2026 Adopted Budget

2026 ADOPTED BUDGET This budget reflects our commitment to sustainable growth, fiscal responsibility, and the well-being of all residents. www.WaukeshaCounty.Gov Prepared by the Office of the County Executive 515 W. Moreland Blvd Waukesha, WI 53188 Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow (Term Expires April 2027) Waukesha County Board of Supervisors (Terms Expire April 2026) Chairperson James A. Heinrich (9th District) First Vice-Chairperson Keith Hammitt (23rd District) Second Vice-Chairperson Jacob LaFontain (7th District) 1st District Steve Styza 6th District Jeremy Walz 14th District Christine Mommaerts 20th District Thomas J. Schellinger 2nd District Wayne Euclide 8th District Johnny Koremenos 15th District Robert L. Kolb 21st District Joel R. Gaughan 3rd District John G. Gscheidmeier 10th District Terry Thieme 16th District Michael A. Crowley 22nd District Gary J. Szpara 4th District James Batzko 11th District Christine M. Howard 17th District Brian Meier 24th District Deb Schroeder 5th District Timothy Dondlinger 12th District Peter M. Wolff 18th District Larry Nelson 25th District Darlene M. Johnson 13th District John D. Leisemann 19th District Darryl J. Enriquez About the Cover: Pewaukee Lake is a 2437-acre lake located in Waukesha County. It has a maximum depth of 45 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from public boat landings. Fish include Musky, Panfish, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike and Walleye. The lake's water is moderately clear. Cover Photo by: Hillary Mintz, Press Secretary/PIO to the County Executive Composition and Layout by: Lisa Kwiat, Public Communications Coordinator, Health & Human Services/Public Health The entire budget can be found at http://www.waukeshacounty.gov/budget 2 _____________________________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS _____________________________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents ........................................................... 3 Introduction Budget Message-County Executive Paul Farrow ........... 4 Quick Questions ............................................................. 8 Reader’s Guide ............................................................... 9 Departments By Functional Area Chart ........................ 10 Departments Organizational Chart ............................... 12 Community Profile ........................................................ 13 List of Graphs ............................................................... 16 List of Tables ................................................................ 17 Award for Distinguished Budget Presentation .............. 19 Summary Budget Assumptions ..................................................... 23 Amendments to the Proposed Budget ......................... 24 Tax Levy Summary ....................................................... 25 Budget Summary .......................................................... 26 Summary by Functional Area by Agency by Fund ....... 27 Tax Levy by Functional Area ........................................ 29 2024-2026 Expenditures .............................................. 31 2024-2026 Revenues ................................................... 41 Decision Making Criteria New Positions & Budgeted Positions Summary by Functional Area.... 48 Fund Balance Projections ............................................. 49 Functional Area Summary by Fund Type ..................... 55 Appropriation Unit Summary by Fund Type ................. 56 Strategic Planning and Budget Process Strategic Planning Overview ........................................ 59 Waukesha County Planning Processes ....................... 61 Waukesha County Five Year Financial Forecast ......... 63 Financial Management Policies .................................... 64 Capital and Operating Budget Process ........................ 69 Financial Structure ........................................................ 72 Waukesha County Budgetary Funds ............................ 74 Fund Descriptions ......................................................... 75 Justice and Public Safety Justice and Public Safety Summary ............................. 81 Emergency Preparedness ............................................ 87 District Attorney .......................................................... 103 Circuit Court Services ................................................. 113 Medical Examiner ....................................................... 127 Sheriff ......................................................................... 135 Health and Human Services Health and Human Services Summary ...................... 153 Corporation Counsel Child Support General Fund .... 161 Department of Health & Human Services (H&HS) ..... 169 Health & Human Services General Fund ................... 174 Administrative Services .............................................. 175 Veterans’ Services ..................................................... 181 Criminal Justice Collaborating Council ....................... 183 Public Health............................................................... 186 Health and Human Services (Cont.) Child and Youth Family Services................................ 190 Child and Youth Coordinated Services ....................... 196 Outpatient Behavioral Health ...................................... 200 Emergency Behavioral Health .................................... 204 Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) .............. 211 Aging and Disability Resource Center Contract Fund ................................................. 219 Special Purpose Grant Fund (ARPA) ........................ 221 Parks, Environment, Education and Land Use Parks, Environment, Education and Land Use Summary .................................................... 225 Register of Deeds ....................................................... 231 Extension Waukesha County ..................................... 237 Bridges Library System ............................................... 247 Parks and Land Use ................................................... 259 Public Works Public Works Summary .............................................. 327 Public Works ............................................................... 333 General Administration General Administration Summary ............................... 379 County Executive ........................................................ 385 County Board .............................................................. 391 County Clerk ............................................................... 397 County Treasurer ........................................................ 405 Department of Administration ..................................... 411 Corporation Counsel ................................................... 447 Non-Departmental Non-Departmental Summary ...................................... 455 Non-Departmental – General Fund ............................ 459 Health and Dental Insurance Fund ............................. 462 Contingency Fund ....................................................... 468 Debt Service Debt Service ............................................................... 471 Capital Projects Capital Projects ........................................................... 479 Capital Projects Plan .................................................. 523 Stats/Trends Statistical Trends and Tables ..................................... 531 Position Summaries .................................................... 549 Department Position Detail ......................................... 