The Lincoln County Board of Supervisors approved the 2010 budget Tuesday morning in what is probably record time, ending a process that started in February as the body looked for $1.3 million in cuts.

The final tax levy approved in the resolution authorizing the budget was $12,787,240 which is an overall increase of 5.35% over this year. When debt service is taken out of the equation, the final increase for operations is 3%. The resulting mill rate is 4.25% for townships and 4.1% for cities, or $5.29 and $5.06 respectively on each $1,000 of assessed value.

Supervisor Bill Zeitz questioned why the meeting is always held in the morning when the majority of county residents who might want to comment are at work.

County Clerk Robert Kunkel said that state statute requires the meeting be held on the second Tuesday of November. In the 12 years he has been in office the meeting has always been held in the morning so the municipalities could then hold their budget hearings in the evening.

That the meeting lasted only an hour was the source of some debate as the question on the budget resolution was called after a little more than 30 minutes of discussion. The call of the question was after Zeitz offered an amendment to have no tax levy increase in 2010. The board debated this motion for 20 minutes.

"I think we can make additional cuts in this budget," he said citing some ideas he would then add as amendments to the budget.

Supervisor Arlene Meyer said all county departments had made significant reductions in their individual budgets and that there were some items the board had no control over, such as salary and fringe increases.

"How can you not have an increase?" she asked.

David Fox echoed her sentiments.

"Almost every department has been cut significantly," Fox said. "I don’t see how we can cut anymore."

Ray Bloomer said that the only way county government could reduce costs in the long run would be as contracts came up for renegotiation.

"They can be accomplished," Bloomer said. "I can’t vote for this amendment, but I would like to see the rate not increase by nearly 6%."

Dan Caylor said that local taxpayers have an expectancy of a certain level of services from the county. He would not like to envision a point when say the County Clerk’s office was only open three days a week due to budget cuts.

Ronald Mittelsteadt said the supervisors were near "the end of the line" of a series of cuts coming from the federal and state governments and that the supervisors had cut all they could to get the levy down to where it is for next year.

Zeitz’s amendment was defeated 3-18 and he then offered three further amendments. Failing for lack of a second were his ideas to eliminate some supervisory positions in the Highway Department, eliminating mileage payment for supervisors and county employees and not increasing the UW-Extension budget.

The motion to call the question passed 13-8 with some supervisors voting no because the vote "squashed debate," as one of the opponents stated.

The budget resolution then passed by a 17-4 vote, with Zeitz, Bloomer, John Bailey and Frank Saal, Jr. casting the dissenting votes.

The Board then voted unanimously to transfer $200,000 from the county landfill’s designated funds to help cut the deficit next year. They also unanimously voted to renew the lease on the building housing the County Annex in Tomahawk. The county was able to negotiate a reduction in rent of $100 a month while still keeping utilities as part of the price. The county had looked at other locations in Tomahawk to possibly move the annex into but none had the space needed.

That utilities were included in the rent may help the county in the long run, Zeitz noted,

"If tax and cap goes in we will have one hell of a bargain," he said.

They also approved resolutions renewing the hiring freeze, sold two parcels of county land to Todd and Sheila Lucht and to loan Marie Daigle $25,000 from the revolving loan fund of the Economic Development Corp to start a quilting business in downtown Tomahawk.

When questioned, Interim Administrative Coordinator Tim Meehean said that the hiring freeze was only lifted twice since it was put into place in January.

"There have been numerous occasions where it hasn’t been violated," Meehean said. "So there has been some economic savings to the county."

He added that the County Board had the final say in any lifting of the freeze to fill critical positions.

As the meeting was winding down, several supervisors expressed their anger over the calling of the questioning on the budget and ending debate before the final vote. Several of these were concerned that this stifled discussion and exploration of alternative ways to trim the budget. Several other supervisors and Board Chairman Robert Lussow defended calling the question saying they had been working on the budget for 10 months.

"To wait until the day we have to approve or reject the budget to ask questions is ludicrous," Lussow said.

