In 1879 Mr. VanDyke and Mr. Hagerman, financiers, purchased a three-fourths interest, arranged for railroad extension because of the good work done in this mining region by Mr. N.P. Hulst and called the mine in Florence in honor of Mrs. Florence Hulst, his wife. This name was first applied to the iron mine, then to the town and county. The following is an account of the letter sent to Mrs. Florence Hulst on December 15, 1879 by Mr. J.J. Hagerman President of the Menominee Mining company:
Mrs. Hulst -- The time is come when we must give a name to the new town in Wisconsin at the end of the Railroad now building, and to the new mine in the vicinity, now called the Eagle, but which name we do not wish to keep, as there is already an Eagle P.O. in Wisconsin. The Company owns all the land around the lake, where the town will be located. It will be a lively town. We shall put an anti-whiskey clause in all deeds and we expect it will be as much noted for its temperance and morality as for its -- well, anything the future may develop. We all wish to call the new town and the mine FLORENCE, in honor of the first white woman who had courage enough to settle (for a while) in that rugged country. I mean the first white woman known to us.
Will you permit your name to be used?
Thus the town and mine had been given a name, a very prim and proper name!
Because of the mine people rushed into the region and by 1880 Mr. Fisher laid out the townsite, putting a number of lots upon the market. He said he would put the lots in at government prices selling the ordinary lots from $100.00 while the corners sold for $150.00.
In sixty days Mr. Fisher had sold $60,000 worth of realty. The population at this time was 50 people. In a short time a blast furnace was put up as was a foundry, five coal kilns, a large sawmill and a cheese factory.
This page was last updated: October 25, 2024
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Town board meetings are held every 2nd and 4th Monday of the month at 6:00 p.m. at the Community Center located at 749 Central Avenue, Florence. Meeting agendas will be posted online no later than the Friday before the meeting. Agendas are also posted at the Florence Post Office, Courthouse, and at Bigfoot's Riverside Liquor.
Minutes are posted after they are approved from the most recent meeting only. For copies of minutes prior to those posted online, please contact the Town Office.
The Annual Town Meeting is held the third Tuesday in April each year at 6:30 p.m. The Annual Town Meeting for 2024 will be held on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
Town board minutes will be posted online after they are approved (i.e. the January minutes are approved at the February Town Board meeting, and will be posted here to the website after the February meeting). Only the most recent minutes are posted online. For copies of previous meeting minutes, please contact the Town of Florence Office. Please Note: The Annual Meeting Minutes are unapproved minutes. They will be approved at the 2024 Annual Town Meeting, which will be held on Tuesday, April 15, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. at the Town of Florence Community Center.
Please note that any current notices for Town of Florence Residents/Property Owners that do not fall in a different category will be posted here.
OPEN BOOK & BOARD OF REVIEW
Please note R&R Assessing is in the area and has begun the work for on the 2024 Assessments. The Town is required to do a Reval this year. There will be a Market Reval done of all of the properties in the Town of Florence. When the Open Book and Board of Review dates have been set for the Town of Florence for 2024 they will be posted online. Visit the Taxes & Assessor Page of our website for details and complete information.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that at an election to be held in the Town of Florence, on Tuesday,
April 4, 2023, the following officers are to be elected to succeed the present incumbents listed. The term for these offices are for two years beginning on Tuesday, April 18, 2023.
OFFICE & INCUMBENT
Town Board Chairperson
Tim Bomberg
Town Board Supervisor #1
John Holbrook
Town Board Supervisor #2
Shane McLain
Clerk/Treasurer
Shelly VanPembrook
NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN, that the first day to circulate nomination papers is December 1, 2022, and the final day for filing nomination papers is 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, in the office of the town clerk.
NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN, that if a primary is necessary, the primary will be held on Tuesday,
February 21, 2023. GIVEN, under my hand, done in the Town of Florence, on this 17th Day of November, 2022.
A Market Revaluation on Property Assessments in the Town of Florence is in process for 2024.
Note: All assessments increased in the Town of Florence, but this does not mean that the taxes are going to go up the same percentage as assessment change.
Physical Inspections:
Physical inspections are done on all properties that were issued building permits in 2023 & 2024.
They are also done upon request by the property owner.
Looking at the Market:
Once completed with physicals we then turn to a review of all properties that have sold not only in calendar year 2023, but for years 2019 through 2022.
What we are looking for is market trends.
Has there been a steady crescendo in values?
Are all properties appreciating in value the same?
Or are lake properties going up in value greater than properties in the intown/city limits of Florence?
Adjustments:
Adjustments to assessments will be based on this research with the result being assessments representing property worth more in tune with today’s market, NOT 2012 (the date of the last revaluation). The last revaluation was conducted in 2012, which means for many property owners their assessments have not changed since 2012.
Unless owners put something up or tore something down, their assessment in 2023 is the same as what it was for years 2012 through 2023.
So, we are going to be looking at 11-12 years of market growth getting caught up in one year.
What does this mean for taxes?
Looking at the sale ratios for 2023, if a revaluation were not performed this year, the estimated level of assessment appears to be 58% for 2024 assessment year.
However, with the revaluation taking place and the level of assessment we are targeting is 100%, the mill rate for 2024 should go down approximately 42%.
With the increase in overall value to the township (58% to 100%) the taxes can be spread amongst that larger value base.
Therefore, the mill rate goes down approximately the same percentage, pending spending from the various taxing jurisdictions are comparable to the previous year. (School, Tech College, Municipality, County, etc.)
