richelle andrae
Thank you for the opportunity to serve District 11, which includes most of Hill Farms, Shorewood Village, and the neighborhoods immediately east of Midvale Blvd. I’ve lived in Madison since 2013, and reside just west of Hilldale. I’ve experienced our community through the eyes of a student, a young professional working in non-profit, an academic, and a volunteer. During the day, I am an advocate for safety net clinics in Wisconsin, working with state policymakers and partners to ensure that all residents have access to quality health care, regardless of income or insurance status. I’ve previously worked on local public health evaluation projects, rural workforce development, and Medicaid policy. After serving an AmeriCorps service term in California, I returned to Wisconsin and worked directly with underserved teens in Madison high schools, helping them find and keep their first jobs.
On the County Board, I Chair the Public Protection & Judiciary Committee, which has oversight for the Dane County Sheriff's Office, District Attorney's Office, Emergency Management, 911 Call Center, Courts, Pre-Trial Services, Medical Examiner, and more. A few of my "success stories" on the Board include navigating the complex jail consolidation project, improving constituent outreach by encouraging implementation of a blog system for Supervisors, and budget amendments to embed crisis expertise in emergency response and improve the pay structure for staff attorneys to support the timely service of justice. I also serve on the Dane County Food Policy Council and Greater Madison MPO, which administers transportation-related funding and programs across the region.
When I’m not at work or engaged in Board activities, you can find me at the Odana dog park with my rescue pup, Roux. I studied Spanish at UW-Madison during my undergrad, and earned a Masters in Public Affairs from the La Follette School, focusing on health policy and administration. Please reach out at any time and I look forward to working with you.
Neighbors,
Back to school is upon us – I’m enjoying seeing students on campus and on their way to Hamilton Middle School in our neighborhood. Unfortunately, there are some terrible bugs going around (I have one now and it’s really knocked me out) – so take care and be sure to schedule your seasonal immunizations. Public Health is hosting vaccine clinics for students throughout the fall, check out the list here: https://publichealthmdc.com/news/2024-09-04/get-your-kids-up-to-date-on-vaccines-at-school-clinics.
We are starting the annual budget process at the county. If you want to learn more about the schedule, public hearings, opportunities for input, or votes, please let me know or review the materials here: https://board.danecounty.gov/budget. This week, we officially kicked off the process by hearing presentations from all Department heads on their budget proposals and needs. Next, Interim County Executive Kuhn will propose her budget on Sept. 18. From that point, Committees will begin amending the budget with various operating and capital proposals. We are limited in the total budget amount by a state-set levy limit based on net new construction. This short presentation from the County Controller summarizes the budget situation for the county. In a nutshell, we’re nowhere near the extremely challenging situation the City of Madison is in, but we don’t have a lot of flexibility. There are significant new expenses we need to account for, including a steep increase in health benefits for county employees (over a $10M increase over last year). We will need to balance request for staffing and projects in a wide array of programmatic areas that far exceed our available funds.
Through the budget process so far, we’ve heard from advocates encouraging support for an existing Recovery High School just west of Hill Farms, and to begin work on a Dementia Care Stabilization Facility, which could be planned in the next year or 2 and then off the ground, among many other needs. We also continue to hear requests for our service partners to see rate increases so that we can rely on them for behavioral health care and social services. Food pantries are also hurting, seeing steep demand. The county is not allowed under state law to spend tax levy directly on purchase of food, but there may be creative solutions to explore, following a significant investment previously using ARPA funds. I will mostly focus my work in the budget on the justice system, as that is my primary responsibility as Committee Chair. There are a lot of efforts we need to sustain and grow related to investing in diversion and re-entry services, breaking cycles of criminalization. For example, I’ve been working with the amazing leaders at Juvenile Detention and Judge Mitchell on an alternative to housing Dane County youth at Lincoln Schools, a youth detention center in central WI that is well known to have terrible conditions. I am also hopeful to put a process in place for a long-term capital plan, which the County is sorely lacking. I welcome your input throughout the process.
PHMDC Annual Report on Opioid Fatalities: Every year, our public health agency produces a report that reviews data from local opioid fatalities. The numbers are terrifying; these individuals are our neighbors and friends with stories and dreams and deserve our recognition, and to right systems that have let families down. With the aid of Opioid Settlement funds and existing county resources, we’re starting to make investments but it’s going to be a long road. https://publichealthmdc.com/documents/overdose_fatality_review_2022.pdf
On a somewhat lighter note, I encourage you to join me in the Week Without Driving, Sept. 30 to Oct. 6. This effort aims to draw attention to the benefits of using alternative transportation options, like biking and bussing, and to think of the privilege of using a personal vehicle. I, for one, definitely take it for granted and spent some time to map out my commute via bus and attempt to swap at least a few of my trips with different options during the Week Without Driving. One resource I want folks to be aware of is Round Trip. Round Trip is basically a local ride-sharing coordination system, run by the MPO, which is a transportation planning agency. Check it out! Here’s a link to the press release with more info, and thank you to constituent for bringing this opportunity forward.
The Regional Housing Strategy work continues… get up to speed on the priorities: https://rhs.danecounty.gov/documents/pdf/DCRHS-SAPReport-FNL-web.pdf,=. Their monthly newsletter is an excellent resource on housing issues (sign up at https://rhs.danecounty.gov/).
Other items… A few other recent pieces of local news you may find interesting:
Thank you, and as always please reach out if you have questions, want to connect on a county issue, or get more involved. See you around the neighborhood,
Richelle Andrae
Dane County Board Supervisor District 11
