Our meeting started with a public hearing on the proposed budget for 2025.
From there we went into our monthly meeting. This was the last meeting for our current County Administrator Brent Miller. Lisa Wilson will take over as the new County Administrator.
The county clerk informed us of a petition from Marx Family Enterprises to rezone some land from agricultural to recreational/commercial. The land in question is The Abbey at Otter Creek.
The board voted 26-0 to authorize $110,000 for the Economic Development / Brand Marketing team to build the investment side of Sauk County. This includes developing a website InvestSaukCounty.com as a companion to exploresaukcounty.com.
The board voted 23-2 to authorize the purchase of a Mobile Command Post for $864,311. This funding will come from the general fund balance. There was a motion to amend the funding source from General fund balance to the last of the ARPA funding. ARPA funding must be spent or allocated by the end of 2024. This proposal was complicated by the timelines of using or committing ARPA funds along with removing the funding from other departments who were already proceeding to spend ARPA funds already allocated to them. In the end the amendment vote was 0-25. Yep, that is right. The two people who offered the amendment and seconded it, voted against it.
The board voted 24-0 to approve amending the 2024budget to appropriate $14,000 for the Veterans Service Department. This was originally a portion of a grant from 2023 that was not spent. This allows the money to be carried forward and remain with the Veterans Service Department. This was omitted by an earlier resolution that carries funds forward year to year.
The board voted 24-0 to authorize new positions in the 2025 budget. These include reclassification of four positions. One in ADRC. Three in Land Resources and Environment department. And three new positions in the Human Services Department.
The board voted 24-0 to approve the 2025 budget. The equalized value increased by 8%. The mill rate decreased from $3.41 to $3.18. The average residential property value is at $282,800. The average county tax on residential property is $900. The total levy amount is $35,397,692. The total budget is $146,068,778. Some of the big-ticket items in this budget are White Mound Park maintenance/storage building ($1,000,000), communication upgrades ($1,128,021), White Mound County Park improvements ($446,150), facility renovations/maintenance/upgrade controls ($4,832,539), and the Merrimac Bridge Project ($173,049).
As always, any opinions expressed here are my opinions and do not represent the Sauk County Board. This is not an official blog of Sauk County. Your eyes have not deceived you. The tally for votes did decrease during the meeting. The board is required by law to meet on the second Tuesday in November for the budget meeting. The second Tuesday is also the Baraboo City Council meeting day. Two board members serve on both the County Board and the City Council. So, they left during the meeting. Happy Thanksgiving!