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11/12/2007
Guest Blog: Outagamie County Budget Analysis
The municipal/county budget process can be confusing – it’s often difficult to understand – but is critical, as it sets the amount of property taxes we pay. I served on the county board for 14 years and on the finance committee for 8 of those years - and attended this year’s budget meetings to better understand where the county administration and board are taking us in the area of taxes.
As Jo often writes, the key spending indicator to look at is the tax levy. The tax levy for Outagamie County for 2008 will be $55,091,640, an increase of 4.95% and indicates real dollar increases in spending.
You may be asking yourself, “Didn’t the governor just impose a 3.86% cap this year and a 2.0% cap next year?” The answer is yes but the devil is in the details. Debt service payments after July 1st, 2005 are not counted toward the cap. So the county has increased its debt, some of which is now being used for ongoing operations, as road repairs and has also increased the tax levy to the new 3.86% maximum allowed via the governor’s budget veto.
As a taxpayer, you may or wonder why we’re not looking at reducing spending as other counties around us are doing (namely Manitowoc and Sheboygan county who have put together budgets that either had zero increase in the levy or an actual decrease, as Sheboygan). These are good questions that you should be asking your county executive and board supervisors.
Red flags are appearing that do not bode well for future budgets. In the past the county was allowed to exceed the levy cap if the net increase in new construction was over 2.0%. Outagamie County has been fortunate that new construction has always been above the cap, hiding spending problems much like high water hides rocks in the river. New construction in 2006 was 3.4%. 2007 will probably come in at 2.8%. The projection based on the economy and the housing market is projected to be at 2.0% for 2008. The river is dropping and the rocks are beginning to show.
We are also now starting to borrow for our infrastructure instead of paying as you go and seriously looking at priorities. We are beginning to mimic the state by paying for infrastructure with a credit card.
Issues that must be addressed in 2008- Salaries, Wages, and benefit costs are far and above inflation and definitely far above the 2.0% levy cap which will be real next year. Since about 75% of the costs of operating the county is labor, this is the one single factor that will effect how this county will operate in the future and what significant program cuts will have to me made. All union contracts are up this year and negotiations will be critical.
- The Health Center (Brewster Village) is now being subsidized by you the taxpayer to the tune of $4.0 million per year (!!) and rising due to increased costs and flat revenue increases from the state in the form of Medicaid payments. The county must look at the potential of privatizing this operation as other counties have done.
- A serious look at priorities and what could be cut should begin now in anticipation of the “perfect storm“ brewing for next year. It will be the most difficult year the county has ever faced and we will need an administration and county board that is willing and capable of addressing these difficult issues now.
Sheboygan County has done an excellent job in setting priorities, preparing for times when critical budget decisions would have to be made. Outagamie County would do well to embark on a similar analysis.
Mike Thomas is a former Outagamie County Supervisor, representing the 12th Sup. District. JE
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