Canton council sets preliminary levy at 6% as budget presented

The Canton City Council on Sept. 14 reviewed a proposed 2023 General Fund budget and voted to set a preliminary levy of 6.0 percent. Mayor Cindy Shanks and Councilor Kristy Ziegler presented a budget showing $256,431 in proposed expenditures and $277,085 in projected revenues.

The presentation identified specific changes from the 2022 budget: a $1,942 increase in employee wages, an anticipated 10% rise in workers’ compensation insurance, a 7% increase in property insurance, $1,000 added for awards and recognition, $1,000 for operating supplies to cover rising fuel and other costs, and capital outlay items including a Town Hall furnace replacement and consideration of a utility locator and camera system. The proposal also includes a $2 per capita increase for ambulance services and modest increases in electric and gas utilities.

Councilor Carl Ernst moved to set the preliminary levy at 6.0 percent—an action described as expected to generate an additional $9,874.06—and Councilor Kristy Ziegler seconded. The motion carried. Mayor Shanks and council members noted that the levy report will be submitted now and that the final levy is due in December and can be adjusted downward at that time.

The budget presenters described the overall proposed expenditures as about an 8.0% decrease from 2022, explained largely by the prior-year purchase of a backhoe that is not in the 2023 budget. Revenues were projected to rise about 1.0%, including a modest increase in local government aid and expected increases from electric charges for local entities.

The council did not take additional formal budget votes at the meeting; the preliminary levy filing is a procedural step that preserves options ahead of the final levy determination this winter.