Posted: Dec. 16, 2009

Tax bills are in the mail in most North Shore communities, bringing varying degrees of taxes paying for a variety of services in the municipalities, but assessed tax rates should not be compared from community to community as they do not all provide similar services through taxes.

For instance, most provide garbage collections, but in Mequon, residents contract for their own refuse collections.

All city and village halls are closed Dec. 24 and 25 for those who want to pay their taxes in person. Check with your individual community to see if they are open part of the day on Dec. 31. Otherwise, communities will follow normal operating hours.

Bayside

The village kept its levy with no increase but other taxing bodies for those residents in Milwaukee County showed increases as follows: state, 0.4 percent; Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, 3.13 percent; Nicolet School District, 3.85 percent; Milwaukee Area Technical College, 4.52 percent; Milwaukee County, 5.15 percent; Fox Point-Bayside School District, 5.35 percent; Maple Dale-Indian Hill School District, 15.15 percent.

For Bayside residents with Ozaukee County property, the village tax levy remains the same while other jurisdictions increased as follows: MMSD, 3.13 percent; state, 4.36 percent; Ozaukee County, 7.49 percent; Nicolet, 7.95 percent; MATC, 8.65 percent; Fox Point-Bayside district, 8.79 percent.

The net total tax rate is $23.19 per $1,000 of assessed value, up from last year's rate of $21.74 for Maple Dale residents. For Milwaukee County Fox Point schools residents, the net total tax rate is $24.37 per $1,000 of assessed value, up from last year's rate of $23.46. For Ozaukee County residents, the net total tax rate is $21.63 per $1,000 of assessed value, up from last year's rate of $20.34.

Brown Deer

Village residents saw a 4.4 percent increase in their net tax bill after deductions for the lottery and gaming credit and first dollar levy credit. The levy for the state decreased 0.3 percent, while the levies for other taxing bodies increased as follows: MMSD, 2.3 percent; MATC, 3.8 percent; village, 4.1 percent; Milwaukee County, 4.5 percent; Brown Deer schools, 5.8 percent.

The net total tax rate is $25.59 per $1,000 of assessed value, up $1.15 from last year's rate of $24.44.

Fox Point

Village taxpayers saw modest tax increases across the board with the exception of those living in the Maple Dale-Indian Hill School District, which had a levy increase of 17.8 percent due to a referendum adopted by residents last spring. Those living in the Fox Point-Bayside district saw the school levy increase 3.5 percent. Other increases were as follows: the state, a decrease of 2.8 percent; MMSD, a decrease of 0.3 percent; Milwaukee County, 0.7 percent increase; Nicolet School District, a 0.5 percent increase; village 3.3 percent.

The net total tax rate for property owners in the Fox Point-Bayside district is $27.15 per $1,000 of assessed value, up from the net rate of $26.58 a year ago. In the Maple Dale district, the net tax rate is $25.85 per $1,000 of assessed value, up from the rate of $24.70 of a year ago.

Glendale

City taxpayers living in the Glendale-River Hills School District saw a modest 1 percent increase in their tax rate while the small number living in the Maple Dale-Indian Hill District has a 5.2 percent increase due to the referendum adopted by voters last spring.

The levy for the Glendale-River Hills District decreased by 1.8 percent while the Maple Dale-Indian Hill levy increased 14.1 percent. Other increases were MMSD, 1 percent; city, 0.3 percent; Milwaukee County, 3.6 percent; Nicolet School District, 2.1 percent; MATC, 2.9 percent. The state levy was identical to last year.

The net tax rate for property owners in the Glendale-River Hills District was $24.12 per $1,000 of assessed value, up from the $23.87 of a year ago.

River Hills

Property owners in the Glendale River Hills School District will see a lower total tax rate thanks to a modest 1.49 percent levy increase in that school district while owners in the Maple Dale-Indian Hill District will see a larger increase due to the 18.52 levy increase for that district.

All taxpayers will see levy increases from other taxing bodies as follows: state, 2.59 percent; county, 6.3 percent; village, 3 percent; MATC, 6.8 percent; Nicolet, 6.12 percent; MMSD, 5.22 percent.

The net tax rate for property in the Glendale-River Hills district is $23.13 per $1,000 of assessed value, up from last year's rate of $22.18.

The net rate for the Maple Dale district is $24.17 per $1,000 of assessed value, up from $22.12 from a year ago.

Shorewood

Village taxpayers will see increases in all tax levies on their property tax bill. The increases are as follows: Shorewood schools, 4.05 percent; village, 2.33 percent; Milwaukee County, 7.03 percent; MMSD, 4.82 percent; MATC, 6.39 percent; state, 2.19 percent.

The net tax rate is $24.63 per $1,000 of assessed value, up from the rate of $23.60 a year ago.

Whitefish Bay

Bay taxpayers will see increases in the six individual levies on tax bills as follows: Whitefish Bay Schools, 5.61 percent increase; village, 0.87 percent; county, 4.77 percent; MATC, 4.15 percent; MMSD, 2.61 percent; state, 0.70 percent.

The net tax rate is $21.30 per $1,000 of assessed value, up from the rate of $20.28 a year ago.

Editor's note: Mequon and Thiensville did not respond in time to a request to be included.