When it came to net basic spending for 2017 (the nearest year for which comparative data analysis is available), Stanley, Wisconsin was sitting rather pretty, well below the local competition as the Wisconsin Policy Forum’s Municipal Data Tool calculates things. And while it should be noted that Stanley Correctional Institutional (SCI) on the other side of Highway 29 can artificially deflate real “per capita” city spending figures given that it runs largely as its own, separate institution, even while it factors into official census figures (and thus “per capita” breakdowns) due to being within the Stanley city limits, the numbers are nonetheless instructive.

Starting out in first place for net basic spending per capita in 2017 was Thorp, Wisconsin, with $596 per head, followed by the village of Cadott with $591 per person. Next up for net basic spending is the village of Boyd at $594, while Gilman rings in at $488 in per capita in net basic spending on each of its 400 some residents. Finally—and we’ve already covered the potential deflationary aspect of this by a failure to distinguish in budget breakdowns—the city of Stanley comes in at $306 in per capita spending. What then of 2017 property tax figures?

Here again, as before, it must be noted that not all pay the same in property tax assessments as based on assessed home value, so that “per capita” numbers would be strictly incorrect and will be bypassed in favor of the cold, hard facts. What are they?

Starting in at the low end, Gilman residents won out locally in the share of 2017 property taxes carried by residential properties, at just 56 percent. Next was a tie between the cities of Thorp and Stanley at 62 percent, with Cadott raising the property tax levy bar to 72 percent of property tax charged to the residential sector. Finally, in 2017, the share of overall local property taxes paid by residents of Boyd, Wisconsin, was set at 78 percent, the highest of the five communities displayed. What then of municipal debt?

In this regard, Boyd came out relatively well, at just 14 percent of the state limit, just above Gilman’s rather small municipal debt figure of three percent of the state imposed limit. Following upon Boyd was Cadott at 59 percent of the state imposed debt limit, while Stanley stood at 72 percent, just below Thorp’s figure of 73 percent.

Meanwhile, for Shared Revenue in 2017, the numbers reversed somewhat, with Gilman ringing in at $408 per capita in outside income, followed by Boyd at $378 per capita and Thorp at $357 per capita in Shared Revenue. Closing out the five community comparison are Stanley with a Shared Revenue score of $276 per capita, and Cadott with a figure of just $160 per capita in Shared Revenue.