County Executive Kathleen Falk presented the 1999 budget to the County Board on October 1. She had two goals for the budget: to limit spending in order to control property taxes and to improve county services and programs. The proposed budget holds the levy-funded expenditures to a 2.86% increase. This is less than the 2.9% combined rate of inflation and population growth for Dane County in 1998. This cuts the property tax rate from $3.62 per thousand to $3.51. Or approximately $12 for the average home in the Tenney/Lapham neighborhood.

Some of the priorities addressed in the proposed budget include:

_ Public Safety: the guiding philosophy is that the key to having a safer community is improvement in programs that prevent, respond to, and deter crime. The District Attorney will gain office space on the first floor of the City/County Building, funding for additional clerical staff and for a major quality improvement study. This is an effort to insure that police officers across the county and the Assistant DAs spend more time on the beat and in the courtroom and less time on routine paperwork. Funds will be provided for a pilot program for 25 women in the Dane County Jail. It will provide employment services, treatment, and family re-integration in order for them to care for their children and become more productive citizens. Funds will also be added to the budget to maintain the Dane County Drug Court.

_ Better Opportunities for Elderly and Youth: 60 additional Community Options Program (COP) slots have been added to assist older and disabled persons to remain in their homes. The Living Wage Initiative raises the wages of personal care givers to $8 an hour in an effort to reduce turnover and attract quality applicants to this work. Funds are being added to improve nutrition services, to provide for an additional Elder Abuse Specialist, and to develop an 800 number for information and referral services for older adults and persons with disabilities. In addition to funding for youth resource centers, $30,000 has been added for respite for families dealing with troubled children and $60,000 to maintain the very important Birth to Three program for families caring for disabled children.

_ Preparing for the Future: The reserve account for the County will be increased by 1% in anticipation of any negative changes in the economy. There are also several initiatives to promote the gradual implementation of Design Dane and additional dollars for the purchase of land for parks and green space. The capital budget continues the Criminal Justice Center Project. It provides for land acquisition and the initial planning and design of the facility. This is an item for which I would really like your advice, the choices are a scaled down model that would include a Juvenile Detention Center and courtrooms and an expanded version that would replace the existing courthouse.

This is going to be a rough year for the budget, as usual. In the six years I have been on the County Board there hasn't been an easy budget. Your help with the decisions that will be made is always welcome and I hope you will give me a call at 255-8913.

-Supervisor Judy Wilcox


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