Onalaska’s Budget Secrets: What Rising Property Values and $20 Million in Borrowing Mean for You

When you get your property tax bill in La Crosse County, it can feel like reading a foreign language. The mill rate, the assessment ratio, and the “value” of your home as defined by the county don’t always add up in a way that makes sense. And in Onalaska’s case, the numbers may look transparent on paper — but they still leave taxpayers holding the bag.

Here’s the truth: while the city deserves credit for being unusually open about its budget process, residents just got hit with a 28% increase in home values. That number wasn’t pulled from the free market. It was set by the same government body that then turns around and taxes you based on that “value.”

Why does this matter? Because Onalaska is proposing nearly $20 million in new borrowing. That’s on top of the $12 million it already collects in property taxes each year — with almost $4.5 million of that already tied up in debt from past projects. If approved, taxpayers will now shoulder an additional $1.5 million annually in debt service for the next 20 years.

And what’s the money going toward? Not just essentials like public safety or road repairs. Buried in the budget are items like:

• $25,000 for trees (yes, borrowed money for landscaping requests).

• $22,000 for hand dryers at the Omni Center — financed over 20 years.

• $100,000 for new carpet at the library.

• $35,000 for new sand at Van Riper Park’s volleyball court.

• $4 million for a community center remodel.

Add to that an extra wheel tax with a so-called “sunset clause” that’s unlikely to disappear, and you start to see how these small line items snowball into millions in long-term debt for taxpayers.

So while Onalaska leaders can technically say they haven’t raised your mill rate, the reality is that your tax bill is climbing — simply because the county reassessed your property value upward. The math is simple: higher valuations mean more dollars collected, without ever having to say “we raised taxes.”

This isn’t about whether government should fund roads, fire stations, or police. Those are legitimate responsibilities. The real issue is whether taxpayers should be financing carpets, trees, and hand dryers — while watching their home values rise just enough to cover the city’s new spending.

If you live in Onalaska, you deserve to know exactly what’s happening with your tax dollars. Transparency is a start, but accountability is the finish line.