Fox Point, Bayside to Pay Larger Share of Nicolet Taxes

Residents in Fox Point, Bayside and River Hills will pay a larger share of property taxes this year, while those living in Glendale will pay less, new figures show.

The shift is due to the decline in property values in Glendale, which saw an 8.9 percent drop in total value this year, said Jeff Dellutri, Nicolet's director of business services.

Bayside also saw a decline in property values — about 1.8 percent. However, Fox Point's overall value rose 1.8 percent and River Hills' value went up 0.4 percent.

Last year, Glendale property owners paid $7.49 million in taxes to Nicolet — 46.2 percent of all taxes collected by the district. This year, Glendale property owners will pay $7.48 million, or 43.8 percent of the district's total levy. That's a drop of 0.15 percent in total taxes levied in Glendale.

However, Fox Point property owners will pay 11.5 percent more in total taxes than last year. River Hills will pay 10 percent more and Bayside residents living in Milwaukee County will see a 7.6 percent rise in taxes.

What that means to residents and businesses will depend on how much the assessed value of an individual property changed last year, Dellutri said.

The proportion of Nicolet school taxes levied in each of the four communities that make up the Nicolet district is based on the overall value of each municipality. Municipalities with larger increases in that total value will carry a larger share of the tax levy for the district than they did last year, Dellutri explained. 

"Therefore, Bayside, Fox Point and River Hills will pick up a greater share, and Glendale a lesser share of the Nicolet levy as compared with 2010," Dellutri wrote in a memo presented to the School Board on Tuesday.

"This is the biggest shift that I've seen in my time here," he said.

"So, the good news is Mort pays less in taxes, but the bad news is Mort's value of his property is down," board member Joe Kasle joked, referring to another board member, Mort Grodsky, who lives in Glendale. 

In October, the board approved the $17 million tax levy for the 2011-12 school year, which is up 5.34 percent from the $16.2 million levy for 2010-11. Property tax bills will be sent out in December.

The overall property values have dropped 3.87 percent in the municipalities within the Nicolet district. Here's the breakdown for the 2011-12 school year:

But while taxes are going up, Fox Point resident Rachel Ropel Harrenbruck said she has no problem with that.

"I know that last year we couldn't sell our house, but at the same time, our property taxes went up 25 percent in one year," she said.

"It's taken up a big chunk of our disposable income, so we've make a lot of changes to our lifestyle," she said. "At the same time, I realize we have great services in Fox Point and I'm glad that the village hasn't outsourced all of our village jobs. I'm very happy with Fox Point-Bayside and Nicolet."