Neighbors –

With leaves starting to fall and a crisp in the air, that can only mean one thing – it’s budget season for the county! I’m sharing a few updates with you today on how the process is going, and updates on a few other local initiatives.

County Budget

On October 2, the County Executive released his budget proposal. Throughout October, Board members propose amendments which are acted on by County Committees. We need to keep our operation spending under the levy limit set by the state while addressing priorities across safety, human services, housing, land conservation, and more. The Personnel & Finance Committee will make a recommendation on a package of amendments to the full Board, and ultimately the full Board will vote on both the operating and capital budget amendments by mid-November. There are many opportunities for engagement at upcoming public hearings.

Budget resources:

• https://board.countyofdane.com/budget - Overview of the process and timeline
• https://admin.countyofdane.com/budget - Detailed budget documents including current budget, summary, and proposals from department heads for 2024 budgets
• https://admin.countyofdane.com/documents/pdf/Budget/2024/County-Executive-Budget.pdf - Executive’s budget proposal
• https://www.countyofdane.com/PressDetail/11310 - Press release from the Exec describing his proposed capital and operating budgets

I serve on the Dane County Food Policy Council and Chair the Public Protection & Judiciary Committee, so most of my budget work relates to those issue areas. I have authored several amendments and so far each has passed its oversight committee and will head next to Personnel & Finance next for their consideration:

1. Staffing and a third party contract to address outstanding debts owed through Birth Cost Recovery (learn more here). Birth Cost Recovery is an antiquated practice where the county, on the state’s behalf, collects payments from non-custodial fathers after the birth of a child. It’s not like child support, where the payments go to the mom. Instead, the funds go back to the state. It’s a practice that disproportionately impacts Black families. The county stopped collecting new birth cost orders in 2020, thankfully, but there are still 3000+ old cases on the books. This amendment will help the county fast track a process to expunge these old birth cost orders and provide outreach and education to individuals involved in the process.
2. I drafted provisions for the Sheriff’s Office regarding the implementation of a proposed body-worn camera pilot in the West precinct (Town of Middleton). The Sheriff’s proposal provides for 30 body-worn cameras, which I see as a tool that could increase accountability and transparency with the proper policies and procedures in place, applied and enforced consistently. I have requested that the Sheriff hold public meetings on the issue in the West precinct, provide quarterly reporting to PP&J, public interim procedures online related to activation and records requests, and call for a third-party evaluation of the pilot. There is an alternative proposal to eliminate the pilot entirely, which I anticipate will be a hot topic of debate throughout the budget process.
3. I drafted an amendment to add facility dogs for our Victim Witness unit and Family Court. These are highly trained service dogs who can help families navigating trauma.
4. I authored a budget amendment to create a local food system action plan, the next step from the Pandemic Food System study. We have applied for a USDA grant to do the work, and this amendment would ensure that the food system action plan moves forward regardless of award of the USDA funds.

I also authored an amendment to add a detective sergeant position as right now there is no coverage for second shift, and a few other technical items for the budget. Ideas or input for the budget process? Please reach out! I look forward to helping develop a budget that prioritizes our pressing needs while also looking to the future.

Other County Initiatives

This weekend, I had the honor to join a few community events. Check out the excellent work happening in Cross Plains to enhance a 3-mile section of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. I spent a few hours on Saturday removing invasive species and leveling trail in this beautiful segment. It was a wonderfully organized event, featuring hundreds of volunteers equipped with gloves, chain saws, and rakes over the last several days. Check out this excellent coverage by Channel 15. I have a much deeper appreciation for walking the trail now that I know much work it is to create each foot!

I also spent time this weekend with the League of Voters of Dane County and the Office of Immigration Affairs who coordinate an annual event for immigrants and elected officials. It was a powerful opportunity to hear the stories of immigrants in our community and make connections to local government resources. We are privileged to have excellent staff in the Dane County Office of Immigration affairs that help individuals access resources, in partnership with nonprofits like JSS.

You may be interested to learn that last week, the county contributed the final $1 million to bring the Madison Public Market to fruition. Learn more about the project here: https://madisonpublicmarket.org/. The project is a collaboration between the city, county, local vendors, and the Public Market Foundation. Once complete in the old fleet site on East Wash, it will provide a year-round location for local vendors to sell goods and be a major economic driver not only for the east side but for the region. I also learned about the public market readiness program, which is an initiative to bring local businesses, primarily minority-owned organizations, into the public market ecosystem.

Public Health Madison & Dane County (PHMDC) has launched a new respiratory illness dashboard designed for tracking local data on COVID, flu, RSV, and more throughout the winter respiratory season. You can find data by age, testing type, hospitalizations, deaths, and other measures.

See you around the neighborhood,

Richelle Andrae

Dane County Board Supervisor District 11

Andrae.richelle@countyofdane.com