WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2015
Serving Polk County’s St. t Croix C i Valley V ll since i 1897
VOL. 118 NO. 18 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Osceola girls basketball beats Ellsworth. PAGE 10
Dresser water rate increase approved BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Dresser residents will see water rates rise in January, after Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission (PSC) approved the village’s proposed fee increase Nov. 13. For the average resident, rates will rise 108 percent for water. Sewer rates will rise slightly but current bills, which combine water and sewer fees, will not double. The hike comes after 24 years with only a few increases for inflation. In that time, operating expenses have increased
75 percent and infrastructure investment rose 243 percent. These costs include pumping equipment, distribution mains, hydrants, meters and office supplies. In its 20-page approval, the PSC reported that Dresser’s current rates for water utility service will bring in $113,052 in 2015. These rates fall $66,569 short of needed revenue. Public resistance Thirteen residents publicly opposed the increase, expressing concern over the scale of the
Osceola to set 2016 levy Flat tax rate projected BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Osceola’s 2016 budget calls for a sustained tax rate of $5.80 per $1,000 of equalized property value. This adds up to $783 for a $135,000 house, the estimated median value of a home in Osceola. “We’re basically staying the
course with our budget and continuing under levy limits,” said Village Administrator Joel West. “The goal of the village is to keep the tax rate the same or reduce it over time if we can. That way we’re able to increase the budget, but not any faster than growth in the community.” Osceola property values rose modestly in 2015. The village’s total equalized value increased
by more than $1 million, or .6 percent, from $163,545,700 to $164,552,200. With a flat tax rate, the budget projects a $5,884 increase in the levy – also a 0.6 percent increase – from $948,556 this year to $954,440 next year. Property taxes account for about 52 percent of the village’s SEE VILLAGE, PAGE 12
SEE DRESSER, PAGE 13
Hansen makes preliminary court appearance Milltown firefighter accused of sexual exploitation of child BY JESSICA DE LA CRUZ EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
Virgil A. Hansen, 65, Milltown, arrived at the Polk County Courthouse by his own free will Nov. 23, making an initial appearance on serious charges. Hansen, a mem-
ber of the Unity Fire Department, clerk for the Village of Milltown and former bus driver for the Unity School District, is accused of abusing a boy for a period of two years – starting when the boy was 13 ½ years old. In total, Hansen faces seven felony counts: repeated sexual assault of a child, trafficking of a child, sexual exploitation of a child, child enticement, soliciting a child for prostitution, mental harm
THE SUN
Projected spending for 2016. The largest expenditures are allotted for public safely, followed by debt service. The village’s debt is projected to be $7.3 million at the end of this year, excluding Redevelopment Authority (RDA) debt of $575,000.
THE SUN
Projected revenue for 2016. Intergovernmental revenue is money received from other government entities, usually the federal government or state, and can include grants, shared taxes and loans or advances.
SEE HANSEN, PAGE 2
Sentence for Otter Creek Ranch owner warns, supports reform BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
The sentence meted out Nov. 24 to Otter Creek Ranch owner Michael A. Feist seemed designed to warn him of the punishment waiting if conditions at his Milltown horse ranch degrade to the point they were two years ago, when charges of animal mistreatment were initially filed. Feist, 60, was found guilty in March of 34 counts of animal mis-
treatment, malnourishment and neglect. Four counts were felonies, one for each of four horses found dead at the ranch during a 2013 investigation by the Polk County Sheriff’s Department. He was also convicted of 15 misdemeanor counts of neglect and 15 misdemeanor counts of failure to provide adequate food and drink to horses on the property, based on assessments of 15 living SEE RANCH, PAGE 11
NEWS 715-294-2314 editor@osceolasun.com
LUESBRINK PHOTOGRAPHY |THE SUN
Sandhill cranes head south
A flock of sandhill cranes heads south, thunderously, near Crex Meadows on Sun., Nov. 21.
ADVERTISING 715-294-2314 sales@osceolasun.com
PUBLIC NOTICES 715-294-2314 sales@osceolasun.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS 715-294-2314 office@osceolasun.com
BREAKING NEWS, UPDATES Whenever, wherever you are! Scan me with your smartphone