By Jamie Taylor

Foto News reporter

The Lincoln County Board of Supervisors approved the 2010 budget Tuesday morning in what is probably record time, ending a process that started in February as the body looked for $1.3 million in cuts.

The final tax levy approved in the resolution authorizing the budget was $12,787,240 which is an overall increase of 5.35% over this year. When debt service is taken out of the equation, the final increase for operations is 3%. The resulting mill rate is 4.25% for townships and 4.1% for cities, or $5.29 and $5.06 respectively on each $1,000 of assessed value.

Supervisor Bill Zeitz questioned why the meeting is always held in the morning when the majority of county residents who might want to comment are at work.

County Clerk Robert Kunkel said that state statute requires the meeting be held on the second Tuesday of November. In the 12 years he has been in office the meeting has always been held in the morning so the municipalities could then hold their budget hearings in the evening.

That the meeting lasted only an hour was the source of some debate as the question on the budget resolution was called after a little more than 30 minutes of discussion. The call of the question was after Zeitz offered an amendment to have no tax levy increase in 2010. The board debated this motion for 20 minutes.

"I think we can make additional cuts in this budget," he said citing some ideas he would then add as amendments to the budget.

Supervisor Arlene Meyer said all county departments had made significant reductions in their individual budgets and that there were some items the board had no control over, such as salary and fringe increases.

"How can you not have an increase?" she asked.

David Fox echoed her sentiments.

"Almost every department has been cut significantly," Fox said. "I don’t see how we can cut anymore."

Ray Bloomer said that the only way county government could reduce costs in the long run would be as contracts came up for renegotiation.

"They can be accomplished," Bloomer said. "I can’t vote for this amendment, but I would like to see the rate not increase by nearly 6%."

Dan Caylor said that local taxpayers have an expectancy of a certain level of services from the county. He would not like to envision a point when say the County Clerk’s office was only open three days a week due to budget cuts.

Ronald Mittelsteadt said the supervisors were near "the end of the line" of a series of cuts coming from the federal and state governments and that the supervisors had cut all they could to get the levy down to where it is for next year.

Zeitz’s amendment was defeated 3-18 and he then offered three further amendments. Failing for lack of a second were his ideas to eliminate some supervisory positions in the Highway Department, eliminating mileage payment for supervisors and county employees and not increasing the UW-Extension budget.

The motion to call the question passed 13-8 with some supervisors voting no because the vote "squashed debate," as one of the opponents stated.

The budget resolution then passed by a 17-4 vote, with Zeitz, Bloomer, John Bailey and Frank Saal, Jr. casting the dissenting votes.

The Board then voted unanimously to transfer $200,000 from the county landfill’s designated funds to help cut the deficit next year. They also unanimously voted to renew the lease on the building housing the County Annex in Tomahawk. The county was able to negotiate a reduction in rent of $100 a month while still keeping utilities as part of the price. The county had looked at other locations in Tomahawk to possibly move the annex into but none had the space needed.

That utilities were included in the rent may help the county in the long run, Zeitz noted,

"If tax and cap goes in we will have one hell of a bargain," he said.

They also approved resolutions renewing the hiring freeze, sold two parcels of county land to Todd and Sheila Lucht and to loan Marie Daigle $25,000 from the revolving loan fund of the Economic Development Corp to start a quilting business in downtown Tomahawk.

When questioned, Interim Administrative Coordinator Tim Meehean said that the hiring freeze was only lifted twice since it was put into place in January.

"There have been numerous occasions where it hasn’t been violated," Meehean said. "So there has been some economic savings to the county."

He added that the County Board had the final say in any lifting of the freeze to fill critical positions.

As the meeting was winding down, several supervisors expressed their anger over the calling of the questioning on the budget and ending debate before the final vote. Several of these were concerned that this stifled discussion and exploration of alternative ways to trim the budget. Several other supervisors and Board Chairman Robert Lussow defended calling the question saying they had been working on the budget for 10 months.

"To wait until the day we have to approve or reject the budget to ask questions is ludicrous," Lussow said.

