DANE CO. TACKLING $31M BUDGET DEFICIT INCREASED COSTS FOR HEALTH INSURANCE AMONG BIGGEST FACTORS

MADISON - While running to become Dane County's top elected official, Dane County Executive Melissa Agard campaigned on expanding human services and investing more in affordable housing.

But in one of her first meetings after winning a special November election, Agard received the sobering news that the county faces a $31 million deficit in 2026.

"This isn't something that was talked about during the campaign and was eye-opening for me," she told the Wisconsin State Journal. "To have that kind of dropped on my lap after I had spent an awful lot of time meeting with and listening to people from all across Dane County about what their vision is and what their hopes are for our future."

Several factors led to the deficit, but according to Agard, the two biggest contributors were the growing number of county employees and skyrocketing health insurance rates.

Since 2017, the county has added roughly 500 staff members. In that same eight-year span, the cost of health insurance for those employees more than doubled.

In 2017, the county budgeted $34.6 million for employee health insurance. By 2025, that amount had risen to $73.4 million, Agard said.

Overall, Agard's budget calls for spending $903.6 million in 2026, 3% less than this year. Most of that reduction will come from a slimmer capital budget, while the operating budget - which covers day-to-day expenses - will increase by 1.4%.

In her first budget as executive, Agard directed department heads across the county government to reduce their operating costs by 4% without any layoffs.

"I was very clear that I did not want them to reduce any people," she said. "They could bring forward empty positions, for example, for savings, but the county doesn't run without an amazing workforce, and I really value the nearly 3,000 people that work for the county."

While active employees are safe for the time being, 51 unfilled positions are being cut, and Agard has issued a hiring freeze for the next year.

With only a few exceptions for critical jobs such as those with Child Protective Services, vacant positions will remain empty, she said.

In her budget proposal, Agard also recommended a 1% pay cut across the board - saving the county roughly $2 million - which she said employee representatives agreed to on the condition of 21 additional vacation hours.

The county's financial woes are unusual for a region that, for decades, has experienced consistent growth. Dane County is one of the fastest-growing regions in Wisconsin and the Midwest, gaining more than 100,000 new residents since 2010, according to U.S. Census data.

However, as the population grew, so did the government, with revenue unable to keep up with the rising cost of maintaining increased services and staff.

Agard said the county's options are limited by state law.

Shared revenue, the chief form of state aid to counties and local governments, "continues to not meet the amount of money that we are investing into the state of Wisconsin," she said. "Sales tax is not increasing to the same level as what our expenses are increasing."

Roughly 10% of the county's budget is federal funding, and a federal government shutdown started Wednesday.

"We are clearly living in a snow globe right now," she said. "Our federal government is not working in an earnest way, in the best interest of supporting county governments or the people, and that creates an awful lot of uncertainty for us."

One of the few streams of revenue the county can influence, property taxes, is being kept stable, mostly.

Under Agard's budget, the county's property tax levy will go up 1.29%, amounting to an additional $15.23 on the average home currently valued at $481,300.

Despite a tightening of the purse strings, the executive's budget still includes $10 million for the Affordable Housing Fund and $2.4 million toward homeless services, including a slight increase for the men's shelter under construction on Madison's North Side. About $1.2 million will also be spent to help renovate the Beacon homeless shelter on East Washington Avenue.

"We're going to work hard to support one another in every way that we can to make sure that we are continuing to provide exceptional services to people across the county," Agard said. "This isn't going to be comfortable or fun for anyone, people are going to have to work harder because there will be less ... but these are very qualified professionals that hold these positions, and it is important to me that we center ourselves in what it is that we are providing to the residents."