City budget to be finalized Nov. 10

The Rhinelander City Council will hold a public hearing Nov. 10 on a proposed balanced budget for 2026 that would keep property tax levies nearly flat while cutting nearly $694,000 in planned expenditures.
The council is scheduled to vote on adoption of the $10.6 million budget following the public hearing at City Hall.
Finance director Wendi Bixby presented the budget summary during a budget workshop on Oct. 15, noting the city achieved the balanced budget through collaborative efforts among department heads over two intensive days of meetings.
“I was truly impressed by the spirit of camaraderie,” said city administrator Patrick Reagan. “There was no yelling. We worked together. The department heads care about this community enough that everybody chipped in, everybody saw what was necessary.”
Under the proposed budget, the city’s general property tax levy would remain flat at $4.8 million. Combined with levies for the airport, library, and debt service, the total city property tax levy would increase by just 0.15%, or approximately $9,200.

For residents, this translates to an estimated tax rate of $11.86 per $1,000 of assessed value, an increase of $0.13 per $1,000, or 1.13%. A homeowner with a $100,000 property would pay approximately $13.30 more per year in city taxes.
The modest levy increase is largely attributed to the library levy, which would rise from $295,973 to $304,204, an increase of $8,231 or 2.78%.
The budget adheres to Wisconsin’s expenditure restraint program, which limited the city to a maximum 3% increase in expenditures over the 2025 budget. Bixby reported the city came “right up to the limit” of allowable increases at 2.84%.
“We had enough revenues come in and expenditures so we’re still compliant,” she said. “We didn’t have to cut anything to meet the expenditure restraint program. We only had to cut to meet our lack of revenues.”
The budget request totals $10,618,935 in expenditures, just under the program’s maximum of $10,619,000.
To balance the budget, department heads identified $693,791 in cuts.
Copies of the proposed budget are available at City Hall and on the city website, www.rhinelanderwi.us, for public review before the Nov. 10 vote.