553 Glossary of Significant Terms ..................................... 608 Glossary of Acronyms ................................................. 617 Subject Index .............................................................. 618 3 Waukesha County Office of the County Executive Paul Farrow County Executive To: Residents of Waukesha County and Honorable County Board Members From: Paul Farrow, County Executive Date: December 9, 2025 The 2026 Adopted Budget continues to meet the needs of our residents and local businesses while adhering to our conservative financial principles and the state’s strict levy limits. As part of the plan I laid out earlier this year to address the county’s ongoing fiscal pressures, I have sought the input of the public at three budget town hall sessions, worked with the County Board to educate and lobby our state leaders on the county’s needs, and consulted with local businesses on how the county can best serve them and make this a prosperous place to live. We made some gains with the state budget, but funding fell short from where it ought to be under a responsible state/local government partnership. Counties statewide urged a $70 million increase in Circuit Court support to bring the state share of mandated costs closer to 50/50, but state leadership approved only $10 million. Funding increased in a handful of targeted areas, but does not materially change the county’s long-term fiscal challenges. Other areas, such as the $13.3 million of Community Aids that provide Health and Human Services with its largest primary source of discretionary intergovernmental revenue, remain flat. To make up for these gaps, department leadership from across the county continued to provide creative solutions. This includes employing technology, collaborating with each other, and prioritizing services. You will see cuts to staffing and services in multiple areas in the budget. These are thoughtfully proposed to help ensure residents continue to benefit from the quality work the county provides. This budget is balanced, but challenges still remain. COUNTY EXPENDITURES AND REVENUES Expenditures in the budget total $391.5 million, an increase of $3.0 million from the prior year. Operating budget expenditures increase $0.8 million or 0.2%. Capital project expenditures increase $2.2 million for a total capital budget of $46.0 million and includes the final funding year for the courthouse renovation project, repaving of County Trunk Highways, and improvements to park infrastructure and facilities. The proposed 2026 general property tax levy totals $117.6 million, an increase of 1.79% or $2,070,352. The increase includes a factor for tax increment district closures, prior-year unused levy capacity, debt service on infrastructure investments and a net new construction growth rate of 1.46% as compared to 1.45% in the prior year. The growth in levy is against an equalized property tax base of $92.8 billion, which experienced an 8.3% increase. The general county tax rate decreases $0.08 per $1,000 of property value, from $1.35 to $1.27. The budget continues careful management of personnel. This includes a net reduction in funded full-time, part-time, temporary, and overtime staffing of 3.33 FTE, offset by the cost to continue existing staff. After excluding new sunset positions, or those that are otherwise fully funded with outside revenue sources, that were created during the current year and in this proposed budget, the total FTE reduction is 6.83 FTE. 4 The 2026 budget includes changes in key revenue sources. • The Federal Reserve increased interest rates multiple times between March of 2022 and July of 2023 in an effort to slow inflation. This has resulted in improving investment income, which is budgeted to increase $276,000 in the Treasurer’s Office. Interest rates are likely to come down in the future, so this revenue source is budgeted conservatively. • After remaining essentially flat for more than a quarter century, the state budget increased the county’s Circuit Court Support Grant allocation by $573,500, which frees up resources that will help cover the department’s cost to continue for about two years. • After the state provided the county an additional $3.5 million in Shared Revenue in 2024 as part of a statewide effort to provide relief to local governments, increases have been more incremental, covering a fraction of the county’s cost to continue. The state budget approved a 3.4% or $141,900 increase in 2026. For 2027, the increase will be less, at 2.1% or $91,200. A separate provision of Shared Revenue, which provides counties revenues to offset the property tax exemption of utilities, increases $150,000 in 2026. • County staff are continuously looking for ways to stretch dollars and maximize cost recovery through outside revenue sources to the benefit of local taxpayers. Through the efforts of our Department of Administration, working with Health and Human Services, we were able to negotiate with state officials to increase our Medicaid reimbursement levels for a more comprehensive recovery of prior-year county-provided human services, resulting in a $1.5 million increase for the 2026 budget. This cost recovery, frequently referred to as Wisconsin Medicaid Cost Reporting (WIMCR), is accounted for among several programs in HHS. • Continuing strong demand for quality outdoor recreation leads to an increase in various parks fees (e.g., annual/entrance stickers, camping fees) of $262,000. The county’s long-standing practice of supporting our parks with fees from those who enjoy these quality-of-life amenities (making up 84% of funding), reduces tax levy reliance and is one of the factors that makes Waukesha County a fiscally conservative leader. The county also made the decision to re-prioritize $260,000 of annual landfill siting fee revenue that was being set aside for major parks maintenance projects in the capital plan and will instead use it to replace tax levy in its operating budget that funded the smaller three-year maintenance plan. These additional revenues, along with the unfuding of a 1.0 FTE land use specialist, help offset the department’s $360,000 tax levy reduction. • The budget includes a $2.0 million Branch Campus Redevelopment Grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to offset demolition costs related to the future sale of the former UW-Milwaukee at Waukesha campus property. The Justice and Law Enforcement program areas remain a priority, receiving about $1.7 million of additional tax levy, which is nearly 90% of all new, non-debt levy. • The Sheriff’s Department receives an additional $1.5 million in tax levy, an increase of 4.3%, and an additional $120,000 in Shared Revenue, to help cover the cost to continue. Two additional sunset deputy sheriff positions were added during the year to provide school resource officer services and are fully funded by the school districts. The department avoided a major revenue reduction when the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) d elayed the implementation of a ruling, based on the Martha Wright-Reed Act, that would have eliminated all inmate telephone funding for the county. The FCC rule was set to go into effect on April 1, 2026, and was estimated to reduce revenues $600,000 ($425,000 in the first year and $175,000 in the second year). The department is already bringing this revenue down $208,000 based on usage trends, but the remainder will be a budget challenge when the rule goes into effect one year later on April 1, 2027. Over $2.0 million of temporary fund balance continues to be budgeted in this department to offset levy need for the phase-in of new costs and equipment replacement, and will need to