State Budget Funding

Under the 2015-2017 state funding for this program remains at the same level as in the past, $58 million annually. Act 55 modified the expenditure restraint program's eligibility requirement pertaining to municipal budgets by clarifying that the adjustment for contracted services serves to exclude from a municipality's budget any costs of providing a contracted service to another governmental unit in the year in which the municipality incurs those costs.

Eligibility

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) has posted the 2016 Expenditure Restraint Budget Worksheet (Form SL-203) on its website, which is a new e-file form this year.
 
According to DOR, 479 municipalities are eligible to file and qualify for a 2017 Expenditure Restraint Program (ERP) payment. Letters were mailed to the eligible municipalities on March 31, 2016.
 
To qualify for a 2017 ERP payment, both of the following  must apply:
1.     Your municipal-only 2015 property tax rate must exceed 5 mills

• According to DOR records, 479 municipalities have a 2015 tax rate above 5 mills
• Note: This excludes TIF district value and tax increments 

2.     Your municipality’s non-debt general fund budget expenditure increase from 2015 to 2016 must be less than the sum of the 0.3 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for the 12 months ending September 30, 2015, plus your net new construction percentage during 2014 (up to a maximum 2 percent). Note: On October 28, 2015, DOR notified municipalities of their allowable 2016 budget increase.

DOR will notify communities of their allowable 2017 budget increase in late October 2016.