Budget Final Thoughts: Support our most vulnerable neighbors in perilous times
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Yogesh talks budget with wkow 27
Dane County is facing one of its most challenging budgets in recent memory, with a structural deficit of $31 million. In response, the County Executive directed every department to reduce the general revenue in their proposed budget requests by 4%. The Sheriff’s Office proposed a budget that did not reflect the 4% reduction.
To compensate, the Executive’s proposed budget disproportionately added an additional 4% cut to all human service providers—the very organizations that provide essential services like mental health crisis response, support for survivors of sexual violence, and assistance and rehabilitation for families facing acute trauma.
The Dane County Board has worked to achieve an equitable balance by offering a compromise that reverses some of the cuts to human service providers. One key proposal is to use the salary savings of 20 long-vacant positions in the Sheriff’s Office. We know dozens of vacancies will remain through 2026, given years of ongoing recruitment and retention challenges, with many retirements on the horizon.
This change does not defund nor remove a single deputy from patrolling the County, ensuring the safety of those in the jail, or serving rural communities like Cambridge or Black Earth as many of those municipalities already contract separately for law enforcement services.
The Sheriff confirmed before the Personnel and Finance Committee that this compromise was “something our membership and community would be happy with moving forward.” (timestamp 1:09:25)
By adopting these responsible one-year adjustments, the County Board’s budget amendments will:
Restore over $1.6M in funding to human services partner contracts to support critical programs for youth and families, seniors, people with disabilities, and survivors of violence.
Restore a vital Immigration Affairs Social Worker, ensuring our immigrant neighbors have support as their constitutional rights and basic human dignity come under direct attack.
Support operations to open the new purpose-built men’s shelter at Bartillon Drive, an overflow shelter during the harshest months of winter, and hotel rooms for unsheltered families.
Restore a countywide Regional Housing Strategy Coordinator to partner with municipalities to increase the supply of housing.
Maintain essential detox services and provide new funding to support a long-term solution for involuntary commitment.
We are entering a crossroads in our community — one defined by widening gaps, shrinking safety nets, and the question of whether we’ll still look out for one another. Federal disinvestment is eroding SNAP benefits, stripping away health care coverage, and undermining the social safety nets that keep families afloat. At a moment like this, it’s more important than ever for Dane County to stand by our values, invest in our people, and lead by example for our nation in peril.
My own family came to this country with little more than hope and determination. We were able to build our lives because of the kind of support these human service programs provide today. This budget compromise reflects the best of Dane County: compassion, fairness, and unity.