be decreased over time, creating future budget challenges. • Emergency Preparedness, which includes emergency dispatch operations for the Sheriff’s Department and 33 municipalities, includes an in crease of $180,000 or 2.4% in tax levy, driven mostly by the cost to continue staff and technology. The department offsets costs by unfunding a 1.0 FTE programs and projects analyst, with Department of Administration staff picking up many of the financial management responsibilities of the previous position to consolidate functions at a lower overall cost. 5 • The District Attorney’s Office receives an increase in tax levy of $70,000 or 2.9%. The 2025-27 state budget provided an additional six prosecutor positions, but did not include funding for additional support staff. The department was able to increase its staffing by 0.5 FTE for an additional part-time victim witness specialist, partly due to an anticipated increase in the state’s Victim/Witness reimbursement rate from 50% to 55%. The county continues to provide $168,000 of its Opioid Settlement funding (an increase of $8,000) to partially make up for a $249,000 decrease in the department’s VOCA grant award in the 2025 budget. • The Medical Examiner’s Office receives an increase in tax levy of $117,000 or 7.9%, along with continuing $114,000 of Opioid Settlement funds. The County Board approved an ordinance during the summer to add an associate medical examiner position, bringing the number of forensic pathologists up to three. This was necessary to help ensure sustainable caseloads and aid in future recruitment efforts. The additional position costs about $400,000, and approximately 40% of it is covered by eliminating temporary pathologist coverage. The remaining $244,000 is covered with fund balance, and will need to be phased out over the next several years. Personnel costs also include $110,000 of additional expenses, supported with fund balance, to cover potential costs associated with staffing transitions. SERVICE LEVEL ADJUSTMENTS The 2026 budget includes changes in service levels in several areas. • Utility expenses for general county buildings that are accounted for in the Department of Public Works – General Fund consist of electricity, natural gas, and water/sewer service, and are budgeted to increase $148,200 largely due to rate increases. In order to meet these and other rising costs, the department is unfunding its last remaining county-employed building services worker in the Housekeeping program. All Housekeeping services will now be performed through contract staff. • Tax levy for the county’s Transit Services program decr eases $155,000 to reflect the mid-year 2025 elimination of commuter routes 901, 904, and 905, which previously served various points in Lake Country to the City of Waukesha and downtown Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee Campus. Transit routes have been eliminated over the last several years due to low ridership, and funding is prioritized for county’s lone remaining Route 1 that runs from the city’s Transit Center in downtown Waukesha, along Bluemound Road to Brookfield Square, before connecting with Milwaukee County’s Bus Rapid Transit that runs along Wisconsin Avenue to downtown Milwaukee. • Through additional Wisconsin Department of Transportation funding, the Department of Public Works Transp ortation Fund is restoring a previously unfunded 1.0 FTE patrol worker position to provide additional state highway maintenance. • Health and Human Services is prioritizing its resources in its Aging and Disability Resource Center division by eliminating two senior dining meal sites in Oconomowoc and La Casa based on low participation. The department has been working with those affected to identify alternatives. • Net of other position adjustments, Health and Human Services is abolishing and unfunding 2.0 FTE administrative assistants, a 1.0 FTE senior fiscal specialist, the remaining 0.42 FTE of the clinical services manager, a 0.6 FTE part-time senior dining manager and a part-time 0.40 FTE psychiatric nurse practitioner. • Health and Human Service’s Third-Party Administrator Program for Children with Long-Term Support needs is be ing eliminated in the 2026 budget, as the state is no longer requiring the county to report these expenses or manage the provider audits. This will not have an impact on the services the county provides, nor on the tax levy because these were pass-through expenses offset with revenues. This action reduces the expenditure and revenue budget by $14.0 million. • Through a re-alignment of responsibilities and the eliminatio n of the virtual desktop infrastructure, the Department of Administration is able to unfund 1.0 FTE principal information technology professional position. 6 • Recognizing the impo rtance of proper elections administration, this budget increases staffing in the County Clerk’s Office by about 0.5 FTE, bringing a part-time administrative assistant position up to full-time. The cost of ballots continues to be a major cost driver for this department, with the price per ballot estimated to increase from $0.28 to $0.31, which translates into a $76,600 increase from the last comparable election year (2026 versus 2024). General fund balance remains budgeted to help phase-in this cost. • The Register of Deeds Office is unfunding 1.0 FTE administrative specialist position and is investing $25,000 for new auto-indexing software to help reduce staffing needs and assist with backfile indexing. INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE The 2026 capital budget, with total expenditures of $46.0 million, increases $2.2 million from the 2025 budget, and includes $20.5 million for the final funding year for the Courthouse Project Step II: Renovate 1959 Courthouse. The project will improve security, address aging and out-of-date facility systems, and ensure that facilities can support the next fifty years of growth in the County. Highway projects include $850,000 for the design phase of major project to improve CTH K (Lisbon Road) from CTH JK (Lynndale Road) to Brookfield Road. There’s also $1.8 million (mostly funded with federal, state, and municipal contributions) to extend the Lake Country trail from Roosevelt Park in the City of Oconomowoc to the Jefferson County Line (which Jefferson County will connect to the City of Watertown). For facilities, there is $200,000 to begin window replacement at the Law Enforcement Center, $1.6 million to start roof construction at the Highway Operations/Central Fleet building, $324,000 to finish roof replacement at the Communications Center, and $150,000 to study the Administration Center building on options to reconfigure/relocate departments to better meet the needs of the public, improve wayfinding, and create staffing efficiencies. PROJECT FUNDING AND DEBT MANAGEMENT The County values strategic, long-range capital planning, budgeting and debt management policies and practices. Down payment support for the capital budget increases $1.4 million, mostly due to an increase in budgeted General Fund balance by $3.5 million and an increase in tax levy by $562,200, partially offset by a decrease in Capital Project Fund balance of $1.6 million, eliminating of the remaining $615,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funding, reducing prior- year Jail Assessment Funds by $304,000 and transferring $200,000 of Shared Revenue utility aid payments to the operating budget. The total downpayment covers 26% of net capital costs, which is above the target policy of 20%, but will be difficult to maintain in future capital years as resources have been transferred to the operating budget to help meet critical service needs. Borrowed funds are budgeted at $27.2 million, a decrease of $2.0 million from the 2025 budget. This includes $24.2 million in borrowing for the capital plan, a decrease of $0.8 million from the 2025 budget, and $3.0 million in borrowing for major vehicle replacements, a decrease of $1.2 million. The County’s 2026 debt service expenses are budgeted at $18.9 million, which is well within the County’s key benchmark ratio of debt service expenditures to the total governmental operating expenditures of less than 10%. Maintaining debt service on borrowing at a lower level in the range of 5.5% to 7.0% assures the County will be able to maintain its infrastructure without diminishing funding needed for direct services for future generations. