By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — Highway funding, broadband Internet access, Medicaid reimbursement for nursing homes, mental health beds and property tax levy limits were among the topics discussed by the Dunn County Board and state legislators at a special meeting February 22.
State legislators who attended the Zoom meeting included state Senator Janet Bewley (D-Ashland) (Senate District 25; also serves as the Democratic Senate Minority Leader), a representative for Senator Kathy Bernier (R-Lake Hallie) (Senate District 23), Representative Rob Summerfield (R-Bloomer) (67th Assembly District) and Representative Warren Petryk (R-Eleva) (93rd Assembly District).
Highways
Anyone who drives — or anyone who serves on a board for a local unit government — knows there are many rural roads in need of repair and maintenance.
Kelly McCullough, county board supervisor from Menomonie, and chair of the Dunn County highway committee, noted he has served on the county board for 10 years.
McCullough said when he first started serving on the county board, the replacement cycle for county highways was once every 35 years.
In 2016, the replacement and recondition cycle increased to 41 years, in 2017, it was 42 years, and in 2019, it jumped to 78 years, he said.
To reduce the 78 year replacement cycle, the Dunn County Board approved a county vehicle registration fee of $20 in 2019, McCullough said, which brought the replacement cycle down to 50 years.
The standard replacement cycle is 25 years, he said.
Roads are necessary for businesses and economic activity and are vital for the health, safety and welfare of county residents, McCullough said.
The state must increase the gas tax to get the roads back on an acceptable replacement cycle, he said.
Sales tax
Although not exclusively used for highway funding in the way a gas tax is used for highway funding, an increase in the sales tax could be used to fund road repair and maintenance.
The governor’s proposed budget includes an increase in the county sales tax, although an increase in the sales tax would require a referendum, Senator Bewley said.
What is Dunn County’s position on an increase in the sales tax? she asked.
The proposal for an increase in the sales tax was introduced after the Dunn County Board had approved the legislative agenda for 2021, said Paul Miller, county manager.
Dunn County is desperate for any additional revenue. Costs are increasing while revenues are declining, he said.
Miller said while he could not speak for the county board, as county manager, he would support giving citizens the opportunity to say “yes” or “no” on an increase in the county sales tax.
More conversation is needed on an increase in the gas tax, Representative Summerfield said.
Gasoline engine cars have become more efficient, and in coming years, there will be more electric cars. The increased efficiency and the use of electric cars means the revenue generated by the gas tax will continue to decline, he said.
More funding is needed for the Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP) to help townships and villages in rural areas, he said.
There is more to the state’s road system than Milwaukee and Madison, and the rural areas are in need of more funding, Representative Petryk said.
An increase in the gas tax would be a “heavy lift” with the joint finance committee, but the state must also find a way to pay for fixing the roads, he said.
Broadband
During the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year, gaps in broadband Internet access have been exposed even more when children have been trying to attend school virtually and adults have been trying to work from home.
Broadband expansion in Dunn County, in the rural areas, is critical for school and for work, said James Anderson, county board supervisor from Menomonie and chair of the community resources and tourism committee.
The CRT committee has been working on finding ways to increase broadband access in Dunn County.
State funding for rural broadband expansion must be increased, Senator Bewley said.
Legislators also are looking at White Space Internet technology, she said.
White Space refers to unused television channels located between the active television channels. With the proper equipment, the unused television channels could be used to access broadband Internet connectivity.
Legislators also are looking at ways to assist local units of government to form their own Internet utilities, Senator Bewley said.
Bloomer Telephone is making progress in the Colfax area with broadband expansion, Representative Summerfield said, adding that Bloomer Telephone has a pending grant application to expand broadband along state Highway 40 to Elk Mound.
Under “good conditions,” installing fiber optic cable for broadband can cost between $30,000 and $40,000 per mile, he noted.
Nursing homes
Over the past several years, a number of nursing homes in Wisconsin have closed.
The state must increase Medicaid reimbursement for nursing homes, said Brian Johnson, county board supervisor from Colfax and chair of The Neighbors of Dunn County committee.
Wisconsin ranks 44th in the nation in terms of nursing home reimbursement, he said.
A few years ago, Wisconsin ranked last in the nation for Medicaid reimbursement to nursing homes.
The low Medicaid reimbursement rate makes it more difficult for nursing homes to cover expenses and to pay the people who work at the facilities, Johnson said.
The prohibition on nursing homes being able to accept Medicaid funding for operating Community Based Residential Facilities (assisted living facilities) must also be removed, he said.
The state of Wisconsin has lost billions of dollars by refusing to accept the Medicaid expansion, Senator Bewley said.
Medicaid reimbursement must be increased, she said.
Mental health
When law enforcement officers have to transport someone from this part of the state who needs hospitalization for mental health care, the trip to facilities in Winnebago or Mendota is an all-day undertaking.
Funding is needed to address the regional shortage of mental health beds, said Diane Morehouse, county board supervisor from Menomonie and chair of the Dunn County Health and Human Services Board.
Morehouse also talked about the need for more child welfare funding, more funding to help staff county public health departments, more funding for the Birth to Three program and more funding for nutrition assistance for senior citizens.
Child welfare refers to out-of-home placements for children who are often in situations where a parent is addicted to methamphetamine or opioid drugs.
Senator Bernier has reintroduced legislation to open more mental health beds in Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire, said the senator’s representative.
Senator Bernier, he noted, has been newly appointed to the joint finance committee.
More mental health beds in this part of the state will help relieve stress for families, patients and law enforcement officers, Representative Summerfield said.
The governor’s budget includes increases for public health and for mental health, Senator Bewley said.
Tax levy
In 1993, the state legislature enacted revenue limits that only allow municipalities to increase property taxes by a certain amount that does not take into account any increases in expenses.
One way for the state to modify the levy limits would be to include exemptions for items that municipalities are required to provide by state law, said Gary Stene, county board supervisor from Colfax and vice-chair of the county board.
Stene chaired the meeting with the legislators in the absence of county board chair David Bartlett.
Current levy law only allows municipalities to increase the property tax by the percentage of net new construction, Stene said.
For some municipalities, where no new houses or businesses have been built, the percentage of net new construction is zero.
The state should consider allowing municipalities to increase the levy limit by the increase in the region for the Consumer Price Index, Stene said.
The annual levy limit should also be allowed to increase by the percentage of improvements, such as houses being remodeled or additions being built, Senator Bewley said, adding that the levy limit should also include the CPI.
Regarding levy limits, municipalities are always free to go to referendum at any time to ask residents to exceed the levy limit for operational costs, Representative Petryk said.
