County Budget balances taxes and programs

The week before Thanksgiving, the Dane County Board passed the 2011 budget with wide agreement on the tough choices that had to be made to fit government programs with taxpayer's ability to pay for them. All but 4 supervisors voted for the budget, which cut spending in some areas, maintained funding in other areas and increased funding for key investments. See the following for details:

Human Services: The board was able to maintain funding for key human services programs that support those with developmental disabilities, mental health, senior services and other support programs such as Joining Forces with Families - a critical program that works with families and is especially helpful to our school district which relies on these programs to help support kids in crisis. We also included funding for mental health services which should provide a lower cost option to sending clients to the very expensive Mendota Mental Health facility. Lastly, the Board approved replacing the Coroner witih a Medical Examiner, which should save money by being able to conduct autopsies in-house instead of paying for those to be conducted by outside providers and may be able to do autopsies for adjacent counties, bringing money into the county coffers.

Public Safety:
The county included $18 million in borrowing for the long-debated radio interoperability system. With more than 75% of the municipalities agreeing to share the operation and maintenance costs for this system, the county is moving forward to invest in the infrastructure and build the system that will allow police, fire, EMS and public works departments to all speak to each other during an emergency response. Construction will begin next year and the entire system will be in place by 2013.

The board also began implementing recommendations from the Sheriff's staffing study, which assessed the staffing levels within the Sheriff's Department. While the study showed significant over-staffing in some areas, it also identified areas where shifts in staffing were needed. Instead of implementing all of the recommendations at one time, which might have lead to significant disruptions in the department as well as significant lay-offs, the County Board was very careful to implement key recomendations by shifting some positions and cutting others in a way that resulted in no lay-offs but better use of our deputies. No cuts to rural patrol were made, although several community deputy positions were eliminated.

Economic Development:
The Board approved funding for several support staff for the Foreclosure Task Force, which helps homeowners avoid foreclosure and better understand options if they cannot, as well as staff support for the county economic development committee, which coordinates economic development for more than 60 communities within the county. This helps us compete on a regional basis for luring businesses to our area, such as the Spectrum Brands subsidiary which recently moved to De Forest instead of northern Illinois, bringing with it 50 jobs to the area.

Environmental Protection/Land Conservation:
Several programs were funded in this budget, including $830,000 for completion of the Lower Yahara River Bike Trail to McFarland, which will connect Lake Farm Park and the Capital City Bike Trail system to McFarland on a separate bridge with a wider base than the railroad trestle bridge. In addition, funds were set aside for use on demonstration projects in rural areas where homeowners living adjacent to water will need to comply with new state shoreland zoning laws. The budget also included a new position to help the county work with farmers and the Madison Metropolitan Sewage District to help reduce phosphorus levels upstream and avoid the costs for MMSD to reduce their phosphorus levels, since they discharge below the Yahara chain of lakes.

The board approved funding for the Lakes Legacy and Land Conservation programs to continue preserving key lands in Dane County that will help minimize flooding and expand on some of our critical open spaces. County staff are working with landowners and the state to maximize the use of shared funds and low land prices. For the past 2 years, land conservation funding has been frozen and very few projects have moved forward due to the economic downturn. The Board agreed to increase the funding, but continue to review each land purchase on a case-by-case basis to ensure it's the most appropriate and cost-effective use of those monies. The board also approved a new program called the Partners for Recreation and Conservation (PARC) fund, to be used to cost-share with local governments and non-profit organizations for recreational projects.

Transportation/Roads:
The county continues to fund road improvements including Monona Drive and other roads and bridges that are in need of expansion and repair.

Taxes:
So what does this mean to the average homeowner's taxes? The property tax levy increase based on this budget is 2.9%, meaning that the county portion of the property tax on the average home valued at $241,000 will increase by $29.47 to approximately $655. That $655 is what it costs to fund all county operations, including human service programs, the county jail, the county sheriff's office, parks, lake management and weed cutting, road construction, the county courthouse, and many other valued programs that the citizens of Dane County rely upon.