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the Waukesha County staff who helped prepare the 2026 Waukesha County Budget and the County Board Supervisors who gave careful consideration to our efforts to prioritize quality services and deliver a budget that continues our commitment to the taxpayers of Waukesha County to remain a low-tax leader. Sincerely, PAUL FARR OW 7 _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Quick Question? (See page 618-619 for the Subject Index) The following should assist the reader with answering some of the more commonly asked questions about the Waukesha County budget. CHECK IT OUT! What does the County Executive have to say about the 2026 Budget? 4 Taxes! 2026 Edition What is the impact of the levy limit on the budget over time? 25 How much of this budget is supported by tax levy? 26 Which areas get the most tax dollars? 29-30 How is the County Organized? How is the county organized? 10, 12 What departments are in each functional area? 27-28 Pillars? What do they have to do with organizing the county? 60 How many people are working in all of these departments? 549 Financial Summary How is the county’s tax levy used? 29-30 What are the county’s major expenditures? 31-40 What are the county’s major revenue sources? 41-47 Are my taxes higher or lower than other counties? 539-540 Big Projects in 2026 & Beyond! What are the big projects this year? 481-482 How are we paying for these projects? 480 Can we afford to do all of these projects? 479 What areas are planning for projects over the next five years? 525-526 Sounds like a plan! What factors do you consider when developing the budget? 23 How many plans does the county have and what do they have to do with the budget? 61-63 What is the process for developing the budget? 69 Fun Facts & Stats How many municipalities does Waukesha County have? 13 What are Waukesha County’s unique economic demographics? 14 What is the population of the county? 13, 533 What is the county’s equalized property value by municipality? 534 What is the levy rate history and how does it compare to the actual levy amount? 537 Who are the department heads? 620 8 READER’ S GUIDE Introd uction The budget document contains information about many aspects of Waukesha County Government. To make this budget book easier to use and read, this Reader's Guide and the Quick Reference Guide have been developed. In addition, the following resources are available to the reader for locating information: Table of Contents, Listing of Graphs and Tables, Glossary, and Index. Finally, the Transmittal Letter and the Budget Message should assist the reader with understanding many of the key issues within the Waukesha County Budget. Document Organization The County's annual budget book is divided into the following sections: Introduction, Summary, Strategic Planning and Budget Policies, Operational (divided into functional areas), Debt Service, Capital Projects, and a Statistics and Trends section. The Introduction includes county demographics, the County Executive’s Budget message, the Transmittal letter (in the Adopted Budget Book), county organizational charts, and the Community Profile. The Summary provides a synopsis of the operating and capital budgets; tax levy; budget assumptions; budget summaries, highlighting major expenditures and revenues; criteria for new positions; a summary of budgeted positions; fund balance projections (in the Adopted Budget Book); fund descriptions; and functional area and appropriation unit revenue and expenditure summaries. The Strategic Planning and Budget Policies section includes the County’s Strategic Planning Mission Statement Vision Statement, Standards of Excellence and County-wide Pillars; County Planning Process; Financial Management Policies; Capital and Operating Budget Process; Budget Amendment Process and Financial Structure of the county. The Operating, Debt Service, and Capital budgets are presented within functional areas with a summary section included at the beginning of each area. Functional areas include: Justice and Public Safety - Court system, correctional operations, and public safety. Health & Human Services - Services to improve quality of life and self-sufficiency. Parks, Envir, Educ & Land Use - Recreational, educational, environmental, and land use activities. Public Works - Road planning, design and maintenance, county-wide fleet maintenance, airport, transit, and facilities maintenance. General Administration - County governmental functions and administrative support. Non-Departmental - County-wide items not within direct control of a specific department, an internal service fund for health and dental insurance, and the Contingency Fund. Debt Service - Principal and interest payments on long-term general obligation debt. Capital Projects - Major acquisition and construction of infrastructure or technology improvements with long-term financing requirements. The Statistics/Trends section includes general county trend data such as population and equalized value; five- to ten-year data trends of expenditures, revenues, and debt service, and comparative property tax rates. Each department is introduced by a page that details the functional/program structure of that department. The summary page includes the fund type. Fund types are defined in the Glossary of Significant Terms and explained in the Fund Description pages of the Summary section and Fund Structure section of the Strategic Planning and Budget Policies section. 9 WAUKESHA COUNTY DEPARTMENTS BY FUNCTIONAL AREA CHART Waukesha County Justice and Public  Safety Emergency  Preparedness District Attorney Circuit Court Medical Examiner Sheriff Health  and Human  Services Corporation  Counsel:  Child Support Health and Human  Services Parks, Environment,  Education,  & Land Use Register of Deeds UW‐Extension Bridges Library System Parks and Land Use Public Works Public  Works General  Administration County Executive County Board County Clerk County Tre as ure r Department of  Administration Corporation  Counsel Non‐Departmental Non‐Departmental DEPARTMENTFUNCTIONAL AREA 10 READER’ S GUIDE Department Bud get Sections Department operating budgets are intended to highlight the budget and policy issues of each department presented in the following format: Department Statement of Purpose/Summary - This section includes the department’s statement of purpose, summary of the department’s revenues, tax levy, and expenditures. The department’s revenues, expenditures, and tax levy are required by fund for the prior year actual, for the current year adopted budget, the current year estimate, and for the ensuing year budget request. This section includes the absolute dollar and percentage change by appropriation unit from the current-year adopted budget to the ensuing-year budget request. Also included, is a budgeted position summary of all full-time and part-time budgeted positions for a department, and the