By LeAnn R. Ralph
HUDSON — The St. Croix County Board has approved issuing $80 million in general obligation bonds to fund the expansion and remodeling project of the government center on Carmichael Road in Hudson.
The resolution to issue general obligation bonds for the government center project has been “repackaged” after the St. Croix County Board’s vote last month to reject the resolution, said Ken Witt, county administrator, at the county board’s March 1 meeting.
The Hudson Police Department has been removed from the project for a savings of $10 million, said Adam Kastonek, St. Croix County public information officer.
St. Croix County is the second-fastest growing county in Wisconsin, and when the government center was built in 1993, the population was 50,000. Today, the population of St. Croix County has almost doubled, and in 2040, population projections indicate the county’s population will be 119,000, he said.
The increased population means there is an increased need for services, and more space is needed to provide those services, Kastonek said.
Modifications were made to the proposal for the government center based on concerns expressed by county board supervisors at the February meeting, he said.
Several St. Croix County Board members expressed concern about the cost and allocating space for the Hudson Police Department with no guarantee that the police department would occupy the space or that the City of Hudson would cover the cost, Kastonek said.
The work that has been done so far is to determine the space needs and establish a budget. If the resolution to issue $80 million in general obligation bonds is approved, then the design phase will begin, and there will be more opportunity for input from the county board and county employees, he said.
More space
According to information posted on St. Croix County’s website, for the sheriff’s department, the project will include a public lobby, training rooms, evidence labs, interview rooms, increased storage space and secure parking.
For judicial services, the project will include additional courtrooms, a children’s waiting area for Family Court, dedicated jury deliberation rooms and more space for the district attorney and victim witness offices.
For other government services, departments will have larger areas to accommodate more employees and will have more meeting and collaboration space, including “flex space” to provide health and human services at the government center.
All of the work that has been done so far has been to meet the vision and mission statements of St. Croix County, Kastonek said.
Interest rates are still low, so if the project is approved now, the lower interest rates could save the taxpayers of St. Croix County tens of millions of dollars, he said.
Kastonek read the vision and mission statements of the county.
According to the county’s vision statement, “To be the county that delivers service with compassion and respect for people and the environment.”
According to the county’s mission statement, “We will strengthen our social and economic future by providing health, safety and well-being for all.”
Financials
The general obligation bonds will be issued at a 20-year fixed rate that will allow the county to still be able to lock into historically low interest rates, although the trend will be toward interest rates going up, said Sean Lentz, of Ehlers, Inc., the county’s financial advisor.
By law, St. Croix County is restricted to borrowing 5 percent of the equalized value of the county. The county board has used general obligation debt very conservatively, so the county still has a lot of borrowing capacity, he said.
With the proposed new debt, the county would have principal and interest payments of $10.9 million annually beginning in 2023, Lentz said.
The projections for debt service payments and tax levy impacts have been based on a growth rate of 5 percent annually in the county, although the average growth rate has been 7 percent over the last 10 years, he said.
With no growth included in the analysis, the mill rate for the county’s existing debt would be 47 cents per $1,000 of property value, and with the new debt calculated in, the mill rate for the county’s debt would be 90 cents per $1,000 of property value, Lentz said.
The equalized mill rate in St. Croix County was $4.09 per $1,000 of property value for all operations and debt in 2013. In 2021, the mill rate for all operations and debt was $3.11, he said.
Calculated at the “no growth” rate, the mill rate with the $80 million included in the budget would be $3.54 per $1,000 of property value for all county operations and debt, Lentz said.
According to information posted on St. Croix County’s website, the initial property tax increase for the government center project, which would decrease over time as existing debt is paid off, would be $43 for a $100,000 property; $86 for a $200,000 property; $129 for a $300,000 property; $171 for a $400,000 property; and $214 for a $500,000 property.
Space needed
Judy Achterhof, county board supervisor from Emerald, said she had voted against the resolution at the February meeting but would probably vote in favor of it at the March meeting because “there’s a difference in finance.”
In addition, county offices need the additional space, and although it would be unlikely to ever get the “unanimous consent” of the county board, “it’s a good time to build” and “I think we’re getting the best bangs for our bucks,” she said.
Scottie Ard, county board supervisor from New Richmond, noted that the government center project will help strengthen the economic and social structure of the county, and the county board “will never see these bonding rates again in our lifetime.”
As the county grows in population, the people will need more services, she said.
Court cases are not resolved as quickly as they could be because of a lack of courtroom space and personnel, which means some people may not be able to get jobs or find housing, Ard said.
If St. Croix County cannot provide services for its residents, it will no longer be the second-fastest growing county in the state, she said.
If the county waits, the government center project will be much more costly, and the county will not be able to serve the residents and will fail in the vision and mission statements, Ard said.
“Now is the time” to support bonding, she said.
Too expensive
Rick Ottino, county board supervisor from Hudson, said he had sent an e-mail message to David Peterson, county board chair, dated February 25.
Because of the conflict in Ukraine, the St. Croix County Board should not go forward with the government center project, he said.
Gasoline will cost $4 per gallon by Memorial Day, and the price of oil is over $100 per barrel, Ottino said.
Home heating costs have almost doubled, there is a threat of cyber attack, the cost of groceries has increased and there are still problems with the supply chain, he said.
Bob Long, county board supervisor from Hudson, said he wanted to emphasize the context.
There is concern about short-term costs, but the cost of the project is long-term and is about providing 30 years or more of services for St. Croix County citizens, he said.
Peterson, who attended the meeting by Zoom, said the government project needed to be done to provide good services to the citizens of the county.
“It is not a matter of if, but when we will burst at the seams,” Peterson said.
How they voted
The St. Croix County Board approved the resolution to issue $80 million in general obligation bonds for the government center expansion and remodeling project on a vote of 15 “yes” to three “no.”
Voting in favor of the resolution were Ed Schachtner (Somerset); Shawn Anderson (Hudson); Bob Long (Hudson); Cathy Leaf (Hudson); Carah Koch (Hudson); Tim Hall (Hudson); Bob Feidler (Hudson); Dave Ostness (Hudson); Scott Counter (New Richmond); Scottie Ard (New Richmond); Greg Tellijohn (New Richmond); David Peterson (River Falls); Paulette Anderson (Hammond); Judy Achterhof (Emerald); and William Peavey (Woodville).
Voting against the resolution were Paul Berning (Hudson); Rick Ottino (Hudson); and Daniel Hanson (New Richmond).
The St. Croix County Board also approved amending the 2022 budget to include the capital improvement project for the government center that had previously been intended for the 2023 budget.
Amending the budget will allow the county to start the design phase of the three-year project, Witt said.
The county has three years from the time the money is borrowed to spend the money, he noted.
Berning and Ottino voted against amending the budget, while Hanson, who voted against the resolution to issue the general obligation bonds, voted in favor of amending the 2022 budget.
District 18, formerly represented by Shelly Tomtschik (Baldwin), is vacant.
