Dunn County approves new budget, including tax rate cut

COUNTY OF DUNN MENOMONIE, WISCONSIN
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING

In accordance with the provisions of Section 19.84, Wisconsin Statutes, notice is hereby given that a public meeting of the DUNN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS will be held on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at 7:00 pm. in Room 54 of the Dunn County Government Center, 3001 US Highway 12 East in Menomonie, Wisconsin. The building entrance for public meetings is on the lower level of the Government Center and will be open 30 minutes ahead of the meeting start time.
A video recording of the meeting will be available for subsequent viewing on the Dunn County YouTube channel at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/@dunncounty1854. Persons wishing to provide public comment may do so at the meeting or may submit written comments by sending an email beforehand to [email protected]. Comments, provided in person or written, will be subject to the rules of the county board and will not be allowed or provided to the committee and not reflected on the record if they do not align with the Chapter 2 of Dunn County Ordinances.

Items of business to be discussed or acted upon at this meeting are listed below:
AGENDA – COUNTY BOARD MEETING
   1) Call to Order

   2) Pledge of Allegiance

   3) Call of the roll

   4) Approval of the Minutes: October 15, 2025

Supervisor Bachand noticed a correction that needed to be made to last month’s minutes. Supervisor Kneer also notices a typo. The minutes are approved.

   5) Presentations of Petitions, Memorials, and Other Communications:

       a) Veterans Day

Greg Quinn, a veteran service officer, gets up to speak. He says that the support of the board helps veterans. He highlights how the board’s support of affordable housing for the homeless specifically helps and reduces suicide among veterans. He adds that when soldiers see the support communities give to veterans they will stay in uniform longer.

   6) Public Hearing on the Proposed FY 2026 Budget and Property Tax Levy

A representative from GROWW (GrassRoots Organizing Western Wisconsin) comes to the podium to talk on the H.R. 1 bill, and speaks on how it will affect Dunn County. The representative says how the county relies on medicare and the ripple effects from the medicare cuts many people losing coverage, and that the county's services, which operate at near capacity, will be even more stressed when more turn to county programs.

Supervisor Hagen asks if the representatives need to state their address, and the County Clerk says it is written which is sufficient.

   7) Public Comment (for items on the agenda)

No public comments are made.

   8) Appointments

No appointments are made.

   9) Report of County Manager

       a) Purchase Orders over 40,000

Dan Dunbar makes known that the county is making a purchase order of snowplow blades, and Supervisor Bachand asks for clarification on the quantity, which it turns out is probably multiple, not just one, as appears to be listed.

   10) Reports of Departments:

       a) Neighbors of Dunn County

The representative from The Neighbors of Dunn County comes forward to give a presentation on how people become residents of Neighbors, which, according to the presenter, takes a lot of paperwork. The process begins as an initial referral from sources like hospitals, home referrals (an individual or their family members can refer them, but this referral source requires a recent physical), which the representative mentions is often from other facilities. When initially there is not enough space at Neighbors, people are transferred to other facilities, and then when space opens up they are admitted. The presenter mentions that the demand for housing is incredibly high compared to the ability of Neighbors of Dunn County to admit people. After a referral is submitted, Neighbors assesses if they have appropriate beds, if the individuals have a payer source, and if The Neighbors can meet the individual’s needs. An additional component is a nursing review, which assesses things like wounds, if the individuals have medications, and their cognitive state. None of these necessarily bar patients from being admitted, however some elements may make it very difficult for The Neighbors to serve some individuals. After talking about the admission process, the presenter tells of some barriers to admission for individuals, such as bed availability, staffing, if a COVID outbreak has occurred in a house, if the individual has a payer source, or if the individual has a necessary medication.

Supervisor Morehouse asks where the people that cannot be admitted go, and the presenter says other nursing homes; hospital beds, most of which are full; or they go home, which may not be a good situation for them.

In response to a question on how H.R. 1 might affect The Neighbors, the presenter says that Wisconsin is in a better spot because it did not take medicaid expansion.

Supervisor Larry Bjork asks if the kitchen staff still provides meals on wheels, and the presenter says they do.

Supervisor Stori expresses the dire nature of that loss of medicaid, and also mentions that a closure would mean a loss of jobs. She also says that individuals making use of long-term payer sources other than medicaid would cost the taxpayer more.

Supervisor Welsch asks if there is a plan to continue to recruit more staff. The presenter mentions college job fair outreach, as well as internships. However, UW Stout does not have a nursing program, and with all the hospitals in the area, potential staff have a plethora of other options. Lack of staff is one of the major concerns of The Neighbors of Dunn County.

Supervisor Hagen mentions that at a conference he was at, people praised The Neighbors and their ability to weather changes. He also asks about if there are volunteer opportunities, and the presenter mentions lots of opportunities for middle schools, 4-H, sororities, people wishing to help with bingo or gardening, or even just to visit residents. The chairman adds that there are also volunteer medical drivers.

