Looks like some relatively good news for the services to the community. . .
August 24, 2009
Dear Members of the Purchase-of -Service Agency Community:
I write to give you some important information that pertains to the topic I know is of incredible importance to you, the 2010 County Budget.
I am attaching my prior memos to the County Board and department heads outlining the challenging fiscal situation we face because of two primary factors: the depressed national economy and the significant cuts county government received from the state budget.
Rather than repeat the details of that information here, let me summarize to say that the 2010 budget will be the most difficult budget county government has faced since the Great Depression. Because of this, I gave county departments a budget guideline that had them cutting GPR expenses, or generating new revenues, of 6% for large departments and small departments by 3%. I made an exception to those guidelines for the human services department because while it takes half of the entire county budget and is the largest county department, instead of a 6% guideline, I initially gave them a 4% guideline because of the additional cuts that department faces from the state budget.
However, I made a commitment last year that I would fund the 2010 human services budget at no lesser a GPR level than the 2009 budget. As a result, and in order to prevent the need for the humans services director to prepare a 4% reduction budget when I would be restoring some of the dollars a month later, I amended the human services budget guidelines: the human services budget I receive later this week from the department will propose no less an amount of GPR in the 2010 budget as was included in the 2009 adopted budget.
In addition, as you are aware, I have held Dane County government to an overall levy spending increase each year that doesn’t exceed the combined rate of population growth and inflation. Because of the stagnant economy, this number is the smallest in recent memory and is 1.19% for the year 2010. That percentage would only generate about $1 million in additional revenues which, as you can appreciate given the attached documents, dwarfs in comparison to the needs that human services, the sheriff’s department, and other vital county needs warrants. As a result, I am already committed to adopting a levy increase that is different than the population and inflation standard. I have done that once in the last 13 years and that was in the year 2004 when state government had faced a $3 billion deficit and substantially cut revenues to our county.
As we begin these very difficult and important discussions and decisions in the county budget, I thought that you would want to know this information at the earliest possible time.
Thank you for your continued good work on behalf of our citizens.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Falk
Dane County ExecutiveAttachments