use of overtime and temporary extra help, which are stated in full-time equivalents (FTEs) based on 2,080 hours per year. Multi-fund departments will also complete a summary page summarizing information for all funds. For each separate fund, a Fund Purpose statement is displayed. Major Departmental Strategic Plan Objectives are indicated - This section identifies key budget initiatives organized under County-Wide Pillars. The five pillars are (1) Customer Service, (2) Quality, (3) Team, (4) Health and Safety, and (5) Finance. Departmental objectives (goals) – focus on areas that utilize significant budget resources. Performance Measures - are metrics that demonstrate level of achievement over multiple years. Current and Planned Capital Projects - This section provides a listing of open and planned capital projects that impact the department’s operation. It includes project number, name, expected completion year, total project cost, and estimated percent completed at year-end. The estimated operating impact is also identified with a cross reference to the project summary information. Budgeted Positions Summary - This section summarizes personnel information (detailed listings of funded positions are included in the Statistics and Trend section). This section also includes changes in the number of positions for the adopted budget to ensuing year requests with an explanation of the changes. Appropriation Units - One or more expenditure accounts grouped by purpose for budgetary control, including: 1. Personnel Costs - Costs of all salary and non-salary compensation incurred in accordance with county policy. This includes wages, longevity, temporary extra help, and overtime compensation paid to county employees. This also includes compensation for sick leave, holiday, vacation, education leaves, and uniform allowances. Major employee benefits include the Wisconsin Retirement System pension, Social Security contributions, and health, dental, life, and long-term disability insurance. 2. Operating Expenses - Costs of all utilities, materials, supplies, travel, training, contract services, and other expenses necessary for the operation of a department. This also includes costs of all services purchased from outside vendors. 3. Interdepartmental Charges - Costs of all labor, materials, supplies, or services purchased by one county department from another county department (mainly provided by internal service funds). 4. Fixed Assets/Improvements - Costs of all equipment items (more than $5,000) purchased by departments. This category includes capital outlay, small office equipment items, large automotive equipment items, and major grounds and building maintenance projects. However, it excludes capital projects as defined by the county code. Programs - In this section, a program is defined as a major activity or expenditure area that a department budgets and accounts for in its operations. This section identifies prior-year actual, current-year adopted budget, current-year estimate, ensuing-year budget request, and the change in budgeted dollars from current to ensuing year by program. Program budget highlights include major expenditure and revenue changes, along with budget year program changes, initiatives and key department budget issues specific to the ensuing budget year, new positions, and significant position changes. The Subject Index provides page number references for listed subjects. 11 Judicial Branch Legislative Branch Legend Elected Officials County and State Shared Governance Board or Commission Governance Executive Branch Waukesha County Organizational Chart Citizens of Waukesha County County Executive County Board Circuit Court Judges Corporation CounselAdministration Health & Human Services Medical Examiner Parks and Land Use Public Works Research & Audit ServicesClerk of Courts County Clerk Sheriff Treasurer Court Commissioners Juvenile Court Probate Court UW Extension Federated Library LegislativeEmergency Preparedness District Attorney Register of Deeds 12 WAUKESHA COUNTY, WISCONSIN • COMMUNITY PROFILE COUNTY POPULATION* As of 1/1/2025 417,230 2020 Census 406,978 *WI Department of Administration (2025), U.S. Census Bureau (2020) EQUALIZED PROPERTY VALUES Including TID $95,725,979,100 Excluding TID $92,839,031,800 BRIEF WAUKESHA COUNTY HISTORY In April of 1846 Waukesha County was formed with sixteen townships. Supervisors representing each of the sixteen towns were elected to organize a county board, elect officers and to provide for and build necessary county buildings. In 1965, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court ruled that county boards must equitably represent the population, and the Waukesha County Board switched to supervisory districts that represented an equal number of citizens, rather than the units system used previously. In April of 1991, a new form of county government was established. The first county executive was elected by the voters of Waukesha County to be responsible for the administrative functions of county government. The county board reorganized to better reflect this new form of governing. The county executive also proposes the County Budget and has the ability to veto actions of the county board, and to appoint members to advisory boards and commissions. Effective April 2008, the County Board reduced their membership from 35 to 25, but maintained the seven standing committees. WAUKESHA COUNTY TODAY Waukesha County is located in southeastern Wisconsin, directly west of Milwaukee County and 100 miles northwest of Chicago. Waukesha County is part of the Milwaukee Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) and is the third most populous county in the State. The County has the highest median household income, second highest per capita income, and the third highest equalized property tax base in the State. The County covers 576 square miles and consists of 8 cities, 22 villages and 7 towns. The County Board is represented by 25 County Board Supervisors. 13 EMPLOYEES 2024 Froedtert 4,626 EQUALIZED 2023 Kohl's Department Stores 4,000 VALUE RANK ProHealth Care 3,473 Wimmer Brothers $406,524,878 1 Roundys (Krogers)* 3,387 The Corners of Brookfield* $230,383,700 2 General Electric Healthcare 2,850 Aurora $191,891,439 5 Advocate Aurora Healthcare* 2,800 Fiduciary Real Estate Development $189,349,600 7 Milwaukee Electric Tool/Empire Level 2,800 ProHealth Care $180,380,821 3 Wal-Mart Corporation 2,338 Brookfield Square* $179,587,900 4 Generac 2,283 Mandel $175,692,564 N/A Quad Graphics Inc. 2,056 Individual $160,123,386 6 Eaton Cooper Power Systems 1,720 Target Corporation $147,992,269 10 Target Corporation* 1,679 Irgens $146,606,734 N/A BMO Harris Bank 1,581 Subtotal $2,008,533,291 School District of Waukesha 1,500 % Total 2024 Equalized Value** 2.3% Waukesha County 1,424 *Includes adjacent and nearby properties owned by multiple entities Elmbrook School District 1,221 **2023 total equalized value including TID of $84,956,236,000 Spring City/Pieper Electric 1,200 Source: Waukesha County Tax System & Wisconsin Department of Revenue Subtotal 40,938 See Waukesha County Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for more detailed information * No survey responsed received in 2025. Latest response available (2024) is used. Source: Data Axle Genie (www.salesgenie.com), the Village of Sussex official statement dated March 14, 2024, City of Brookfield official statement dated June 6, 2024, City of Waukesha 2025 Executive Operating Budget, and direct employer contacts Spring 2025. CONSTRUCTION & BUILDING PERMITS Residential Value Year Number in 000's 2024 1,110 $774,453 EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY 2023 847 $443,154 INDUSTRY 2024 NAICS (1) 2022 1,010 $502,943 Retail Trade, Transportation, Utilities 51,716 2021 1,124 $599,050 Manufacturing 42,017 2020 868 $393,312 Education and Health 44,206 Source: U.S. Department of Commerce Professional and Business Services 35,487 Leisure and Hospitality 22,360 Construction 19,610 Financial Activities 14,673 INCOME, JOBS, AND UNEMPLOYMENT Other Services (2) 8,655 PER CAPITA INCOME, 2023 (1) Public Administration 6,439 Waukesha County $91,766 Information 2,625 State of Wisconsin $64,976 Total 247,788 United States $69,810 (1) North American Industry Classification System JOBS, 2024 (2) 247,788 Source: Wisconsin Department of Workforce UNEMPLOYMENT RATE, 2024 (3) 2.6% Development, Bureau of Workforce Information (2) Includes Natural Resources. (1) Bureau of Economic Analysis - US Department of Commerce (2) Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (3) Bureau of Labor Statistics - US Department of Labor Agr./Forest/ Budget Year Swamp/Other 2021 $893,618 $12,799,348 $1,667,999 $322,223 2022 $925,014 $14,311,879 $1,719,154 $367,648 2023 $947,508 $16,183,154 $1,867,723 $388,933 2024 $16,518,746 $1,966,122 $413,693 2025 $18,445,505 $2,182,669 $427,091 % of Total 19.3% 2.3% 0.4% See STATS/TRENDS Section for more detailed information * Includes Tax Incremental District Value WAUKESHA COUNTY, WISCONSIN ● COMMUNITY PROFILE ECONOMIC DEMOGRAPHICS LARGEST EMPLOYERS PRINCIPAL TAXPAYERS EMPLOYER TAXPAYER EQUALIZED PROPERTY VALUE BY CLASS * ($000's) Residential Personal Commercial Mfg.Property $58,082,799 $51,003,150 78.0% 0.0% $65,568,918 $69,332,332 $0 $74,670,714 $0 14 WAUKESHA COUNTY, WISCONSIN • COMMUNITY PROFILE DEMOGRAPHICS ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION School Districts Arrowhead Union High; Elmbrook; Hamilton; Hartland-Lakeside; Kettle Moraine; Lake Country; Menomonee Falls; Merton Community; Mukwonago; Muskego-Norway; New Berlin; Norris; North Lake; Oconomowoc Area; Pewaukee; Richmond; Stone Bank; Swallow; Waukesha Educational Attainment: Percent High School Graduate or Higher* Waukesha County: 97.3% Wisconsin: 93.7% *Source: US Census Bureau, https://data.census.gov, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, updated annually. SCHOOL ENROLLMENT* 2024-2025 Academic Year Public: 60,032 Private: 10,962 Home schooling: 1,664** *Source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction **May exclude enrollment counts from districts that have few home-schooled students, due to privacy law. POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION Colleges and Universities Carroll University, City of Waukesha Ottawa University-Milwaukee, City of Brookfield Technical and Vocational Schools Waukesha County Technical College, Village of Pewaukee campus Sky Plaza (Pewaukee) campus City of Waukesha campus TRANSPORTATION Roads 405 miles Waukesha County roads 207 miles State Highway roads (In County) Public Transit Waukesha Metro Transit Contract Administrator Wisconsin Coach Lines Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) Specialized transportation (Ride line) service provided by the Waukesha County, Department of Aging and Disability Resource Center UTILITIES Electric Power WE Energies City of Oconomowoc Electric & Gas Telephone AT&T/Direct TV CenturyLink Spectrum Natural Gas WE Energies Wisconsin Gas Company Solid Waste Private Collection and Hauling Services General use landfills within the County Community recycling programs The County oversees a privately operated Material Recycling Facility in partnership with the City of Milwaukee, with 26 Waukesha County municipalities participating. Water 14 publicly owned water utilities Numerous small-private water utilities Water drawn from groundwater aquifers Sanitary Sewerage 19 sanitary sewerage systems served by 7 public wastewater treatment plants EMERGENCY SERVICES* Waukesha County Communications Center consolidates police, fire, and emergency dispatch for the Sheriff’s Department and 33 municipalities *Source: State of Wisconsin, Department of Justice *For additional statistics, refer to the Stats./Trends section of the budget document. 15 ____________________________________________________________________________ ___ LIST OF GRAPHS _______________________________________________________________________________ 2026 Tax Levy Summary .................................................................................................... 25 Tax Levy by Functional Area 2026 compared to 2022 ...................................................... 29 2022-2026 Budgeted Tax Levy by Functional Area ........................................................... 30 2026 Expenditures by Functional Area as a Percent of Total ........................................... 32 2026 Revenues as a Percent of Total ................................................................................ 42 Budgeted Total Revenues 2026 ......................................................................................... 42 Intergovernmental Revenues ............................................................................................. 45 Charges for Services .......................................................................................................... 45 General & Special Revenue Funds, Expenditures, Unassigned Fund Balance ................ 49 Five-Year Financial Forecast ............................................................................................. 63 Justice & Public Safety 2024-2026, Expenditures, Revenues & Tax Levy ....................... 81 Health & Human Services 2024-2026, Expenditures, Revenues & Tax Levy ................... 153 Parks, Environment, Education and Land Use 2024-2026, Expenditures, Revenues & Tax Levy ..................................................................... 225 Public Works 2024-2026, Expenditures, Revenues & Tax Levy ....................................... 327 General Administration 2024-2026, Expenditures, Revenues & Tax Levy ....................... 379 Non-Departmental 2024-2026, Expenditures, Revenues & Tax Levy ............................... 455 Debt Service Requirements, Payments 2025-2036 ........................................................... 472 Projected Debt Service, Five-year Capital Projects Plan ................................................... 475 Waukesha County Capital Projects Plan by Functional Area 2026-2030 ......................... 524 County Tax Levy Dedicated to State Mandates ................................................................. 531 Equalized Property Value, Rate of Change ....................................................................... 535 Equalized Property Value by Class of Property ................................................................. 536 Outstanding Debt Per Capita .............................................................................................. 541 Debt Service as a Percent of Operating Expenditures ...................................................... 542 Operating Revenues Per Capita ......................................................................................... 543 Operating Expenditures Per Capita .................................................................................... 544 Employees Per 1,000 Population ....................................................................................... 