose of hiring additional police officers, shall be submitted to the electors in a referendum at the November general election to be held on November 4, 2008.

The referendum question shall read as follows:

Under state law, the increase in the levy of the City of Racine for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year (collected in 2009) is limited to 2%, which will result in a levy before adjustments of $41,576,016, or an increase of $815,216. For the purpose of hiring additional police officers, shall the City of Racine be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year and for each fiscal year in which 2% levy limit is imposed by the state from now through 2011, by a total of $1,000,000 additional dollars per annum over the levy limit for the sole purpose of hiring additional police officers?

A yes vote will authorize the city to increase the city tax levy by one million dollars for each year through 2010 in which a levy limit is imposed by the State of Wisconsin under sec. 66.0602 of the Wisconsin Statutes, for the sole purpose of hiring additional police officers.

A no vote will limit the city tax levy to the percentage amount imposed by the State of Wisconsin under sec. 66.0602 of the Wisconsin Statutes.