Dunn County Board reviews 2025 budget of $111.16 million
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by LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — The Dunn County Board has reviewed a budget of $111.16 million for 2025, representing an increase of $11.7 million over the 2024 budget of $99.45 million.
The anticipated total property tax levy for the 2025 budget is $24,784,000, said Dr. Beata Haug, Dunn County chief financial officer, at the Dunn County Board’s October 16 meeting.
The revenue for the 2025 budget also includes debt of $11 million for the geothermal and solar project at the Dunn County judicial center, she said.
The installation of a geothermal system and solar panels would be at no additional cost to taxpayers.
The federal government’s Inflation Reduction Act allows tax-exempt and governmental entities to receive elective payments for 12 clean energy tax credits.
In addition, Dunn County will contract with a Qualified Energy Service company that will guarantee an annual energy savings, and the savings will be used to pay off the installation costs.
The 2025 revenue budget includes $3 million in borrowing for highway equipment and information technology replacement, Dr. Haug said.
The 2025 budget also uses $2,470,148 in general fund balance, along with $5,439,459 in sales tax and $787,879 from the vehicle registration fee as well as $676,299 from the special revenue fund, she said.
State and federal allocations will amount to $20,080,590 for the 2025 budget; $38,592,564 will come from billable services and fees; and $2,177,996 will come from other sources of revenue, Dr. Haug said.
The expenses in the proposed 2025 budget include $50,033,748 for wages and fringe benefits, along with $13,116,770 for capital improvements, she said.
Additional expenses include $42,838,886 for operations and $5,170,634 for debt service, Dr. Haug said.
Tax levy
The proposed property tax levy for 2025 of $24.78 million includes the “limited levy” allowed by the state’s property tax levy limit of $18,688,092, Dr. Haug said.
In addition, the property tax levy will include $925,674 for libraries and bridge petitions, including $96,273 for 2024, she said.
The levy for 2025 set by the levy limit represents an increase of $34,990, Dr. Haug said.
Levy limits for Wisconsin municipalities are increased using a formula based on net new construction in the municipality.
“Bridge petitions” represent money that is paid to the municipalities for replacing bridges and culverts.
The municipalities apply for the funds and are paid one-half of the total amount, so that the municipality pays for half of replacing the bridge or the culvert, and the county pays the other half.
Bridge/culvert aid for the municipalities is required by state law.
The tax levy for county libraries pays for county residents who live outside of the municipality where the library is located.
For example, the Colfax Public Library’s revenue budget has typically received about two-thirds of the funding from Dunn County since about two-thirds of the people who use the library do not live in the village of Colfax.
Debt
As of December 31, 2023, Dunn County had $28,160,000 in outstanding debt, according to the county’s audit report.
The general obligation debt represented 11.07 percent of the county’s legal debt limit, Dr. Haug said.
State law allows municipalities to borrow an amount representing up to 5 percent of the municipality’s equalized value.
Dunn County has a debt margin of $254,835,814, and Dunn County’s unused debt is $226,835,184, Dr. Haug noted.
The county has a Standard & Poor global rating of AA/Stable, she said.
Fund balance
As of December 31, 2023, Dunn County had an unassigned general fund balance of $12,307,138, which is 47 percent of the county’s general fund expenditures, Dr. Haug said.
Using $2.47 million for the 2025 budget reduces the general fund balance to $9,836,990, which is 37 percent of the county’s general fund expenditures, she said.
The Dunn County Board approved a resolution to maintain a general fund balance of 35 to 50 percent of the county’s operating expenditures, Dr. Haug said.
Auditors have told the county board that according to general accounting principles for municipalities, the unassigned general fund ratio to general fund expenditures should remain between 25 and 33 percent.
Dunn County will not know how much of the unassigned general fund amount of $2.47 million has actually been spent until the end of 2025, Dr. Haug said.
The money is included in the budget, but if the various departments end up not needing the money, it will not be taken out of the general fund, she said.
Over the past four years, the county departments have not drawn money from the unassigned general fund balance even though the money was budgeted. The money has remained in the general fund balance, Dr. Haug said.
Financial modeling has been done for the Neighbors of Dunn County, and in 2025, the Neighbors will be putting money back into the general fund, she said.
In 2023, Dunn County budgeted to use $2.5 million in unassigned general fund balance, but that money was not used, and an additional $2.5 million was put back into the general fund for a net total of $5 million, said Kristin Korpela, county manager.
