Neighbors,

This month, I am sharing my appreciation for local elections officials, highlighting resources for Veterans, and providing details on the annual County Budget, which was signed by the Interim Executive this week.

Elections: I had the honor of serving as a poll worker on Tuesday and want to thank all the residents of Dane County that shared their time as election officials, staff, or observers. And of course, to everyone who voted, too. Whether you believe the election results were disappointing, shocking, or invigorating, I am proud of every single person in our local process for their work to ensure we had a free and fair election. I had the pleasure of serving at Hamilton, and was reminded of the professionalism, attention to detail, camaraderie, and patience of so many of our neighbors. I was excited to help dozens of people register to vote and by the time I departed at 2PM on Tuesday, nearly 1,500 people had cast their ballot at our polling location.

For the City of Madison specifically, the Clerk’s office provided the following statistics for last week’s election (https://www.cityofmadison.com/clerk/about/media/election2024):

• 88% voter turnout (calculated as a percentage of registered voters)

• 174,132 total ballots cast of which 92,834 were absentee ballots

Resulting from Tuesday’s election, the County will have a new Executive, Melissa Agard, who will take the oath of office this week. I look forward to working closely with Executive-Elect Agard and am confident that she will serve our community with compassion and be a strong collaborator focused on meeting the needs of our community today and moving forward in a time of great transition. I am also appreciative of Interim-Executive Kuhn, who concludes her service on Tuesday, for stepping up after Executive Parisi’s retirement. We’re heading into a new chapter, and Interim-Executive Kuhn was an excellent steward in the role this year.

Veteran’s Services: Did you know that there are an estimated 23,000 Veterans in Dane County? In honor of Veteran’s Day on Monday, November 11, please make sure any local Veterans you know are connected with the County Veteran’s Service Office (https://www.danevets.com/). The office supports Veterans and their families in accessing local, state, and federal benefits that they are eligible for, providing case management and in-depth assistance. The office is primarily staffed by Veterans who understand the unique experiences of service members. You may notice green lights on county buildings, learn more at https://www.naco.org/program/operation-green-light-veterans.

2025 County Budget: After about 2 months of hearings, debate, and deliberation, the County Board passed a sound budget for next year, which was signed by Interim Executive Kuhn this week, that I believe reflects the values of our county. The 2025 budget will:

• Develop a Dementia Care Stabilization Facility at the county’s long-term care facility in Verona

• Make significant new investments in housing access and affordability (over $30 million in total funding), including new dollars for the Madison Area Community Land Trust to invest in long-term home ownership and affordability, plus preservation of affordable units. This is especially important to me due to the rising rents in district 11 and reduction in naturally occurring affordable homes.

• Improve language accessibility in multiple departments to support better access for residents who speak languages other than English

• Invest $10 million in conservation funds (natural land preservation and purchase)

• Fund several diversion and re-entry efforts, breaking cycles of criminalization. For example, I worked with staff in 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. Starting in 2025, we will be able to divert several youth per year from those facilities, improving outcomes and saving significant money for the County that otherwise pays for expensive stays in those sites. We are also increasing staffing in the Deferred Prosecution Program thanks to several amendments I authored, with is an effective alternative program for certain criminal charges.

The 2025 budget proposal totals $926,179,104 million. The operating budget is $813,712,952 million while the capital plan is $112,466,152 million. The tax rate is $2.57 per $1,000 of equalized value, down from $2.73 in 2024. Budget details are available here: https://admin.danecounty.gov/budget.

Thank you to all the residents that reached out to provide input on priorities, ask questions, urge action, and advocate for the local needs you see. We did not accomplish everything I would have liked (and frankly we never do) but this is a reasonable budget that responds to our most pressing concerns for the county’s highest need programs and populations. If you have questions about the rationale for any items that were or were not included in the budget, please let me know as there is a lot that goes into decision-making for a budget of this scope.

Office of Immigration Affairs: I also want to highlight and celebrate an incredible county resource, the Office of Immigration Affairs: https://danecountyhumanservices.org/Children-Youth-and-Family/Immigration-Affairs and their phenomenal Director Fabiola Hamden. The County’s OIA is a unique entity that serves as a one-stop-shop for immigration-related issues and can help coordinate, connect, and strategize. In a time of uncertainty ahead in 2025, I am so proud of the work of this office in building and maintaining safe communities with our partners like MMSD, Centro Hispano, the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, Jewish Social Services (our local resettlement agency), and many, many others. As I attended their annual celebration on Friday, I was heartened by the broad community investment in their work and also their positioning grounded in trust, empathy, and recognizing the dignity of every single person who calls Dane County home.

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

Andrae.richelle@countyofdane.com