Dodge County anticipates 2016 budget increase of 5.2 percent

Although budget discussions are still ongoing, Dodge County officials are anticipating a 2016 budget increase in the neighborhood of 5.2 percent, county board members were told last week.
The figures presented at the last board meeting showed a 2016 net levy of $12,649,159.00 compared to $12,027,561.00 in 2015. County Administrator Jim Elmquist said the proposed budget had been reduced from earlier estimates that were in excess of 6.4 percent.
Since he reported to the board at the August meeting, he said, staff had made a reduction in the health insurance impact to seven percent as well as modifications to the Sheriff’s Office budget and the Highway Department budget.
“I’d like to thank all the department heads for getting this into the five percent range,” said Board Chair John Allen.
County Engineer Guy Kohlnhofer said his department was able to reduce its earlier projections by $136,190.
Kohlnhofer said that originally the department had planned on stepping up maintenance on items such as culverts, bridge repairs and seal coats because of the increasing decay of infrastructure. A decision was made, he said, to keep funding for those projects at past levels.