The Wall Lake City Council has scheduled the public hearing on their Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget for their March 8 meeting. The council selected this date
The Wall Lake City Council is predicting their overall property tax levy will be decreasing for the seventh consecutive year. According to City Clerk, Chris Rodman, Wall Lake’s total levy for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 is $9.50 per $1,000 of taxable valuation and will decrease by just under a penny in the coming year. He says this is largely due to rising property values over the last decade.
The city council is still working to finalize the FY22 budget’s figures. Fortunately, revenues have not been impacted substantially by the COVID-19 pandemic so significant budget cuts will not be necessary. However, Rodman notes, they do have a large infrastructure project planned for next summer.
Wall Lake city officials are looking to get the community more involved in the planning process for what will become of the former East Sac County Elementary School. The building has gong essentially unused since May 2020 after the school board approved a plan to transition the district from four attendance centers to two. Clerk, Chris Rodman, says they are nearing the end of negotiations with the district to transfer ownership of the property to the city.
Once the oldest parts of the building are demolished and asbestos remediation is finished, Rodman estimates they will have over 4,000 square feet of usable space plus the gymnasium remaining. Many ideas have already been suggested for its future use, such as moving the fitness center from its current location in the Community Building. Rodman says another idea is to convert the remaining area into a gathering space for Wall Lake’s younger residents.
The Wall Lake City Council has set the date for a required public hearing to move forward with an economic development proposal for a local business. Clerk, Chris Rodman, says the city is planning to use Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds that will assist Robinson Ruhnke, PC open a branch in Wall Lake.
City leaders have scheduled this public hearing for their first council meeting of the new year on Monday, Jan. 4. Wall Lake generally holds their council meetings on the second and fourth Monday of each month, but Rodman says they are holding additional meetings in January to ensure business is conducted in a timely manner. The council will accept commentary from the public during the hearing, but Rodman says the proceedings will be largely a formality.
The Wall Lake City Council has approved an update of their vicious animal ordinance to bring it more in line with other communities in the state. Under the previous code, wild or venomous animals were generally prohibited within city limits, but it also barred residents from owning specific breeds of canine, including pit bulls, certain terriers and other similar varieties. The new language, which was approved at Monday’s meeting, removes the breed-specific section in the code and updates the definition of a vicious dog to be an animal that has a history of unprovoked attacks or has been trained for dog fighting or other violent responses. The ordinance’s second reading passed unanimously with the third reading waived by the council. It will go into effect once published, which is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 24. The full ordinance language can be found included below.