Plan includes another drug agent to address growing heroin problem
Here is the complete text of County Executive James Ladwig’s 2014 budget presentation to the Racine County Board.
The remarks were made at the board’s Tuesday, Oct. 8 meeting:
“Mr. Chairman and members of the County Board:
“This is the third budget address I have presented to the Racine County Board. I am also pleased to be able to tell you that this is the third consecutive budget with no increase in the general countywide levy.
“What does this mean? In 2014, we will be operating with the same amount of tax dollars that we were operating with when I took office in 2011, with no reduction in service.
“As we began work on the 2014 budget, I again directed all department heads to bring me a budget that was either flat or reduced. This was critically important because I recognize the need to control property taxes in these tough economic times. To their credit, our senior staff understands the need to contain costs and work more efficiently. Because of their efforts, and the dedication of our employees, we have been able to achieve this goal.
“I want to thank my department heads and their staff: Julie Anderson, Tom Christensen, Terry DeBrabander, Jonathan Delagrave, Dan Eastman, Karen Galbraith, Lorna George and Jon Lehman.
“Arriving at a budget with no increase was a real challenge. This process required long hours, difficult decisions, and true cooperation. I cannot overlook the assistance and support of our elected officials; Chairman Hansen, Vice Chairman Clark, the Board of Supervisors, Sheriff Schmaling, County Clerk Wendy Christensen, Register of Deeds Tyson Fettes, Clerk of Courts Rose Lee, Treasurer Jane Nikolai, and District Attorney Rich Chiapete. Every single person’s contribution and cooperation was essential to make this 2014 budget come together.
“Let me explain some of our challenges related to preparing the 2014 budget.
“As we all know, managing the rising costs of health care presents us with a huge challenge. Racine County’s retiree’s health care costs are up 14.5% this year. This is worth restating. Health care costs for retirees will be $1.2 million more than they were in 2013. In spite of this, we have been able to present a budget that has no general levy increase or program cuts through careful and efficient administration.
“The 2014 budget provides Racine County residents with quality services at an affordable cost. We have worked hard to make smart decisions, to make wise choices, and to manage our costs, while still investing in our future.
“An excellent quality of life is one of the reasons that people and businesses stay in and chose to locate in Racine County. We never lose sight of this fact, even when we have to make tough decisions.
“Our parks are better than ever! Racine County-owned River Bend Nature Center had a successful year. With the hard work and commitment of Board President Roger Chernick, Executive Director Jeanne Dernehl and many volunteers, the grounds and buildings of this county resource have been restored and improved. River Bend’s revenues have covered their expenses, new programs and fund raising strategies are in progress and the numbers of visitors continues to increase.
“After the success and overwhelming popularity of the Karen A. Nelson Dog Park at Quarry Lake Park, we will open a new dog park this fall in the Village of Rochester at Case Eagle Park. In this budget, I am also proposing we partner with the Village of Union Grove to open yet another dog park in 2014.
“Ridgewood Care Center achieved its goal and was recently awarded a Four-Star overall quality rating by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This achievement makes them not only one of the best county-run nursing homes, but one of the best nursing homes overall in the State of Wisconsin. The Four-Star rating recognizes the quality of care and customer service provided by Ridgewood.
“Reefpoint Marina also had a great season, and our management team continues to make improvements to ensure that our marina is the most desired location on Lake Michigan. Reefpoint just celebrated becoming a certified Wisconsin Clean Marina, which recognizes best management practices.
It should be noted that both Ridgewood and Reefpoint Marina are Enterprise Funds, and do not rely on tax levy dollars for their current operations.
“The Human Services Department is one of the largest departments in our budget. It includes many mandated services with costs that can be difficult to keep under control. HSD’s budgeted expenses are over $34 million – and include Veterans Services and the UW Extension, but do not include Ridgewood or the Behavioral Health Clinic. Of this total, less than $6 million is included in the levy. Because of the determination and innovative approaches of Jonathan Delagrave and his team, HSD’s impact on the budget has been reduced for 2014, while still providing excellent service for Racine County residents.
“The new Behavioral Health Clinic is coming up on its one year anniversary at the Racine County Dennis Kornwolf Service Center. The clinic is fully staffed; we have expanded services and are able to provide these services for more county residents. We will also be able to recover a greater portion of our costs from other sources, including insurance and Medicaid.
