PRSRT STD U.S.POSTAGE The P A I D KKoohhlleerr KOHLER, WI 53044 PERMIT NO. 6 VillagerVillager219 Church St., Kohler, WI 53044 FREE Published Monthly In Kohler, WI 53044 January, 2007 Volume 2, Number 6 It’s that time of year again – property tax payments due By Kevin Struck, University of Wisconsin- Extension The property tax has a long and some- times colorful history. Dating from about 6,000 B.C., the earliest known tax records 3 were in the form of clay tablets unearthed in the ancient city-state of Lagash in mod- ern day Iraq. Property taxes were also col- lected in ancient Egypt, Persia, and China. 2 In the 11th century A.D., Lady Godiva rode naked on a white horse through Coventry, England to protest the tax assessment on her husband's property (he received a reduction). From 1662 to 1689, a hearth tax was administered in England to obtain an esti- 4 5 mate of a building's value. Assessors recorded the number and size of hearths in each home and calculated the value accord- 1 ingly. Closer to home, property taxes have existed in Wisconsin even before the Territory of Wisconsin was formed in 1836. Today, assessors still count hearths - and 6 much more. A multitude of factors go into determining values for property and improvements, including the number of Sample tax bill bedrooms and bathrooms, the construction materials used inside and out, and consider- new values were used to calculate an updat- seem to prefer to pay before the end of the Although the Village mails out and col- ations such as a location along water or ed tax rate of $20.06 per thousand dollars of year. “We have a drop box out front, but we lects tax bills, only about 20 percent of the next to protected green space. value. Village Treasurer Laurie Lindow said still get a number of residents who like to payment is allocated to the Village. The In 2006, the Village of Kohler under- the Village mailed out 1,029 tax bills in stop in at the counter, just to make sure we majority of the property tax payment is dis- went a community-wide revaluation. The mid-December and that most residents receive it,” said Lindow. Continued on page 2 Kohler Village Board approves grant applications for Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Program The Kohler Village Board approved sub- of the Pilot Program, Sheboygan County been awarded funding after February 28, Howell, Bemis Manufacturing; Tom mitting two grant applications for projects will receive up to $25 million over four 2007. Huber, Wisconsin Department of that will be requested of the Sheboygan years to develop a network of non-motor- The following individuals are members Transportation State Bicycle and County Non-Motorized Transportation ized transportation facilities that connect of the Sheboygan County Non-Motorized Pedestrian Coordinator; Dolcye Johnson, Pilot Program. The Village approved sub- directly with transit stations, schools, resi- Transprotation Pilot Project Advisory interested citizen; Jane Kettler, bicycle mitting a grant application for extending an dences, businesses, recreation areas, and Committee: Dirk Zylman, NMTPP enthusiast, Tom Leonhardt, Village of existing walking/biking path on the east other community activity centers. This net- Committee Chairman; Jeff Agee-Aguayo, Kohler President; Dave Kuckuk, Maywood side of Woodland Road, and also approved work might include sidewalks, bicycle Bay Lake Regional Planning Commission Environmental Center; Bob McDermott, a grant resolution to support the Kohler lanes, and pedestrian and bicycle trails. The Transportation Planner; Gene Bohman, Village of Random Lake President; School Board's application for installation other pilot communities are Columbia, interested citizen; Bill Bremmer, FHWA Michael McFadzen, Chairman of the of a tunnel beneath Greenfield Drive. Missouri; Marin County, California, and State Division Manager; Dr. Jeffrey Britton, Wisconsin State Trails Council; Michael In July 2005, the U.S. Congress adopted Minneapolis, Minnesota. local Pediatrician, bicycle enthusiast; Susan Janikowski, retired Sheboygan Area the new transportation budget, which The application deadline for 2006 was Buesing, Pigeon River Elementary School School District teacher, Dr. Tom Ries, local included special provisions to create a Non- December 15, 2006. Recommendations for Principal; Brenda Dehne, interested citizen, physician, bicycle enthusiast, Alan Motorized Transportation Pilot Program program and project funding will be made bicycle enthusiast; Dan Dittrich, interested Rudnick, elected official, City of (NMTPP), Sheboygan County is one of by the Citizens Advisory and Technical citizen, bicycle enthusiast; Dr. Jacob Sheboygan business owner; Andy Schmitt, four communities in the country selected to Committee by February 22, 