County approves $90M budget; $27M in local taxes
By Tim Damos, Capital Newspapers
BARABOO — A new program intended to prevent jail inmates from becoming repeat offenders might still go forward, although it was pulled from Sauk County's 2009 budget.
The proposed program would consist of hiring a social worker to help inmates deal with life issues and get back on their feet after a stint in jail.
Although the Sauk County Board decided against spending $100,000 to roll out the program next year, most supervisors have shown strong support for the concept. And Sauk County Human Services Director Bill Orth said Thursday he might be able to start the program using one of the department's graduate students.
The student will only be with the department through May, which could make things difficult, Orth said.
"We've got six months with them," Orth said. "That's really probably not enough time."
But Orth said it still might be possible to start the program on a pilot level working with one or two inmates — rather than the 10 to 15 inmates it was intended to serve.
The so-called "jail diversion program" was the brainchild of a special committee of county justice officials, and was pushed for by Sauk County Board Chairman Marty Krueger. It would have provided counseling and other services — such as jobs and housing arrangements — for inmates nearing the end of their jail sentence.
A social worker would continue to meet with inmates for six months to a year once they're free, and would help them maintain a stable lifestyle.
Inmates would be selected for the program using a screening process that would gauge their motivation to make life changes, Orth said.
Supporters see the program as an investment that could save the county money in future incarceration costs by preventing offenders from going back to jail.
But the board's Finance Committee eliminated the program during budget talks last month as part of more than $1.2 million in cuts designed to bring spending in line with state-imposed tax limits.
The chicken or the egg?
A debate over priorities during the county board's annual budget meeting Wednesday night pitted the jail diversion program against law enforcement training.
An amendment would have restored 2009 funding for the program. But it died because many supervisors didn't like the way funds would have been shifted to pay for the program.
Supervisor Robert Sinklair of Prairie du Sac proposed taking money set aside to build a new shooting range and using it for the jail diversion program.
Supporters of the range called it a vital part of training for local law enforcement officers, and said the existing range in the Town of Excelsior is at the end of its life.
Supervisor Shawn Posewitz of Baraboo said he conducts training at the range four days a week as a Lake Delton police officer. The "critical incident training" officers receive at the range is more than just "shooting holes in paper targets," Posewitz said.
Training exercises prepare officers for real-life scenarios, such as when they should or should not use their weapons.
"It probably should be called, instead of the shoot house, the no-shoot house," said supervisor Bill Wenzel of Prairie du Sac, who said he visited the existing range and participated in training.
Taking the jail diversion program funds from the shooting range budget would have left the sheriff's department with $150,000 to start construction on a project that already had been significantly cut by the Finance Committee.
"I don't really want to pit this program against the training facility," said supervisor Joan Fordham of Baraboo.
The money set aside for the shooting range was cash left over from a variety of projects, including the construction of a new Law Enforcement Center a few years ago. And some thought shifting those funds toward jail diversion was a good idea.
"I think it's very appropriate that you take money that is left over from building a jail and put it toward this program," said supervisor Katherine Zowin of Lake Delton.
Other supervisors said they didn't want to fully fund the jail diversion program, only to find it wasn't sustainable in future budgets after realizing its potential.
The board voted 18-12 against using shooting-range money for the jail diversion program. Posewitz abstained from the vote.
"Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? I don't know. I think both of these things are important," said supervisor Don Stevens of Loganville, who voted against the amendment. "I want it all and I can't have any of it. That's about the size of it."
Budget largely unchanged
Aside from a few minor changes Wednesday night, the Sauk County Board approved a 2009 budget identical to the one proposed during its October meeting.
Debate on the budget hadn't concluded as of press time Wednesday night.
Local property tax payers will chip in $27.71 million of the county's $90 million budget in 2009. That's a 7.4 percent increase from 2008.
Taxpayers will see a rate of $4.18 per $1,000 of assessed property value. And the average county tax on a $168,000 property would be $702.65 — a 3.08 percent increase from last year.
Motions by supervisors to make sweeping changes to the budget were rejected by the full board.
Supervisor Tom Kriegl of Baraboo, an outspoken opponent of the sheriff's department, proposed adding $770,000 to what the sheriff budgeted for revenue from renting beds to out-of-county inmates and using that money for expenses related to June flood damage.
Kriegl has argued the sheriff could be operating the jail more efficiently by closing a once-vacant wing opened to make way for state inmates. His figures and claims were disputed by sheriff's department officials at Wednesday's meeting.
Supervisors voted 22-8 against Kriegl's proposal, with supervisor Linda Borleske of Reedsburg abstaining.
Other failed amendments would have added or removed funds from the county's planning and zoning department.
A look at how Sauk County taxpayer dollars are being spent
Function 2009 Budget Change from 2008
General government (-)$2.74 million -15.7%
Justice and public safety $11.86 million +4.4%
Public works $3.67 million +7.5%
Health and human services $11.75 million +4.1%
Culture $62,750 0%
Recreation $156,837 -9.3%
Education $1.18 million +5.1%
Development $124,846 -5.5%
Conservation $794,967 +2.8%
Capital outlay $608,945 +24.4%
Debt service $250,000 0%
Total $27.71 million +7.4%
NOTE: General government category shows a net reduction in tax levy because it contains revenues not related to other functions, such as $6.5 million in sales tax collections.
SOURCE: Sauk County Accounting Department