St. Croix County Board approves $900,000 public safety referendum question for April ballot
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By LeAnn R.Ralph
HUDSON — On a vote of 12 “yes” to five “no,” the St. Croix County Board has approved a public safety referendum question for the April 2 ballot to exceed the revenue limit by $896,000.
Exceeding the state-imposed revenue limit by $896,000 on a continuing basis would allow St. Croix County to hire two corrections deputies, one sheriff’s department investigator, one half-time district attorney investigator, one youth justice early intervention specialist, one deputy clerk of court and two mental health co-responders, according to information provided to the St. Croix County Board at the January 2 meeting.
The Public Protection and Judiciary Committee unanimously approved bringing the resolution to the St. Croix Count Board for a vote, said Bob Feidler, county board supervisor from Hudson, who is chair of the PP&J committee.
The initial proposal was to add 45 public safety positions, he said.
After talking with Ken Witt, county manager, the number of positions was cut in half to 24 positions, but the referendum question for $3.5 million was rejected by the voters last April, Feidler said.
In the 2024 budget, 13 of the 24 positions were able to be funded, leaving 11 positions left, he said.
The PP&J committee cut back on the number of positions again, so that left the final number of new positions at eight, Feidler said.
In the next week or two, detailed descriptions of each position and why each position is vital to public safety will be developed for the public, he said.
The 2024 budget had new revenue from sales tax and other sources, but that new revenue will not be available again in 2025. The eight new positions can only be added if the county asks voters to exceed the revenue limit by $896,000, Witt said.
“It is a modest request,” he said.
Law enforcement positions have been added for public safety, but the additional positions are needed as support for the law enforcement positions, Witt said.
Without a referendum to supply revenue in 2025, there will not be any new revenue money coming in to fund the positions, he said.
Tim Ramberg, county board supervisor from Hudson and a member of the PP&J committee, said that the referendum question is required to be worded in a certain way.
“The taxpayers will ask ‘If I pay this, what will I be getting?’” he said.
The materials that are being developed will explain the positions and inform the public, Ramberg said.
Less money
Paul Adams, county board supervisor from Hudson and a member of PP&J committee, noted that the dollar value of the referendum question is under $1 million, so the newest referendum question would be more “palatable” to the voters than the $3.5 million referendum question last year.
The committee wanted to make the proposal more reasonable to the voters, he said.
Mark Carlson, county board supervisor from Hammond and also a member of the PP&J committee, said that before the referendum last year, he had received pushback from the voters in his district.
The voters said the county board should “find the money in the budget,” and no one that he had talked to said they wanted the extra public safety positions, Carlson said.
Some of the new positions have been added in the 2024 budget, so “I’m happy to let people vote on a smaller amount,” he said, adding that he can now tell people the county cannot get more out of the budget.
This is different than the last referendum, said Cathy Leaf, county board supervisor from Hudson and a member of the PP&J committee.
The referendum question specifically includes the positions, and the PP&J committee worked with the departments to identify the specific positions, she said.
Dan Hanson, county board supervisor from Hudson, said he had voted to put the last referendum question on the ballot.
Candidates for the county board should have the “courage of their convictions” and should campaign in favor of the proposal, he said.
If county board members face pushback from their constituents, “ask them to vote for it anyway. ‘Talk them into it. Say ‘we need this,’” Hanson said.
Bike paths
The county is willing to spend money on bike paths and on cabins for campers at Glen Hills Park, but the county does not have the money for public safety positions? asked Rick Ottino, county board supervisor from Hudson.
The county’s priorities “got skewed,” he said, adding that he will not support the referendum question.
“We need to curb other spending,” Ottino said, noting that he supports law enforcement “100 percent” but that he will “get the same thing” from his constituents.
While gathering signatures for nomination papers for the April election, out of 22 signatures, eight of the people complained about their taxes, he said.
All of the taxes on the tax bill went down, except St. Croix County, he said.
