Holmen has been recognized as one of the fastest growing communities in the state and that growth continues with more than 350 lots for single and twin homes this Summer.

Village Administrator Scott Heinig says permits for a 290 lot development just south of Old Highway NA will be available in July. Heinig says by the end of the Summer another 90 will be available North of Old NA.

With that growth comes infrastructure needs. Heinig says the village has more than $90 million invested in new sewer, water, and roads. Of that, $40 million is from the developers. As an example, the administrator says roads have doubled in the past 15 years from 30 miles to 60 miles.

The population of Holmen in 1990 was approximately 4800 and is now at more than 11,500. Heinig says it's grown by 4,000 individuals since he began fifteen years ago. While change may be hard for longtime residents, Heinig says approximately 50% of their residents have lived in the community less than 10 years. Still, he must be mindful of the cost of new infrastructure and change on older residents who may be on fixed incomes due to its impact on property taxes.

Heinig says ensuring the community doesn't grow too quickly is key to keeping property taxes manageable. 

One boost Holmen will have is when their Tax-Incremental-Financing (TIF) districts for their industrial parks. Manufacturing companies such as Holmen Cheese and Xetex are bringing jobs to the village with the construction of their facilities. With the TIF, La Crosse County, the Holmen School District, and Western Technical College agree to allow Holmen to "freeze" the property tax amount collected to the pre-construction level. As the properties develop and taxes increase, the additional funding helps pay for improvements and other economic development opportunities within the area. As that TIF expires, the full property tax values will come into the general tax collection for the benefit of all.

This will help relieve more than $4 from the mill rate when that occurs. 

Heinig says right now, the tax base has grown from $500 million to about $1.5 billion. This makes the mill rate the lowest in the Village's history and one of the lowest in the state. However, because the desire to live in Holmen, the land price is high, which makes the taxes appear high.

While you would think service-type businesses such as restaurants and shops would be equally building in Holmen due to its growth, the Village Administrators admits that's been slow coming. Heinig says because of their close and easy access to already developed shopping just south of them, commercial development has happened slower than they would like.