Note: The following article by Mark Harris appears in the June 2005 issue of The Wavelength, the Winnebago County Newsletter.

FROM THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE…

Many of Winnebago County’s hard working employees are wondering what the recent election means for them. In truth, decisions in Washington and Madison may have as much or more impact over the next several years than local elected officials. Nevertheless, I will share some of my goals for the next four years.

It is unlikely that the County will attempt to expand the services it provides. Instead, it will struggle to maintain the existing services in the face of declining inter-governmental transfers. The County only receives 37% of its revenue from the levy of property taxes. Half of the County’s revenue comes from intergovernmental transfers from the state or federal government.

The remainder comes from a variety of sources, including licenses, permits and fees.

One of my goals is to submit a balanced budget to the County Board. In recent budget years we have allowed expenses to rise faster than revenue. We have relied on reserves that have built up in prior years to fill the gap. If that is allowed to continue, the County would eventually exhaust its reserves and then large tax increases and/or large spending cuts would be required. The credit worthiness of the County would be compromised and our cost of borrowing would be increased.

A second goal of mine is to continue to provide services to the neediest members of our community through Park View Health Center and through the Human Services Department. These areas of the County government seem to be the most threatened by cutbacks in revenue flowing from the state and federal governments. The County will be called upon to fill the gap in funding.

The third goal is to provide the taxpayers with good value and to respect the financial hardship that rising property values and increasing tax rates can have on them.

The fourth goal is to plan and manage expenses in a fashion that layoffs can be avoided. This will require very careful decisions on hiring and refilling of vacant positions, as well as a tight control of other expenses.

As long as there is both strong growth in real estate values in Winnebago County and local control of tax and spending issues, then all of the above goals are possible.

Mark L. Harris
Winnebago County Executive