Marinette County residents soundly defeated a proposed property tax referendum on Tuesday, voting 7,270 no to 2,749 yes to reject a levy increase of $1.5 million to support public safety and other essential services.

If approved, the levy would have resulted in an estimated property tax increase of $20 per $100,000 of equalized assessed property value, according to the Marinette County Board.

The 2026 levy is capped at $17.65 million, which is an increase of 1.494%. The referendum sought to raise the 2027 levy by 8.5%, delivering a total of $19.15 million.

The levy increase of $1.5 million would also have been permitted going forward.

The referendum stated the levy was for “the purpose of maintaining existing levels of service for Public Safety including Law Enforcement, Jail, Courts, District Attorney’s Office, Family Court Commissioner; 911 Dispatch, Child Support, Emergency Management and Medical Examiner.”

According to preliminary results posted on the Marinette County website, the measure was defeated in the City of Niagara, 152 no to 100 yes. In the Town of Niagara, the tally was 141 no to 67 yes.

The proposal was defeated in every voting district across the county.

Current tax limits set by Wisconsin law have put essential public safety services at risk, the county board stated in a Nov. 6 resolution calling for the referendum.