Supervisor Welsch thanks the presenter for her choir being allowed to rehearse at The Neighbors of Dunn County’s chapel, and the presenter says residents particularly appreciate musical events.

       b) Highway

Dustin Binder comes to the podium to give a presentation on the highway department. He mentions in 2024 that Dunn County had reduced its amount of roadway through a jurisdictional transfer to a nearby area. Dunn County ranks 8th in Wisconsin for road mileage. He goes over the revenue sources– tax dollars, aid, and vehicle registration fees. He mentions the two large expenditures in 2024 were the County Road B projects. The one south of I-94 was about 7 million dollars, which was about 80% federal funded. The one north of I-94 cost 1.3 mil, a lot of which was reimbursed by the federal government. He mentions that highway department yearly costs are mostly made up by vegetation control, seal coating, and surface maintenance. About 20% of roadways are in poor condition, which the majority of funds are allotted for. According to the presenter, Dunn County is in the bottom portion of roadway conditions in the state.

For his winter maintenance slide, the presenter mentions Dunn County is the only county in Wisconsin that contracts with the DOT for winter maintenance of roadways. He also says in 2024 that the winter upkeep costs were reduced.

The presenter shows a 2026 project map, which displays 17 miles of road built amounting to 5.6 million dollars.

Supervisor Larry Bjork says because of the truck traffic and railroad, the concrete may be up to 12 inches. The presenter says the thickness is actually 10 inches, and he says there is a base under it that plays a role.

Supervisor Morehouse asks how many snowplow blades were in that purchase order from item 9 on the agenda. He says over a hundred sets were bought, and each set contains three blades.

The presenter says the roads last about 28 years, which is where we want to be.

A supervisor asks about County Road O, and the presenter says it is slated for 2027.

   11) Consideration of Reports, Resolutions, and Ordinances to the County Board from the Executive Committee:

       a) 2025 Budget Amendment

           i) Human Services (2)

The motion passes

       b) Resolution Authorizing 2026 G.O. Notes

The chairman says this is the borrowing of 3 million dollars for pavement. The G.O. stands for general obligations.

       c) Resolution Authorizing G.O. Bonds for Geothermal

This item is the HVAC for the judicial center. The chairman says that hopefully it won’t cost as much as listed, but they need to be prepared if it does.

Supervisor Lauffer asks how long it would take to accumulate levy money for this project without borrowing, and the chairman says due to levy caps it would likely be impossible, and that borrowing the money presently to avoid catastrophic system failure is a good idea. Supervisor Lauffer asks if there is a way to avoid the burden on the taxpayers that occurs by borrowing. Dan Dunbar says the total levy is about 20 million dollars. He says that paying for the geothermal out of the levy would cut a quarter of the budget, and the chairman adds that the geothermal price may go up in the next 20 years. Supervisor Berndt mentions that he is a manager of another facility whose HVAC is nearing catastrophic failure and says that system failure would be more expensive than borrowing would be.

       d) Resolution Adopting FY2026 Budget

The chairman announces that with his attention to detail, Dan Dunbar found a 2 dollar discrepancy in the budget, and the chairman asks if the supervisors can vote on the amended version with the two dollars accounted for. The motion for the budget passes. The complete budget is in the attached meeting packet and the total budget will be $111,418,525.

       e) Resolution Adopting 2026 Tax Levy

The motion passes unanimously. The total tax levy will be $25,214,138. The 2026 tax rate will decrease to $4.30 per $1,000 of property value, representing a nearly 6 percent reduction from the 2025 rate.

   12) Consideration of Reports, Resolutions and Ordinances coming to the County Board from the Standing Committees:

       a) Committee on Administration

           i) Resolution Canceling Uncashed Checks

Supervisor Larry Bjork says he recognizes someone that has an uncashed check, and asks where they should go, and the chairman says the treasurer would be the person.

The motion passes unanimously.

       b) Planning, Resources and Development

           i) Resolution-Adopting the Dunn County Land Use Division Fee Schedule

The motion passes unanimously.

           ii) Ordinance to repeal and recreate Section 7.6.04 - Register of Deeds Fees (first reading)

Supervisor Morehouse says that the second reading should be waived for the sake of timeliness because of the importance of the ordinance. That motion passes.

       c) Legislative Committee

           i) Resolution, Support for Increasing State Funding to Counties for Income Maintenance

Supervisor Stene urges the other supervisors to read this item. However, the motion passes.

       d) Judiciary and Law

           i) Resolution for Intention to Join the Statewide Public Safety Interoperable 

The motion passes unanimously.

Communication System

   13) Announcements: Next Meeting – January 21, 2026

There will likely be a December executive committee meeting as well. The County Clerk also asks the supervisors to look at the packets before them for instructions on running for re-elections.

   14) Adjournment
Kelly McCullough, Chairperson By: Dan Dunbar, County Manager
Upon reasonable notice, the County will make efforts to accommodate the needs of disabled individuals through sign language, interpreters or other auxiliary aids. For additional information or to request the service, contact the County Human Resources Manager at 715-232-2429 (Office), 715-232-1324 (FAX) or 715-231-6406 (TDD) or by writing to the Human Resources Manager, Human Resources Department, 3001 US Hwy 12 E, Suite 225, Menomonie, Wisconsin 54751.