Budget clears committee despite late addition

The Ozaukee County Board on Wednesday was expected to approve a 2026 tax levy that will grow 1.59% from 2025 to $23.18 million, with an equalized tax rate of $1.15 per $1,000 of valuation,  down 10 cents, or 7.95%, from 2025.

The budget was recommended for approval on Monday, despite a last-minute change, by the Executive committees to spend about $150,000 for two new jailers.

The new jailers — one for the first shift and the other for the second — will reduce overtime at the jail by about $106,000.

The additional $44,000 will be covered by revenue generated at the jail from boarding revenue paid to the county for housing federal and state inmates, Sheriff Christy Knowles said at the Executive Committee meeting Monday night.

Executive Committee member Supr. Patrick Foy objected to the move. At first because it was a last-minute change in the budget that had gone through several reviews by county staff and supervisors.

“So the six hours we spent discussing this was time wasted,” he said.

Secondly, he objected because boarding revenue from the jail is normally earmarked  for one-time capital projects and not for ongoing operational costs, such as salaries, because of its unreliability.

About half a million dollars in boarding revenue has been committed this year and next for various projects, for instance.

Knowles pointed out, however, that since 2011 $150,000 of boarding revenue has been committed to Sheriff’s Office operations.

“If boarding revenue goes away the county will have to figure out how to fund these two positions,” she said.

Executive Committee members, which consists of chairmen of the County Board’s five standing committees and County Board Chairman Lee Schlenvogt, recommended approval of the proposed budget on a 3-1 vote, with Foy voting no.

The levy for areas without a public library will be $1 million higher with a tax rate of 20 cents per $1,000 higher than libraried areas.

The equalized tax rate differs slightly from the assessed rate that will appear on December’s tax bills.

The county tax is just one of the taxes that appear on those bills. Others include municipal and school taxes.

The budget assumes $13.2 million in sales tax revenue, using the Wisconsin Counties Association’s estimate, $500,000 more than the county staff’s.

The county is on its way to another record year in sales tax revenue in 2025, already collecting more than $7.13 million through July. 

The 2025 budget called for more than $12 million in sales taxes. The WCA’s estimate is traditionally higher than the county’s.

Wages will go up 3% under the proposed budget and health insurance will go up 4% compared to projections that expected a 10% increase. 

Other than the jailers, the budget calls for no new positions being created and that “strict hiring limitations” be observed, County Administrator Jason Dzwinel said.

While positions have not been cut, some have not been funded.

That includes the number of Sheriff’s Office dispatchers. The number of dispatchers remains at 20 but five more positions are approved but not funded.

The Sheriff’s Office’s levy increase under the budget is $592,000, 3.7% higher than this year, with most of it due to rising wages and benefits, although jail food has become more expensive, going up $65,000 over last year.

The Sheriff’s Office makes up the largest share of the budget, with $16.7 million in levy for operations.

This year’s budget process was far smoother than last year’s budget process, which Dzwinel said was the “most challenging” in decades, due in large part to skyrocketing costs in the Health and Human Services Department.

Costs continue to rise there, Dzwinel said, but not as severely.

The Clerk of Courts operations levy will be reduced by $100,000 and Land and Water Management decreases its levy by $18,000 thanks to a “meaningful increase” in state funding.

The Transit Department’s levy is unchanged due to a “significant” fund balance of $2 million.

The Lasata Senior Living Campus requires no levy support and will contribute $100,000 from its reserves to offset the overall  tax levy, the same as occurred in the 2025 budget.

Also, revenue from the county golf courses at Mee-Kwon and Hawthorne Hills will contribute to county park operations.

A public hearing on the budget held on Monday, Nov. 3, drew no public comments.