Village of Jackson reviews final budget, utility rate forecasts and TID performance; board directs staff to publish budget summary for Nov. 11 hearing

Village of Jackson board members on Oct. 20 reviewed a final financial management plan and utility forecasts presented by Ariana Schmidt of Eller's Financial Advisors and directed staff to publish a budget summary for a public hearing on Nov. 11, 2025.

The presentation combined the village's 10-plus-year capital improvement plan (CIP), operating-budget projections for 2026 and forecasts for the water and sewer utilities, plus year-by-year summaries of the village's tax increment districts (TIDs). Ariana Schmidt, a financial advisor with Eller's Financial Advisors, told the board the village had built a 2026 operating proposal that meets the board's goal of a roughly 3% increase in a sample taxpayer's bill.

That 3% objective was reached by adding $321,000 to the village's levy-for-capital line; Schmidt said that levy-for-capital is a "movable object" the village can use to reduce the need for immediate debt issuance and limit the tax impact of future borrowing. She noted the village's 2025 tax rate was $5.10 and the proposed 2026 tax rate in the framework is $5.25.

Schm…