Buechel Rolls Out Proposed 2021 County Budget

The Fond du Lac County Board were able to see the proposed ’21 County Budget, as County Executive Al Buechel made his presentation earlier this week. Included in the budget will be 3 deputies hired by the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department, with funding help from the Federal COPS Grant.

Buechel is also looking to modernize the county’s technology which Buechel says has a short life span. The big ticket item in technology upgrades Buechel is proposing for 2021, is the replacement of the CAD/RMS/Jail/MDC software for the emergency communication system.  The funds needed to complete the project is $1,891,590.  Installation and training should be completed in late fall or early winter, 2021. 

The 2021 proposed levy is $47,656,624 as compared to $45,957,200 or an increase of $1,699,424 including debt service payments.  Equalized value, reduced by TID (Tax Incremental District) increased 4.84% to $8,195,955,700.  The tax rate of $5.815 compares to $5.879 for 2020, a six cent decrease. 

Buechel is also looking to increase wages by 1% for all county employees. In order to balance the 2021 budget, Buechel is proposing that the county apply $2,100,000 from the unassigned general fund reserve that resulted from surpluses in the 2019 budget.  That compares to $2,000,000 for the 2020 budget.  The county has had the long-time practice of applying the previous year’s surplus to the subsequent year’s budget to maintain a stable unassigned undesignated general fund to protect cash flow and bond rating. 

The County Board is expected to approve the budget next month.