545 16 LIST OF TABLES ______________________________________________________________________________ ___ 2026 Budget Summary ..........................................................................................................26 2026 County Tax Levy Breakdown .......................................................................................26 2026 Budget Summary by Functional Area by Agency by Fund ..........................................27 2025-2026 Tax Levy by Function ..........................................................................................30 2024-2026 Expenditure Summary .........................................................................................31 2024-2026 Revenue Summary ..............................................................................................41 Budgeted Positions 2024-2026, Summary by Functional Area ............................................48 Functional Area Summary By Fund Type .............................................................................55 Appropriation Unit Summary By Fund Type ..........................................................................56 Justice and Public Safety Summary by Agency ....................................................................82 Justice and Public Safety Budgeted Positions 2024-2026 ...................................................85 Health and Human Services Summary by Agency ...............................................................154 Health and Human Services Budgeted Positi ons 2024-2026 ...............................................159 Parks, Environment, Education and Land Use Summary by Agency ..................................226 Parks, Environment, Education and Land Use Budgeted Positions 2024-2026 ..................230 Parks & Land Use Three Year Maintenance Plan ................................................................268 Public Works Summary by Agency .......................................................................................328 Public Works Budgeted Positions 2024-2026 .......................................................................331 Public Works Building Improvement Plan .............................................................................343 2026 Vehicle Replacement Plan ...........................................................................................370 Five-Year Vehicle Replacement Plan ....................................................................................372 General Administration Summary by Agency .......................................................................380 General Administration Budgeted Positions 2024-2026 .......................................................383 Non-Departmental Summary by Agency ...............................................................................456 Current and Planned Debt Service Requirements ................................................................474 2026 Capital Budget Expenditure Plan .................................................................................479 2026 Capital Project Listing ...................................................................................................480 Five-Year Capital Projects Plan Summary ............................................................................525 Five-Year Capital Project Listing ...........................................................................................527 County Demographics Statistics Trends ...............................................................................532 Waukesha County Population ...............................................................................................533 Waukesha County Equalized Property Value by Municipality ..............................................534 General County Purpose Property Tax Levy Data ................................................................537 Bridges Federated Library Property Tax Levy Data ..............................................................538 Comparative County Property Rates for 2025 Adopted Budget ...........................................539 Comparative Property Tax Per Person for 2024 and 2025 Budgets ....................................540 Personnel Costs as a Percent of Net Operating Budget ......................................................546 General County Tax Levy as a Percent of Net Expenditures 2022-2026 .............................547 Operating and Capital Budget Summary with 8 Months Information....................................548 Budgeted Positions Summary By Department, Total FTEs ..................................................549 Summary of Net Change in Funded Regular Full-Time/Part-Time .......................................550 Budgeted Positions Summary, Regular Full-Time/Part-Time ...............................................552 17 THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK 18 PRESENTED TO Waukesha County Wisconsin For the Fiscal Year Beginning January 01, 2025 Executive Director GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION Distinguished Budget Presentation Award 19 THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK 20 Summary 21 ____________________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS WAUKESHA COUNTY BUDGET SUMMARY ____________________________________________________________________________ 2026 Budget Assumptions ........................................................................................................ 23 Amendments to the Proposed Budget ..................................................................................... 24 2026 Tax Levy Summary .......................................................................................................... 25 2026 Budget Summary ............................................................................................................. 26 2026 Budget Summary by Functional Area by Agency by Fund ............................................. 27 Tax Levy Comparison Charts by Functional Area ....................................................................... 29 Tax Levy Table by Function .......................................................................................... 30 Expenditures 2024-2026 Expenditures Summary Table .................................................................... 31 2026 Expenditure Highlights ......................................................................................... 32 Pie Chart Expenditures as a Percent of Total by Function .......................................... 32 Revenues 2024-2026 Revenue Summary Table........................................................................... 41 2026 Revenue Highlights .............................................................................................. 42 Pie Chart Revenues as a Percent of Total by Source ................................................. 42 Decision Making Criteria New Positions & Budgeted Position Summary by Functional Area ..................................................... 48 Summary of Fund Balance Projections .................................................................................... 50 Functional Area Summary by Fund Type ................................................................................. 55 Appropriation Unit Summary by Fund Type ............................................................................. 