Challenge for county isn’t an onus for taxpayers

With the cost of running Ozaukee County government rising faster than the county’s ability to raise revenue, balancing the proposed 2027 budget is a Jenga puzzle of sorts, County Administrator Jason Dzwinel indicated last week when he presented the budget to supervisors. “Recurring costs continue to grow faster than recurring levy capacity,” he said. “(The budget) uses debt reduction, enterprise revenues, reserves and conservative revenue assumptions to moderate property tax impacts.”

The budget he presented was unchanged from the one he distributed a month ago as the Executive Committee, made up of County Board Chairman Lee Schlenvogt and the chairmen of the board’s five standing committees, made no changes.

The budget will be finalized by the Executive Committee on Monday, Nov. 2, prior to a public hearing and is expected to be adopted on Wednesday, Nov. 4.

The budget proposes a tax levy of $23.52 million, an increase of $335,224, or 1.45%, from 2026. That includes a $550,000, or 2.57%, increase in operating costs totaling $21.94 million.
Debt costs will drop $214,776, or 11.99%, to $1.58 million, thanks to a decision by the board earlier this year to prepay debt service.

Meanwhile, thanks to an increase in equalized property values, the county tax rate will drop by 7 cents, or 5.79%, to $1.08 per $1,000 of equalized value.

That means the owner of a $500,000 house will pay about $540 in county property taxes, down about $35 from last year.

The county tax rate has steadily declined since 2014, when it was $2.21 per $1,000 of equalized value.

The assessed value, which will appear on this December’s tax bills, differs slightly from the equalized value. The county tax is in addition to school, municipal, technical college and special district taxes.

With $17.4 million in levy support, the Sheriff’s Office is the largest consumer of taxes in the county.

The 2027 sheriff’s budget shows an increase of $766,000, or 4%.

Sheriff’s revenues are budgeted to increase about $115,000, including an additional $100,000 in jail boarding revenue thanks to state and federal inmates housed at the county jail.

More than 80% of the Sheriff’s budget is for salaries and benefits, which are expected to rise $479,000, including a $267,000 increase in health insurance. 

That includes a new deputy position partially paid for by a contract to serve as a school resource officer with Lumen Christi Catholic School in Mequon.

Supervisors asked whether the Sheriff’s Office will be taking on more private schools.

Sheriff Christy Knowles said municipal police departments typically provide that service to public and private schools but the Mequon Police Department is unable to do so in this case.

Her department also provides the same service for Divine Savior Catholic School in Fredonia.

A part-time drug unit investigator is made full time in the budget, funded by jail boarding revenue.

Enterprise funds contributing to county operations include those from the county golf courses and from Lasata Senior Living Campus.

Hawthorne Hills and Mee-Kwon golf courses are contributing $150,000 to parks  operations and Lasata is adding $100,000 to the county general fund in 2027. 

Sales tax collections are on track to set another record this year, and are already almost $1 million ahead of last year’s collections.

And with the county’s savings account earning about 3% in annual interest, those accounts are expected to generate $250,000.

The Register of Deeds Office is projected to generate approximately $493,000 more in revenue than expenses, an increase of about $64,000 over this year’s budget.

Levy support for the second largest department — Human Services and Aging and Disability Resources Center — will increase $685,000 to about $6.4 million, up 12%, due to higher placement costs, salaries and benefits.

The District Attorney Office’s proposed levy is approximately $846,000, with salaries and benefits up about $109,000, mainly due to the conversion of a part-time victim-witness position to full time.

The Highway Department is being encouraged again to pursue additional state and municipal work to strengthen its reserve fund, the tradeoff being a “reduced capacity for county highway projects,” Dzwinel said in his budget presentation.

County budget makers are able to tap into healthy reserves to bridge funding gaps and ease pressure on the property tax levy. 

For instance, $348,000 is being transferred to transit operations.

The general fund balance is currently at $14.8 million, the roads and bridges fund stands at $694,969 and the special projects fund is $7.85 million. Other miscellaneous funds total $10.64 million.

The budget assumes a 10% increase in health insurance costs.

The value of net new construction is up a record-setting 2.3%, but that’s not enough to keep up with inflation, Dzwinel said.

The Executive Committee will meet at 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2, to approve the budget, followed by a public hearing at 7 p.m.

The County Board is scheduled to adopt the budget when it meets at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 4.