“We need to do our job, and I will not support this,” he said.
Fiscal impact
What is the fiscal impact per $100,000 of property value? asked Scott Counter, county board supervisor from New Richmond.
The $896,000 referendum question will add five cents in taxes per $1,000 of equalized value, so that would amount to $15 on a $300,000 property, Witt said.
The money in the 2024 budget has already been spent on other items. The money is “already spent and gone,” and the next budget cycle is too long to wait for these positions, Carlson said.
Does the county have the authority to raise the property tax levy without the referendum question? Hanson asked.
“No,” Witt replied.
The county can only raise the property tax levy by net new construction, for debt that it taken outside of the levy limit and by referendum, he said.
The money can only be used for the reason that voters approved in a referendum question, Witt said, adding that Hanson may have been thinking of $750,000 that St. Croix County had received for public safety that had been used to add new law enforcement positions.
On-going funds
Carah Koch, county board supervisor from Hudson, said the referendum would provide money for the positions on an on-going basis.
Purchases for capital improvements and building improvements are a one-time purchase, but this is on-going, and it is better to fund it going forward than only fund it for a year or two, she said.
The money in the Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) fund is leftover operating levy cash and sales tax, said Paul Berning, county board supervisor from Hudson.
The fund balance in the CIP is from the undesignated fund being over a certain amount, and the undesignated fund comes from extra sales tax, along with money from departments that were under budget and American Rescue Plan Act dollars, Witt said.
How they voted
The St. Croix County Board voted 12 “yes,” five “no,” with one abstaining and one county board supervisor absent.
Jerry VanSomeren, county board supervisor from Baldwin, was absent from the meeting.
Shawn Anderson, county board supervisor from Hudson, abstained from voting.
Voting in favor of the resolution were Bob Long, Cathy Leaf, Carah Koch, Paul Adams, Bob Feidler, Dave Ostness, Scott Counter, Dan Hanson, Greg Tellijohn, Mark Carlson, Bob Swanepoel and Tim Ramberg.
Voting against the resolution were Lisa Lind, Paul Berning, Rick Ottino, Ryan Sherley and Mike Barcalow.
Question
The referendum question in the April 2 election will be worded as follows:
“Under state law, the increase in the levy for St. Croix County for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2024, is limited to 2 percent based on St. Croix County’s best estimate, which results in a levy of $46,002,438. Shall St. Croix County be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, for the purpose of hiring two mental co-responders, one youth justice early intervention specialist, two sheriff corrections deputies, one sheriff investigator, one district attorney investigator, and one deputy clerk of court; to address the County’s most pressing public safety needs by a total of 1.96 percent, which results in a levy of $46,898,438, and on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $896,000 each fiscal year going forward?”
April 2023
Voters in St. Croix County defeated the public safety referendum question on the April 4, 2023, ballot that would have exceeded the property tax levy limit by $3.5 million per year by about a 60 percent to 40 percent split.
Among 28,993 total votes, there were 17,018 who voted “no” on the question (59 percent), and 10,784 who voted “yes” (37 percent).
The increase in the county’s annual property tax was intended to pay for eight additional sheriff’s deputies; four more corrections deputies; three new investigators; two pre-trial case managers; two support staff; two deputy clerks in the Clerk of Courts office; one Child in Need of Protective Services attorney; and two mental health co-responders.
The question on the ballot read, “Under state law, the increase in the levy for St. Croix County for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2024, is limited to 2%, based on St. Croix County’s best estimate, which results in a levy of $44,319,159. Shall St. Croix County be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2024, for the purpose of Public Safety, by a total of 7.98%, which results in a levy of $47,855,666, and on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $3,536,507 each fiscal year going forward?”
According to information provided by the St. Croix County sheriff’s department, there has been an 18 percent increase in calls for service since 2007 with only one patrol deputy position added.
Readers should note that in 2007, the county’s population was 81,708, and in 2021, the population was 95,044, an increase of 13,336 people.
