The Marshfield Common Council moved closer to balancing the city's proposed 2027 budget on Tuesday, as updated revenue figures and corrections narrowed a shortfall that was originally estimated at about $968,000 to less than $15,000.
City Administrator Steve Barg said earlier steps included adding $38,366 to the property tax levy on Oct. 19 to recover eligible costs from the March 2026 snowstorm, and identifying about $8,000 in interest income that had not been counted. Other ideas discussed included raising projected aquatic center revenue by $5,000 and postponing the city's share of a fairgrounds survey, though staff said some changes had not yet been added to the proposal.
A correction also changed the tax estimate. Barg said manufacturing property assessments had been counted twice, overstating the city's assessed value. The revised estimate discussed Tuesday was about $8.93 per $1,000 of assessed value, compared with a current city rate of about $8.37. At that rate, the city portion on a $200,000 property would be about $1,786, roughly $112 more than now, not counting school, county or technical college taxes.
The proposal includes about $5.48 million in debt payments, up about $554,000 from 2026, largely tied to borrowing for the police department's move to a new headquarters. The city also expects about $563,000 from the state's expenditure restraint program, up from $500,000 in 2026.
The council also learned the recently hired community development director resigned shortly after starting Oct. 12, leaving the job vacant again. Barg estimated a month of vacancy could save about $15,000 in salary and benefits, before recruitment or consulting costs.
The council did not adopt the budget Tuesday. Another special budget meeting was scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m., ahead of a November public hearing.
