Tax Freeze Proposed in 2012 County Budget, Vrakas Says

When Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas introduced his 2012 executive budget Tuesday night, he did so with a proposal that freezes the county portion of the property tax bill, according to a news release.

will reduce the operating budget by 1.4 percent and personnel costs by 2 percent, according to the news release. 

The budget was introduced to the Waukesha County Board of Supervisors Tuesday night with the final passage expected in November.

“In many ways, some of the positive changes that we’re seeing other local governments now make, are changes that Waukesha County made long ago,” Vrakas said in the release. “The caps on levy increases related new construction growth, which the state is now requiring of local governments, is something that we have focused on for years.”

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that the budget includes a .6 percent increase to the tax levy. The article notes that the majority of the county would not see a raise on their property taxes for the county portion of the property tax bill and that some may see a decrease.

However, the article states the budget doesn’t come without cuts. The county is also laying off 18.7 employees in 2012 to save $1 million, according to the article.

To read more about the cuts in funding to the Waukesha County government services, read the article here.

Vrakas, in his release, highlighted the county’s partnerships between departments, other governmental bodies and the private sector, including:

• The creation of an Income Maintenance consortium for Economic Support Administration program with Washington, Ozaukee, Fond du Lac, and Walworth Counties to increase program efficiency and reduce program costs.
• Partnering with Washington County to provide secure detention housing for female juveniles, resulting in estimated net County taxpayer levy savings of approximately $200,000.  The savings will then be reinvested into community-based prevention programs aimed at avoiding high-cost, out-of-home placements.

Capital plans for 2012 include $7.4 million for the reconstruction and widening of County Highway L (Janesville Road) in Muskego and $18 million for the construction of the Also, the proposed budget allocates dollars for the Waukesha West Bypass as well as facility upgrades to UW-Waukesha.

Vrakas, in his release, also highlighted Waukesha County’s high bond rating that allows for lower borrowing costs. He also highlighted that the county’s total debt service is under 10 percent of its operating costs and that the county does not have a sales tax.

“We operate our county like a business,” Vrakas said in the release.  “When we invest in a road or a building project, we put a minimum of 20 percent down, we receive the lowest interest rate available because of our AAA/aaa bond rating and we pay off the project in 10 years or less.”