{"id":195,"date":"2019-10-29T19:17:57","date_gmt":"2019-10-30T00:17:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/thecapstone\/?p=195"},"modified":"2019-10-29T19:19:02","modified_gmt":"2019-10-30T00:19:02","slug":"big-changes-loom-for-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/thecapstone\/2019\/10\/29\/big-changes-loom-for-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Jefferson County looks ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By JAMES KATES<\/strong> \/ The Capstone<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An\napparently non-controversial budget moved one step closer to passage Tuesday (Oct.\n22) at the Jefferson County Board meeting, but that quiet event was accompanied\nby notes of much bigger things to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just one\ncitizen voiced concerns during a public hearing on the budget, which would\nspend about $85 million in 2020 on services ranging from parks to law\nenforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talking to\nreporters before the meeting, however, board Chair Jim Schroeder and others noted\nthat supervisors would face major decisions \u2013 including a possible\nmultimillion-dollar upgrade to the Jefferson County Courthouse \u2013 in coming\nmonths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such moves\nmay require the county to take on debt, something it historically has been\nreluctant to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supervisor\nDick Jones, chair of the board\u2019s Finance Committee, warned that the existing\n\u201cduct-tape approach\u201d to maintenance of county facilities would lead to a\n\u201cdownward spiral\u201d as the county poured money into propping up aging buildings\nand equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schroeder\nlikened the situation to \u201can old car that\u2019s nickel-and-diming you to death.\u201d\nModernizing or replacing county facilities would be a better investment in the\nlong run, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among other\nitems, the county\u2019s analog emergency-response communications network needs to\nbe upgraded to digital. Major systems in the 50-year-old courthouse, such as\nair conditioning and cable routing, also need replacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the\nCounty Board will have to accomplish that without Schroeder\u2019s leadership. He\nannounced at the end of Tuesday\u2019s meeting that he will not seek re-election in\nApril 2020. The board will have to choose a new chair from among its members\nafter they are sworn in later that month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

County\nAdministrator Ben Wehmeier said he hoped to secure a contract with a consultant\nby the end of this year to recommend a range of upgrades and possible new\nconstruction for county facilities. To keep costs reasonable, officials are\ncommitted to renovating the courthouse at its current downtown Jefferson\nlocation rather than building elsewhere, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposed\n2020 county budget includes a property-tax levy of just over $30 million,\ncompared with $28 million this year. Because of higher assessments of property\nvalue, the countywide tax rate would fall to 3.809 mills, down from 3.991 mills\nin the current budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the\nnew tax rate, a property owner would pay $380.90 in county property taxes for\nevery $100,000 in assessed value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Major\nspending categories include social services, highways and public safety \u2013 the\njail, Sheriff\u2019s Department and emergency response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition\nto property-tax revenue, the county hopes to reap about $6.5 million from its\n0.5 percent sales tax. Most of the remainder of the budget comes from shared\nrevenue from the state and federal governments for social services and highway\nmaintenance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the\npublic hearing Tuesday, Anita Martin of Lake Mills noted that the Land and\nWater Conservation Department appeared to have lost one staff position. She\nasked that the department be fully staffed to protect natural resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supervisors\nhave been asked to submit any proposed budget amendments in writing for\nconsideration by the Finance Committee. The budget is slated for approval in\nNovember and will take effect Jan. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solar farm update<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other\nbusiness Tuesday, the board heard from Wehmeier on progress toward a new solar\nelectric facility to be built by Badger State Solar LLC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\n1,500-acre, 149-megawatt project would consist of rows of solar electric panels\nlocated west of the city of Jefferson near Highway 18 in the Town of Jefferson and\nTown of Oakland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under state\nlaw, power plants that generate more than 100 megawatts are overseen primarily\nby the state Public Service Commission. But the county has drafted a Joint\nDevelopment Agreement with Badger State Solar to regulate factors such as\nfencing, setbacks from waterways, and a $1 million bond for eventual\ndismantling of the project. The solar farm\u2019s expected lifetime is 25 to 50\nyears, Wehmeier told the board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Public\nService Commission will meet Nov. 6 at the Jefferson County Fair Park Community\nCenter to discuss the project. Opportunities for public comment will come at 2\nand 6 p.m. during the meeting, Wehmeier said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project\nwould be an economic plus for local governments, Wehmeier noted. Under the\nWisconsin Utility Shared Revenue program, the county and the two affected town\ngovernments could bring a total of about $600,000 a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farmers also\nare being paid about $1,000 an acre per year for land leases, compared with\nabout $300 they could get by leasing the land for crops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, some\nresidents have expressed concern about noise, electromagnetic interference and\nthe appearance of the project, and the county is committed to hearing them,\nWehmeier said. The board\u2019s Executive Committee will meet Oct. 30 to review the\nJoint Development Agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other\naction Tuesday:<\/p>\n\n\n\n