Town budget reflects EMS funding, salary hikes

The proposed 2025 budget for the Town of Grafton has come in at over $2 million with the addition of roughly $400,000 for fire emergency medical services approved in an April referendum.

The budget, which will be reviewed at a public hearing at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13,  funds a new deputy clerk position and gives raises to the town’s elected officials while cutting the library budget.

Town Chairman Lester Bartel said the budget is “by and large business as usual.”

It will keep the town on top of road maintenance and continue to fund basic services, Bartel said, while keeping tax bills reasonable.

The budget would give the town chairman a 75% raise — moving his salary from $14,500 to $25,375 a year — and double plan commissioner’s salaries from $600 to $1,200, as well as raise town supervisor salaries by $900, going from $4,800 to $5,100 a year.

According to a recommendation from the Town Salary Committee, the raises were based on the importance and the amount of work done by town officials, along with overall employment fairness.

“I didn’t ask for it. I didn’t even ask for the salary committee to review the salaries,” Bartel said. “Other people said they should do this.”

  The responsibilities of being chairman take up a good portion of his workday, Bartel said, noting that with the knowledge and skills he’s gained running the town for over three decades, he would be hard to replace.

“That isn’t a position you can just quit one day,” he said. “The truth of the matter is that if somebody isn’t ready to take over what I do, then they’re going to have to hire a full-time administrator.”

Bartel said that while he’s already paid more than the Grafton village president’s  $7,500 salary, the positions are not comparable.

A village president has committees, administrators and departmental staff members to help with operations, Bartel said. The Town of Grafton currently only has a clerk and treasurer as full-time employees.

Bartel said he has gotten more help over the years, but, “It’s like having a football team without a coach. Everybody knows how to play but there isn’t a leader.”

It’s not a given that Bartel or the current board members will receive the raises, since they would not start until the next term.

The budget would cut library funding by more than $30,000 as the town shifts from paying a percentage of the Grafton Library budget to a county tax for “unlibraried” communities.

Earlier this year, the town notified the village of its intention to terminate its more than 60-years-old library agreement with the village next year after its expected share of the cost increased by almost $40,000 this year.

The cut is a double-punch to the library because the county tax gets split between all the libraries in Ozaukee, Sheboygan and Washington counties that had checkouts on Town of Grafton library cards.

To save money, Library Director Amanda Kloppmann announced a plan to shift most part-time employees to flexible schedules in September.

“It does save us some money. We can’t not do it. But, I’ll be honest, it doesn’t work for some staff’s family needs,” she said at the time, adding the library will likely lose some employees over the change.

Bartel said he is confident a new library deal between the town and village will be negotiated soon.

The budget would add a deputy clerk position with a salary of $50,000. Bartel said the new employee would initially assist Clerk Sara Jacoby and Treasurer Bonnie Bartel but eventually be trained to replace Bonnie, who he said is approaching retirement.

Bartel said the Town Board has a person in mind for the position.

The proposed budget, Bartel said, is lean but fully funds essential services such as road maintenance.

“I am a fiscal conservative, but being a fiscal conservative isn’t just about cutting costs but building a strong financial position,” he said.

Bartel said communities that slash into budgets to cut taxes at all costs end up going into debt when big, necessary expenses come.

“You can keep putting it off — but now  you have a truck with four flat tires,” he said.

The town’s approach is to manage expenses as they come and pay down debts quickly, Bartel said, noting the town has no debt.