2007. Final Gerend interested citizen; Tom Gierke, Ice Village of Adell President; Steve Schmitt, participate in this pilot program. The four award decisions will be made by the Age Park & Trail Foundation; Fred (Fritz) City of Sheboygan Falls Chamber/Main communities are tasked with demonstrating Sheboygan County Board of Supervisors’ Goebel, bicycle enthusiast; Amy Horst, Street, David Smith, member of “the extent to which bicycling and walking Joint Resources and Transportation Connecting Communities Coordinator – Sheboygan County Bicycling Club; Kevin can carry a significant portion of the trans- Committee at their regular meeting on John Michael Kohler Arts Center; Jay Struck, Growth Management Educator for portation load, and represent a major por- February 22, 2007. Applicants will receive Hoekstra, Kohler Company; Tom Holton, UW-Extension; Charlotte Zieve, interested tion of the transportation solution,” As part written notification if their application has former City of Sheboygan DPW; John citizen. 2 JANUARY, 2007 THE KOHLER VILLAGER kohlervillager.com Property taxes, continued from page 1 tributed to Sheboygan County and the Major municipal projects can also have It is important to note that property taxes their location in the Public Land Survey Kohler School District. The portion of the a bearing from year to year on how commu- are levied on the Total Assessed Value, not System (section, town, and range) and/or a Village's budget financed by property taxes nities compare. The community that had the Total Estimated Fair Market Value. metes and bounds description of their in 2006 totaled $1,635,131. This number is substantial construction/repair charges Item 4: How much does the Wisconsin boundary. Some complex metes and projected to increase slightly in 2007 to incurred in a given year might have a larg- lottery take in and what percentage of that bounds descriptions can literally run on for $1,679,164. Major projects completed in er tax levy in that particular year than a amount goes for tax relief? According to the several pages. To save space, the legal 2006 included the West Park Lane and ten- community without such projects. In subse- Wisconsin Department of Revenue, in fiscal description on a tax bill is generally a high- nis court resurfacings, the remodeling of quent years, the situation might be year 2005-2006 total lottery sales were just ly abbreviated form of the description on the Police Department, and renovations at reversed. under $509 million. Of this total 56.1 per- your property deed. Even then, longer Kohler Memorial Theatre. Another possible factor is community cent was paid out as prize money, 5.6 per- descriptions will be incomplete on the tax With all of the news about shared rev- demographics, which can 1) increase state cent went to retailer commissions, and 6.6 bill. Therefore, always refer to your deed or enues, rising or falling tax rates, proposed aids to some communities and lower them percent was allocated to computer system referenced boundary survey for the true amendments such as TABOR, and so forth, for others, and 2) place a higher demand on and administrative expenses. This left legal description of your property. it’s often easy to overlook the property tax community services. For example, through approximately 32 percent for property tax In conclusion, property taxes have a bill itself, which contains important and no fault of its own, a community might relief, about $153 million, to spread across long history and have undergone many detailed information, some of it complex have a larger than normal number of chil- approximately 1.6 million properties. changes. In the not too distant future tax and often confusing. The remainder of this dren, which could mean a new park has to Item 5: Why didn’t I receive a lottery bills will probably arrive via computer and article addresses some frequently asked be developed and maintained, a school credit? Only owners of a home in feature automatic account debits. No pre- questions related to tax bills. addition might be necessary, and more Wisconsin who use the home as their pri- diction on whether there will be a future Item 1: A rising tax rate means taxes school buses are running on the communi- mary residence on January 1 of the year in Lady Godiva. will go up, right? Not necessarily; nor does ty's roadways thereby leading to a shorter which property taxes are levied qualify. a falling tax rate mean taxes will go down. pavement lifespan. Primary residence is defined as the home Since the tax rate is calculated by dividing The number of variables that can come where an individual lives more than six the tax levy (the amount of money a com- into play when trying to compare commu- months of the year. If temporarily absent, it munity