By Jamie Taylor

Foto News reporter

The Lincoln County Board of Supervisors approved the 2010 budget Tuesday morning in what is probably record time, ending a process that started in February as the body looked for $1.3 million in cuts.

The final tax levy approved in the resolution authorizing the budget was $12,787,240 which is an overall increase of 5.35% over this year. When debt service is taken out of the equation, the final increase for operations is 3%. The resulting mill rate is 4.25% for townships and 4.1% for cities, or $5.29 and $5.06 respectively on each $1,000 of assessed value.

Supervisor Bill Zeitz questioned why the meeting is always held in the morning when the majority of county residents who might want to comment are at work.

County Clerk Robert Kunkel said that state statute requires the meeting be held on the second Tuesday of November. In the 12 years he has been in office the meeting has always been held in the morning so the municipalities could then hold their budget hearings in the evening.

That the meeting lasted only an hour was the source of some debate as the question on the budget resolution was called after a little more than 30 minutes of discussion. The call of the question was after Zeitz offered an amendment to have no tax levy increase in 2010. The board debated this motion for 20 minutes.

"I think we can make additional cuts in this budget," he said citing some ideas he would then add as amendments to the budget.

Supervisor Arlene Meyer said all county departments had made significant reductions in their individual budgets and that there were some items the board had no control over, such as salary and fringe increases.

"How can you not have an increase?" she asked.

David Fox echoed her sentiments.

"Almost every department has been cut significantly," Fox said. "I don’t see how we can cut anymore."

Ray Bloomer said that the only way county government could reduce costs in the long run would be as contracts came up for renegotiation.

"They can be accomplished," Bloomer said. "I can’t vote for this amendment, but I would like to see the rate not increase by nearly 6%."

Dan Caylor said that local taxpayers have an expectancy of a certain level of services from the county. He would not like to envision a point when say the County Clerk’s office was only open three days a week due to budget cuts.

Ronald Mittelsteadt said the supervisors were near "the end of the line" of a series of cuts coming from the federal and state governments and that the supervisors had cut all they could to get the levy down to where it is for next year.

Zeitz’s amendment was defeated 3-18 and he then offered three further amendments. Failing for lack of a second were his ideas to eliminate some supervisory positions in the Highway Department, eliminating mileage payment for supervisors and county employees and not increasing the UW-Extension budget.

The motion to call the question passed 13-8 with some supervisors voting no because the vote "squashed debate," as one of the opponents stated.

The budget resolution then passed by a 17-4 vote, with Zeitz, Bloomer, John Bailey and Frank Saal, Jr. casting the dissenting votes.

The Board then voted unanimously to transfer $200,000 from the county landfill’s designated funds to help cut the deficit next year. They also unanimously voted to renew the lease on the building housing the County Annex in Tomahawk. The county was able to negotiate a reduction in rent of $100 a month while still keeping utilities as part of the price. The county had looked at other locations in Tomahawk to possibly move the annex into but none had the space needed.

That utilities were included in the rent may help the county in the long run, Zeitz noted,

"If tax and cap goes in we will have one hell of a bargain," he said.

They also approved resolutions renewing the hiring freeze, sold two parcels of county land to Todd and Sheila Lucht and to loan Marie Daigle $25,000 from the revolving loan fund of the Economic Development Corp to start a quilting business in downtown Tomahawk.

When questioned, Interim Administrative Coordinator Tim Meehean said that the hiring freeze was only lifted twice since it was put into place in January.

"There have been numerous occasions where it hasn’t been violated," Meehean said. "So there has been some economic savings to the county."

He added that the County Board had the final say in any lifting of the freeze to fill critical positions.

As the meeting was winding down, several supervisors expressed their anger over the calling of the questioning on the budget and ending debate before the final vote. Several of these were concerned that this stifled discussion and exploration of alternative ways to trim the budget. Several other supervisors and Board Chairman Robert Lussow defended calling the question saying they had been working on the budget for 10 months.

"To wait until the day we have to approve or reject the budget to ask questions is ludicrous," Lussow said.

