Following voter approval in the April 2025 referendum, property taxes and water bill costs have increased in the city of Whitewater. They were aimed at expanding police, fire, and emergency medical services. City officials say the move is necessary to keep up with rising public safety demands.
Property tax bills were recently sent out, raising concerns by the community. In a YouTube video on the subject, city officials acknowledged these concerns, but also emphasized that a tax bill is made up of multiple components.
Officials explain that changes in an individual’s tax bill may reflect more than just one jurisdiction. When discussing the April 2025 referendum, officials state that they are referring only to the City of Whitewater’s share of the tax bill.
“The largest pieces typically include the school district, the city and the county,” the video said. “Each jurisdiction sets its own levy and rate.”
According to city data, the Whitewater Police Department has not added an officer in 17 years despite a nearly 90 percent increase in calls since 2010. During the same period, police overtime has increased by approximately 80 percent. Fire and EMS have experienced similar challenges. Since 2012, Fire and EMS calls have increased by 48 percent. Officials have stated that 20 percent of the time, there are simultaneous calls. This imbalance between staffing levels and call volume has created challenges for the reliability of services.
These trends show a mismatch in call volume and staffing, which is why the city asked voters for the levy authority to maintain reliable public safety services.
To alleviate these concerns voters were asked whether the city should be allowed to exceed the state imposed levy limit for 2026 and increase the levy limits for that year. Voters approved allowing the city to collect an additional $1,305,782 dedicated specifically to public safety staffing.
The approval funding will allow the city to receive five full-time police officers, two cross-trained firefighter/EMS, one dispatcher, and necessary equipment associated with those positions.
“If the referendum had not passed, the city would not have been able to add police officers, firefighters/EMTs, or a dispatcher despite significant increases in calls for service,” Whitewater Director of Finance Rachelle Blitch said. “The practical impact would have included longer response times, increased reliance on overtime, greater staff fatigue, reduced proactive policing, and increased strain on fire and EMS operations, ultimately affecting service reliability and community safety.”
Before seeking voter approval, city leaders said that they took steps to address public safety needs within their existing budget. Those efforts included adding a detective position and funding EMT adjustments. By funding the detective position internally officials said the referendum dollars could be used on increasing the number of officers on patrol and improving dispatcher coverage. The original fire and EMS staffing plan called for three additional firefighter/EMTs to ensure reliable coverage. However, the city asked taxpayers to support funding for only two of those positions through the referendum.
The third position was funded through internal budget changes so that the city could reduce the overall referendum request while still meeting community needs.
In addition to the referendum, changes at the county level also affected property taxes, which grew faster in Jefferson County than in Walworth County. As a result, Jefferson County residents are projected to see a bigger tax increase of $1.60 while Walworth County residents are expected to see a smaller increase of about 95 cents.
“The most common concerns relate to household affordability, particularly for residents on fixed incomes, and questions about whether the increase could have been avoided,” Blitch said.
City officials said that they recognize these concerns about raising taxes but emphasize that the additional funding is critical to sustaining public safety services.
