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The Jefferson County Board had a meeting on Tuesday, October 22. The County Board meetings are taken place at the courthouse in Jefferson. One of the very important matters discussed was the 2020 budget. The budget is the total of $85 million. There is a lot to be done during 2020 and a few of the spending’s include road construction, paying off debts and remodeling the Jefferson County buildings including the main remodeling of the Jefferson County Courthouse.

Renovations

            The main renovations for the Jefferson County Courthouse include maintenance and making sure everything is operating right. The courthouse has become very tech savvy and has updated most of their files to electronics. They board members want to not just update their files but also modernize the building. At the beginning of 2020, the members will decide what exact updates will be made to the building. There will not be much done on the exterior of the building but it will take 2-3 years to make the changes that need to be done inside the Jefferson County Courthouse.

            Talking about the renovation of the courthouse, Jim Schroeder, Chair of the Jefferson County Board, said

“If you have a car that’s nickel and diming you to death, that’s not really a good way to spend your money. You’re better of either putting a new engine in the car or buying a new car, because in the long run your money will be spent more wisely.”

            Explaining that the county board doesn’t want to just fix a couple things here and there, that they want to make sure it’s renovated to also new.

Property Taxes

            Continuing on with the 2020 budget for Jefferson County includes property taxes. Property taxes are one of the major sources of revenue. Even though property taxes are a one of the main sources of revenue, the taxes for Jefferson County have been dropping since 2017.

            There was one hearing from the public and that was Anita Martin from Lake Mills. Mills works for the Land and Water Department and she explained that they are down a person in the department and was wondering if that position will be filled during with the 2020 budget or will that position be terminated.

An answer will be given in a county board meeting at a later date.

Badger State Solar Project

            Ranger Power is working with area farmers and landowners to developBadger State Solar, a 149-megawatt photovoltaic solar facility in the Towns of Jefferson and Oakland in Jefferson County, Wisconsin.

            There is another location that has not been moved forward with by the Public Service Commission (PSC) is in the northeastern part of Jefferson County in Watertown, Ixonia, Farmington, and Concord.

The project will produce enough clean, low-cost energy to power tens of thousands of homes and will help Wisconsin meet its goals for in-state renewable energy. The Badger State site is located close to existing electrical infrastructure, which minimizes the project’s footprint and avoids the need for long transmission lines.

Badger State Solar will create hundreds of jobs during the construction phase and 3-5 full-time jobs once operational. The project is a new private investment in Jefferson County and will be a major source of new revenue through the Wisconsin Shared Revenue Program.

            It was said at the meeting that the county and the developer states would use 15 hundred acres. It was discussed that access roads, landscaping and fencing will be happening.

            A couple negatives came out of having the solar project installed, such it is very modern and up to date and the public is worrying about losing the nature and rolling hills and worrying about the sound that will come from it.

            There is a meeting that will be open to the public and that will happen on November 6^th at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Jefferson County Fair park grounds in the activity center.

            For more information on the Jefferson County Board, including meeting agendas and minutes, visit https://www.jeffersoncountywi.gov/.   

What happened this week?

A Common Council meeting was held at the Municipal Building in downtown Whitewater last Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m.  A lot was discussed Tuesday night about the upcoming 2020-city budget, the Palmyra-Eagle referendum and events that are happening around town.

Cameron Clapper, the City Manager introduced the audience to the 2020 city budget. Clapper spoke about the budget briefing for the next few months:

•          October 1: Budget Delivery to Common Council

•          October 10-24: Finance Committee Review

•          November 5: Final Presentation to common council

•          November 19: Public Hearing and Adoption

Clapper explained the Tax Bill Breakdown to help the people understand where the money is going. The Common Council wants a balanced 2020 budget. The money goes to the State of Wisconsin, Walworth County, technical college, the Whitewater school district and the City of Whitewater.

The 2020 budget has gone up by 2.5%, which means it is at $9.8 million. Clapper mentioned,

“Property Taxes and Intergovernmental Revenue is where we draw funds. Intergovernmental revenue is beginning to get smaller”

The top 3 general fund expenditures are general government, public safety and public works and this was equalized in 2019. It was said by Clapper that,

“We have experienced over that time period .68% growth.”

The major capital projects are:

•          Clay Street Reconstruction

•          PD Radio Console upgrades

•          Lake Draw Down Projects

•          Uninterruptable Power Supply Replacement

•          Industrial Drive Watermain

•          Amphitheater Installation

•          Public Works Facility Study

•          Walworth Avenue/Court Street Inlet

The 2020 Budget Review timeline will go through until mid December. The next meeting will be held on Thursday October 10^th at 5:30 p.m. and that will be with the Special Finance Committee to go in-depth with the 2020 budget.

The Palmyra-Eagle Area school district sent out a 2019 referendum and it did not pass. The referendum was to continue educating students while the district remains open, appropriate staffing levels and programs are maintained, completed repairs and general maintenance to the districts building and board and administration continue to work in cost mindful manner.

The referendum asks to exceed the limits by $1.75 million in the 2019-20 school year, $2.5 million in the 2020-21 school year, $3.25 million in the 2021-22 school year and $4 million in the 2022-23 school year.

The residents of Palmyra-Eagle have got enough signatures to force an advisory referendum on the school district. The Palmyra-Eagle Area School Board has voted on whether the school district should dissolve and the residents did too.

One way or another, the School District of Whitewater would be affected if the neighboring Palmyra-Eagle Area School District dissolves. Palmyra-Eagle has 381 elementary school students in two buildings in Palmyra and Eagle, 133 middle school students, 255 high school students and 15 open-enrollment applicants for the 2019-20 school year.

Whitewater board members acknowledged that the situation is complicated, but they said they want to start looking at how they can help some of the families who might be looking for a new district.

With the possibility of adding more students, additional state funding could make its way to the district.

For Superintendent Mark Elworthy, communication with area districts on what happens with the Palmyra-Eagle students will be key moving forward.

There is a Board Meeting coming up on Tuesday October 8^th at 7:00 p.m. at the Palmyra-Eagle High School.