An early look at the Marathon County budget

Good news about taxes, bad news about expenses...

Budget season is one of the areas where I think The Wausonian really shines. There really isn’t another outlet that I’ve seen dive into budgets the way we have.

And that matters. A) A municipality’s budget has a direct impact on how much you’re taxed; B) the budget determines how your tax dollars are spent; C) it can give you a sense of where administrators’ and elected leaders’ priorities lie.

In this post, we wanted to give an early look at the county’s budget — mainly, what changes are coming up, how it will impact tax rates, and what challenges the county is facing. Next up, we’ll do the same for the city.

Lance Leonhard has been giving a preview of what the county budget will hold. Here are some of the things included in that preview:

• Status quo: Leonhard says that this year’s county budget is essentially status quo - there isn’t much new in the budget, and he hasn’t really gotten requests for cuts either.

• Tax rates will decrease: Let’s be honest, this is the thing readers are most interested in, in general. Leonhard says the tax rate will likely drop by about 15 cents per $1,000 of valuation. I always say this with the caveat that there are a number of factors that influence someone’s tax bill, but that would mean about $30 less for someone who owns a home valued at $200,000.

• No changes to non-profits: A few years back county board members proposed cutting budgets for funding to area non-profits. The idea behind the funding, according to proponents of the funding, is that the non-profits performing services that ultimately save the county money in other areas. That was changed to a contract-for-services model. So far it looks like that funding will remain intact and won’t become an issue this budget.

• CART Team expansion: This is something county leaders have been calling for, but that won’t happen. For those not in the know, CART pairs mental health workers with officers trained in de-escalation tactics to respond to situations where someone is having a mental health crisis. Instead of expanding the team to a night shift, board member John Robinson says, county and city leaders are working with North Central Health Care to add more mobile crisis workers instead. They would work the night shift after CART members clock out for the day.

• Levy limits are starting to take their toll: Leonhard pointed out that the cost of doing business is always exceeding the amount of new revenue the county can take in from taxes. Levy limits cap the county’s increase in levy to the percentage of net new construction. But, he says, that’s not helping keep up with inflation, which was especially high a couple of years ago. The county’s personnel budget alone is $70 million, and a wage increase of 3% would cost the county more than $1 million alone, Leonhard explains.

• Rolling stock increase: One increase the county is looking at is increasing its rolling stock budget — basically, money to fix vehicles in a timely manner so they spark more expensive repairs in the future. Apparently the rolling stock dollar amount hasn’t been changed in about a decade — and of course, costs have risen in that time.

• One big increase - the new pathologist: The county budget will include an increase to accommodate the new forensic pathologist who will work at the new forensics science center - previously known as the regional morgue. I broke the story that this was being worked on back in 2015, so it’s interesting to see this finally come to life. Work is in progress on the grounds of the Northcentral Technical College campus as we speak. Medical Examiner Jessica Blahnik told the county’s public health committee that work on the building is on schedule and that if it remains so, the total exterior of the building will be completed before the snow flies. (Though these days, who knows when that will be.

Stay tuned for an early look at the city of Wausau’s budget. In the meantime, check out our latest Full Court Press, which looks at notable lawsuits in Marathon County each month.