Chairman’s
Update 9/23/2019
By now, most
of you have heard that the Planning Commission presentation and vote on the
gravel pit was cancelled. Bob Kordus of Asphalt Contractors called us saying
Walworth County wanted more details on his proposal and he wasn’t ready to
present to us. The County has advised us
in the past that it is important that the presentation to the Town is the same
as the one being presented to the County. While we would like to see this issue
resolved, it is important to follow proper procedures. The Planning Commission
presentation is tentatively scheduled for October 24, assuming Kordus satisfies
the County.
Incidentally,
from now on, whenever a conditional use permit request or a rezone is scheduled
for the Planning Commission, we will hold a public hearing after the
presentation and before a vote so residents can ask questions of the petitioner
and voice any concerns.
Recently,
there have been relatively large crowds attending both Town Board and Planning
Commission meetings. Sometimes it is difficult for people in the opposite ends
of the room to hear what is being said. Jim Simons reminded me after the recent
Board meeting that earlier someone had asked about the possibility of a PA
system. We’ve recently purchased a portable system which should help alleviate
this problem. Thanks, Jim, for the reminder.
Small towns
and villages all over the state are facing a serious shortage of volunteer fire
and emergency medical (EMS) personnel and are forced to hire a few fulltime
staff members to supplement their volunteers. We currently contract with East
Troy and Lyons for our fire and EMS services which, by State law, we have to provide
to Town residents. Spring Prairie pays both departments a percentage of their
costs as our share of the services provided to us. Lyons, right now, is on the
verge of hiring full time EMS staff to supplement their volunteers. We will
have to help fund these new positions.
Spring Prairie
operates with a balanced budget every year and tries to keep the Town’s portion
of property taxes at a minimal level. In fact, Town taxes have barely risen in
the last 16 years. Right now, we are faced with the expense of helping Lyons
fund their EMS staff, as well as increased costs for funding staffing and
future equipment purchases of the East Troy Department. We feel we have no
choice but to ask the electors in the Town to allow us to raise the tax levy to
cover this expense. Per State law, this is done at a special Town meeting (following
the budget hearing) and requires a majority vote by the electors. We will be
looking to raise approximately $60,000 which would be allocated proportionally
over the 1,897 tax parcels in the town. The only other alternative would be to
cut a huge chunk from our road maintenance budget to cover this added expense.
The condition of our roads is well above the state average for rural roads and
it would be foolish to jeopardize them now because it would only cause problems
and expense in the future that would plague us forever. We regret having to do
this and trust that Town residents understand and agree.
Enjoy our
beautiful Wisconsin Autumn!