Mayor Dave Cieslewicz reported last week that in 2007, taxes on the average Madison home will increase by only 1.45 percent, though important city services will remain intact.

The taxes paid by an average family in Madison will increase by about $66, according to a release from the mayor's office. George Twigg, spokesperson for the mayor, said this increase includes the taxes paid to the city, county, state and local school districts.

"I know that, historically, our property tax levy has been around 5.5 percent on average," Twigg said. "This year, the levy came in around 5 percent — so in terms of historic comparison, we're doing better than average."

According to Twigg, such a low tax levy and relatively low increase on the average family is due to responsible spending and the use of innovation to save money. He said with most costs — especially fuel costs — rising, it is not an easy task to keep the budget on target and below the current inflation rate of 3.7 percent.

"This is good news for city taxpayers," Cieslewicz said in a release. "This very modest overall increase in property taxes is the result of fiscally responsible budget decisions made by the city in conjunction with other local units of government and the state."

Twigg said the automated trash system scheduled to begin in 2007 is saving the city thousands of dollars and keeping property taxes low because the trucks used can serve more houses and make better use of fuel and staff.

Under the mayor's budget, residents will still enjoy plenty of new services, including 10 additional police officers and more park-maintenance resources. But Twigg also said making a budget that is both responsible and helpful to the City of Madison's development is a difficult task.

"The cost of providing government services goes up just like everything else does," he added. "The mayor understands challenges families have in paying their property taxes, but he also has no control of basic costs going up."

Ald. Zach Brandon, District 7, who voted against the mayor's 2007 capital and operating budget, said the City Council still does not make enough decisions to save taxpayer dollars. Brandon tried to introduce more than a dozen amendments to cut more than $9 million from Cieslewicz's budget.

"Many of us aren't thinking twice about saving those dollars for our constituents," he said at the Nov. 16 City Council budget meeting.

According to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, most Madisonians were shocked to see flat or slightly lower property tax bills, and University of Wisconsin students might see this reflected in rental housing.

"It's a misnomer, and it bothers me when I hear from time to time remarks that students don't pay taxes, because they absolutely do through their rent," Verveer said. "I would hope landlords pass any potential savings on to their tenants."

In the coming year, Twigg said Cieslewicz will continue his standards of service and fiscal responsibility to the city.

"From the mayor's standpoint, we're going to keep doing what we've been doing — doing more with less," Twigg said. "It's worked for us thus far, and we will come up with more ideas to maintain a high level of service."