By Kathleen M. Falk, Dane County Executive

As the summer closes, I start the hard work on the County budget for 2002. So many real needs in Dane County compete for the amount of money available, so I truly welcome and need your input on what’s most important to you!

Revenue from both the state and federal governments has either stagnated or dropped, leaving us with very difficult choices: Do we cut funding or do we increase property taxes to pay for these needed programs? As County Executive, it is my job to try to balance the need to control property taxes which hit people hard, with the very real needs of public safety, roads, courts, land use, human services, and parks that benefit all of us — children, families, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

Last year we improved those vital services county residents said were most important. We expanded elderly nutrition sites, added more sheriff’s deputies, provided additional services for the disabled, increased funding for youth programs, and began a program to visit parents with newborns to help get them off to a healthy start. I did this by cutting other parts of the budget citizens tell me are a lower priority.

I invite — and need — you to comment on your priorities during public hearings in September. There will be two public hearings solely on the Human Services part of the budget, which accounts for half of total spending. The first, September 4 at the Alliant Energy Center (5:00 PM in Mendota Room 4 of the Exhibition Hall), will focus on programs relating to substance abuse, mental health for children, child welfare and delinquency, economic support, work services, and public health. The second Human Services hearing, held at the same location at 5:00 PM on September 5, will address programs for the elderly, persons with developmental, physical, or sensory disabilities, and mental health for adults.

In addition, I will host another hearing on the whole budget in Sun Prairie from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM on September 10^th. By October 1, I will present to the County Board my proposal for the overall 2002 budget. Throughout the month of October, the County Board standing committees will review the Executive Budget and propose any amendments to the Board’s Personnel and Finance Committee. The County Board will also hold a public hearing in late October to provide another opportunity for you to voice your opinions on spending priorities.

The County Board will act on the Executive Budget during November, make amendments, and take it to a final vote. Then I review the County Board’s changes to the budget and can veto any provisions that I believe should be taken out. A two-thirds vote of the Board is needed to override any veto. After that, the budget will be finished!

I have confidence that, as in past years, the County Board and I will work together to develop a budget for 2002 that represents the best compromise we can craft between reasonable property taxes and funding for necessary programs. Your input on the budget is vital. Please contact me or my Executive Assistant Billy Feitlinger, at 266-4114, by e-mail at falk@co.dane.wi.us, or by mail at 210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Room 421, Madison, WI 53703.