“Our ACE (Alternatives to Correction through Education) Program remains a more successful alternative than placing juveniles in corrections. Through our partnership with Kenosha County, our ACE bed rentals average approximately three per day. Even though recent changes in the State budget may offer us opportunities for additional bed rentals, we budgeted conservatively and did not project increases for bed rentals in 2014.
“Our roads are a reflection of the county. Racine County’s Public Works Department, headed by Julie Anderson, does a great job of maintaining the roads year round. We recognize that caring for and improving our roadways is important. That is why this budget includes road and bridge work on portions of County Highways D, Y, X, P, W, and J.
“This budget also includes other Public Works projects. We are going to replace the aging Rochester Truck Storage Building. Aided by a grant, we will be replacing the Fischer Park Boat Ramp and adding another floating dock. This budget includes money to repair of a number of roofs on our parks buildings and make repairs to the Public Works facility at Ives Grove.
“Thanks to a $700,000 Harbor Assistance Grant recently awarded to Racine County, the Pershing Park small boat basin will be dredged. The Wisconsin Waterways Commission has also awarded a grant of almost $500,000 to be used in a joint project to dredge the small boat basin and to rebuild the City’s Fifth Street Boat Ramp in 2014. This will allow our county to continue to serve as a great venue for Salmon-A-Rama, and give boaters easy access to Lake Michigan.
“I understand the value and importance of public safety. This year, we’re budgeting almost $24 million for the Sheriff’s Office, including the jail. Of this amount, nearly $20 million will be on the levy. I commend Sheriff Schmaling and his staff on the fine job they are doing to maximize our resources, and I encourage them to continue to find efficiencies through creative and collaborative efforts.
“I am adding one Metro Drug Agent in this year’s budget, which will allow us to focus on the increasing problem and dangers of drug use, particularly heroin use in Racine County. It is imperative that we send a message that drug dealers will not be tolerated in Racine County.
“We are also budgeting for courthouse security, which will allow us to secure the entrances to our courthouse and improve public safety. While we have been fortunate to not experience any major incidents in our courthouse, I believe it is important to take this proactive step, so the public and our employees can be assured that we are doing all we can to provide a safe facility to conduct business.
“Everything I have mentioned tonight, demonstrates that each one of our departments has a common goal and purpose – to provide high quality services to Racine County residents in the best way possible. Our LEAN Government Initiative has helped us to find efficiencies and provide services in the most cost effective manner. Several LEAN projects were completed this year, with Ridgewood taking the lead in most of these projects. A LEAN project that streamlined our purchasing process has had a countywide impact. The new procedure reduces turnaround time by over a week, decreases the number of requisition forms by over 3,000 a year, and will save at least $50,000 a year.
“It would not be right if I did not say thank you to Finance Director Dan Eastman and his team, who do the financial “heavy-lifting” each year as we prepare the budget. Our Finance Department is professional and dedicated, and we could not do the work of the County without them.
“Racine County has continued to invest in the Racine County Economic Development Corporation’s Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) in an effort to attract new companies and jobs to Racine County. This $1 million investment has again been included in our budget.
“The RLF is an investment which has demonstrated real successes over the past several years – including UNICO/Regal Beloit, Cree, UNFI, Echo Lake Foods, and other businesses we are currently working with. These businesses are an asset to our community, increase our tax base, and more importantly provide valuable jobs to our residents.
“It is important that I mention the “bottom line”, or the levies, included in this budget. As you know, the levy expense for the County Schools, the library levy, and bridge aids levy, is not within our control. This year, due to a large number of retirees, we will see an increase in the County School levy. However, the library levy will be down this year, and because of efficiencies and cost savings in prior projects, we are able to fund the 2014 bridge projects with theses savings.
“Everyone is always most interested in the general countywide levy. Because it is such an important outcome of our budgeting process, I began this address by stating that we have been able to avoid any increase in the countywide levy again this year. This is a noteworthy accomplishment if you recognize that we are operating with the same amount of tax dollars today as we were in 2011, with no reduction in services.
“As we begin the departmental budget hearings next week, you will be able to examine the budget in greater detail and ask questions of the constitutional officers and department heads. I encourage each of you to take time to review this budget and appreciate the difficult task each manager faced to control costs.
“I believe the budget presented to you should preserve our bond rating, protect our reserves, and still provide excellent services to our residents. I look forward to the discussion during the budget process, and I look forward to working with the County Board to adopt this 2014 budget.
“Thank you for your time and interest.”
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