The first step for information is reaching out to the assessor if you have more questions, to make an appointment for the open book, or to talk to the assessor directly about what exactly is included in the valuation of your property
Note: The information below is for Town of Florenceresidents/properties only. If you are in the Town of Commonwealth, you need to contact them directly. Contact information for the Town of Commonwealth can be found by visiting the Florence County website municipality page at: https://www.florencecountywi.com/municipalities/?i=bc93992f6b36
We have received a lot of calls about Commonwealth garbage collection. Florence and Commonwealth have similar systems, but they are not the same. Commonwealth addresses list Florence as their mailing city. The easiest way to determine if you are Florence or Commonwealth is to look at the physical fire number posted on your property. It will identify the Town that yourproperty is in.
07-15-24: There are have been issues with the 96 gallon bins and the 300 gallon bins. These issues that have come up may result in garbage not being picked up by GFL, which can create a nuisance and a mess for the areas that are not following the rules. A couple of pictures were taken on the containers that would not be serviced on 07-08-24 & 07-16-24. There are a list of rules below the pictures. NOTE: Ash from a firepit is not material that will be serviced by GFL. Someone put bags of ash that became wet in one of the 300 gallon containers, and it could not be serviced by GFL because of the weight.
A list of address receiving bins is posted below. It includes the location for where bins will be placed and where the bins need to be set out for for pick-up.
The week of June 24, 2024 some 300 gallon containers were placed throughout the Town of Florence for household garbage pick-up only. Items placed in these larger containers still need to be in bags. Any Town of Florence resident may place garbage in these containers. These containers are for residents that live on the surrounding roads including those who do not have their own bin.
Second containers:
If you consistently have more garbage than will fit in your container, please contact the Town of Florence Office to get signed up for an additional bin.
Automated Refuse Collection Reminders
Please note the items in red below as after 6 month these are still issues that keep coming up from the garbage collection company.
The Town of Florence was required to switched to automated refuse collection with Green For Life (GFL) providing the service. In the 6 months that the system has been in place, GFL has communicated with the Town of Florence about some of the issues they are having servicing refuse collection carts in the Town of Florence and Spread Eagle locations.
Here are some reminders when it comes to the procedures to have your cart serviced:
Garbage stickers are no longer required
All refuse must be bagged. No loose items may be placed in the carts.
All bags must fit into the cart with the lid mostly closed. If the cart is over filled or the lid is not down, the cart will be left and not emptied.
Only Town of Florence Garbage Carts (or preapproved privately owned carts) will be serviced (emptied) by Green for Life. Do not put garbage into your Eagle Waste/Republic Services recycling bins as they will not be emptied even if there is garbage in them since they are recycling bins only.
All refuse carts should be placed on the street side your house. If a cart is placed in the alley, it will not be serviced (note: this does not currently affect where you are putting your Eagle Waste/Republic Services recycling bins—this is for Town of Florence garbage collection only)
There is a new GFL employee servicing the Town of Florence route. He is approximately 1-2 hour earlier than the previous driver. Bins should be placed out no later than 6 a.m. on Tuesdays for collection this includes Spread Eagle.
This refuse collection service is only for household waste. Do NOT put demolition material in the cart (insulation, lumber, concrete, etc). Do NOT put yard waste (leaves, branches, lawn clippings, etc).
The carts are owned by the Town. If you have a cart, you are considered the caretaker of the cart. You have the responsibility to bring the cart out and back in after collection day, which is especially true in the winter months for snow removal.
The Town is charged by the number of carts that are serviced. Currently, there are 788 carts. The Town of Florence is planning on passing on approximately 70% of the cost (the approximate amount previously covered by the sale of garbage stickers). Note: this charge may change depending on the number of carts that are out and serviced for the entire year. At this point, the Town cannot confirm the amount of the charge until the actual cost for the year is known. This charge will show up on their 2024 Tax Bill, which will be mailed in December.
NOTE: If you are a Town of Florence resident who lives in the Patten Lake area, you use the Town of Fern drop-off site. Nothing is changing in regards to how your garbage handled. You will still drop it off there.
We ask for your patience and cooperation as we work thru this process.
Agendas for upcoming Town Board Meetings are posted below. They are typically posted on the Thursday or Friday prior to the regularly scheduled Town Board Meeting (Monday).
AGENDA
TOWN BOARD MEETING
TOWN OF FLORENCE
Monday, October 28, 2024
at 6 p.m. at the Town of Florence Community Center located at –
749 Central Avenue, Florence, WI
1.Meeting called to order
2.Adoption of agenda
3.Approval of minutes of previous meeting(s) held on September 23, 2024, October 23, 2024 Board of Review and October 24, 2024 Board of Review
4.Communications from the floor (up to 30 minutes)
5.Discussion and possible action on operator license applications received
6.Discussion with Patten Lake property owners regarding restricting certain artificial wake enhancement on Patten Lake
7.Treasurer’s report, voucher approval, correspondence, notices, and if available the following reports will be submitted to board for review and approval: Journal entries, September bank reconciliation, FERC, Florence Utility Commission meeting minutes, Timber cut notices.
8.Board Member Concerns
9.Closed Session under WI SS 19.85(1) (c) Considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility
10.Adjournment
Shelly VanPembrook
Clerk/Treasurer
Note: If you have any special needs or require special accommodations in order to attend town board meetings, please call 715-528-3595 or write PO Box 247, Florence, WI 54121