By Jamie Taylor

Foto News reporter

The Lincoln County Board of Supervisors approved the 2010 budget Tuesday morning in what is probably record time, ending a process that started in February as the body looked for $1.3 million in cuts.

The final tax levy approved in the resolution authorizing the budget was $12,787,240 which is an overall increase of 5.35% over this year. When debt service is taken out of the equation, the final increase for operations is 3%. The resulting mill rate is 4.25% for townships and 4.1% for cities, or $5.29 and $5.06 respectively on each $1,000 of assessed value.

Supervisor Bill Zeitz questioned why the meeting is always held in the morning when the majority of county residents who might want to comment are at work.

County Clerk Robert Kunkel said that state statute requires the meeting be held on the second Tuesday of November. In the 12 years he has been in office the meeting has always been held in the morning so the municipalities could then hold their budget hearings in the evening.

That the meeting lasted only an hour was the source of some debate as the question on the budget resolution was called after a little more than 30 minutes of discussion. The call of the question was after Zeitz offered an amendment to have no tax levy increase in 2010. The board debated this motion for 20 minutes.

"I think we can make additional cuts in this budget," he said citing some ideas he would then add as amendments to the budget.

Supervisor Arlene Meyer said all county departments had made significant reductions in their individual budgets and that there were some items the board had no control over, such as salary and fringe increases.

"How can you not have an increase?" she asked.

David Fox echoed her sentiments.

"Almost every department has been cut significantly," Fox said. "I don’t see how we can cut anymore."

Ray Bloomer said that the only way county government could reduce costs in the long run would be as contracts came up for renegotiation.

"They can be accomplished," Bloomer said. "I can’t vote for this amendment, but I would like to see the rate not increase by nearly 6%."

Dan Caylor said that local taxpayers have an expectancy of a certain level of services from the county. He would not like to envision a point when say the County Clerk’s office was only open three days a week due to budget cuts.

Ronald Mittelsteadt said the supervisors were near "the end of the line" of a series of cuts coming from the federal and state governments and that the supervisors had cut all they could to get the levy down to where it is for next year.

Zeitz’s amendment was defeated 3-18 and he then offered three further amendments. Failing for lack of a second were his ideas to eliminate some supervisory positions in the Highway Department, eliminating mileage payment for supervisors and county employees and not increasing the UW-Extension budget.

The motion to call the question passed 13-8 with some supervisors voting no because the vote "squashed debate," as one of the opponents stated.

The budget resolution then passed by a 17-4 vote, with Zeitz, Bloomer, John Bailey and Frank Saal, Jr. casting the dissenting votes.

The Board then voted unanimously to transfer $200,000 from the county landfill’s designated funds to help cut the deficit next year. They also unanimously voted to renew the lease on the building housing the County Annex in Tomahawk. The county was able to negotiate a reduction in rent of $100 a month while still keeping utilities as part of the price. The county had looked at other locations in Tomahawk to possibly move the annex into but none had the space needed.

That utilities were included in the rent may help the county in the long run, Zeitz noted,

"If tax and cap goes in we will have one hell of a bargain," he said.

They also approved resolutions renewing the hiring freeze, sold two parcels of county land to Todd and Sheila Lucht and to loan Marie Daigle $25,000 from the revolving loan fund of the Economic Development Corp to start a quilting business in downtown Tomahawk.

When questioned, Interim Administrative Coordinator Tim Meehean said that the hiring freeze was only lifted twice since it was put into place in January.

"There have been numerous occasions where it hasn’t been violated," Meehean said. "So there has been some economic savings to the county."

He added that the County Board had the final say in any lifting of the freeze to fill critical positions.

As the meeting was winding down, several supervisors expressed their anger over the calling of the questioning on the budget and ending debate before the final vote. Several of these were concerned that this stifled discussion and exploration of alternative ways to trim the budget. Several other supervisors and Board Chairman Robert Lussow defended calling the question saying they had been working on the budget for 10 months.

"To wait until the day we have to approve or reject the budget to ask questions is ludicrous," Lussow said.