56 ____________________________________________________________________________ 22 2026 Budget Assumptions Certain broad assumptions are determined during the first two quarters of 2025 to update the 2024 projections and to establish a basic foundation for building the county’s budget, as the first year in the five-year budget projections. These general assumptions provide a framework to county staff, the County Executive, and the County Board of Supervisors for setting priorities, dete rmining service levels, and allocating limited financial resources. Some adjustments have been made from updated information available during the summer months (June-August). The following general assumptions were used in guiding the County's 2026 Budget development: • Inflation levels began increasing early in 2021 and the Consumer Price Index (CPI, All Urban Consumers - Midwest) continued to rise at high single-digit percent rates on a year-over-year basis through 2022. There were many factors that led to increasing prices, including a rebound in co nsumer demand following pandemic precautions, supply chain disruptions, rising fuel costs, and low unemployment resulting a tight labor market. The Federal Reserve increased interest rates multiple times between March of 2022 through July 2023 to mitigate inflation, and CPI growth stabilized around 3% for many goods and services. The impact of tariffs remains uncertain, in terms of which items will be affected, by how much, and whether domestic importers will be able to adapt. • Based on the CPI figures mentioned above, initial budget assumptions assumed 3% growth in operating costs, which is higher than the typically levy growth factor (net new construction) allowed under state-mandated levy limits that are typically around 1.4% (actual net new construction factor for 2026 budget purposes is 1.46%). However, CPI is a broad average of consumer spending, and many county cost drivers vary from these trends. • Utility costs continue to increase faster than the standard growth assumption of 3%. This includes higher electrical rates due to utility investments in infrastructure and meeting environmental regulations. Water/sewer rates have increased steadily as the City of Waukesha phases in the costs of providing Lake Michigan water. Overall utilities, including natural gas, for general county buildings are budgeted to increase nearly $148,200 or 5.2% in 2026. Utilities have been a major budget driver in recent years, increasing nearly $850,000 in the 2023 through 2025 budgets. • Despite flattening inflationary growth, the county is still catching up with higher cost pressures in previous years. This includes the multi-year phase-in of the impact of a $3.0/ hour increase in sworn officer pay to improv e retention and recruitment, implemented during 2022. The budget assumes a $90,000 decrease in temporary funds (to $450,000 of General Fund balance) and a corresponding increase tax levy need of the same amount. • After several years of stable, low fuel prices, costs began to increase significantly during 2022 mostly due to increased consumer/business demand since pandemic restrictions were eased, lower refining capacity that restricts supply of finished petroleum products, and other events (e.g., natural disasters, international conflict). Fuel prices have decreased since then, with the budget assuming a decrease of about 5%, from $3.27/gallon ($3.48/gallon with markup) to $3.11/gallon ($3.32/gallon with markup). • Assumptions continued to include steady modest increases in across-the-board salary adjustments along with health insurance premium charges that were projected to increase 6% to keep up with medical inflation. With updated actuarial analysis, and the implementation of plan design changes to help offset higher claims experience, the 2026 budget assumes an average increase in health insurance premium rates of 6.3%. • Revenues related to economic activity: − Increasing interest rates (mentioned above) have resulted in higher investment income levels, which are budgeted to increase about $276,000 million in 2025. The Federal Reserve began reducing interest rates in late 2024, before pausing due to inflation concerns. Interest rates are likely to come down in the future, so this revenue source is budgeted conservatively. − After decreasing revenues from penalty and interest on delinquent taxes by $1.3 million since 2013, these revenues will be decreased another $50,000 in 2026 to help bring the budget more in-line with actual revenues. • Based on continuing strong demand for quality outdoor recreation, various parks fees (e.g., annual/entrance stickers, camping fees) were assumed to increase $250,000. The county has a long-standing practice of supporting the parks with fees from those who enjoy these quality-of-life amenities. The 2026 budget included an increase of $262,000, making up 84% of costs. • The state legislature’s consideration of the 2025-27 budget was still underway during the county’s budget assumption development process, and minimal additional funding was assumed due to uncertainty and past experience with underfunded state mandates. The adopted state budget included some targeted funding increases, including $573,500 in additional Circuit Court Support Grant revenues (after remaining essentially flat for more than a quarter century). Other areas, such as the $13.3 million of Community Aids that provide Health and Human Services with its largest primary source of discretionary intergovernmental revenue, remain flat. 23 County Board Amendments to the 2026 County Executive Proposed Budget The County Board approved an amendment to increase general government revenue and expenses by $2,000,000 in the Non-Departmental – General Fund to accept the Branch Campus Redevelopment Grant (BCRG) from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation for cost related to the redevelopment of the former University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee at Waukesha campus property. BCRG funds will be used to reimburse the property developer for the cost of site clearance, including parking/driveway demolition, asbestos abatement and removal, and destructive testing. The grant period is through December 31, 2027. The County Board approved an amendment to increase personnel costs by $240,000 in the Public Works Department – Transportation Fund to fund a 1.00 FTE patrol worker position that was previously unfunded in the 2024 budget , and additional extra help and overtime. This amendment also approved a $31,100 increase in operating expenses for materials (e.g., chemicals, hot/cold patch, etc.) for additional state maintenance work. The amendment funded the increase in personal and operating expenses with an increase of $271,100 of general government revenue in the State Highway Operations program to reflect higher Routine Maintenance Agreement funding approved by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for 2026. The Board also approved another amendment to create an objective for the Health and Human Services Department to examine current and alternative, sustainable congregate meal site options including cost, operational feasibility, and projected senior participation rates and present the information to the County Board’s Health and Human Services Committee. 24 ___________________________________________________________________________________ 2026 General County Tax Levy Summary ___________________________________________________________________________________ Section 66.0602 of the Wisconsin State Statutes, imposes a limit on property tax levies by cities, villages, towns, and counties. These entities cannot increase their tax levy by a percentage that exceeds their prior year change in equalized value due to net new construction plus an increment for terminated Tax Incremental Districts. The limit also includes exemptions for debt service obligations, consolidated services, and unused tax levy from the prior year. The 2026 proposed budget includes a general county tax levy of $117,607,753, which is an increase of 1.79% or $2,070,352. Trends in expenditures follow available revenue associated with state program changes and/or capital project needs using bond funding. $290.1 $303.7 $316.7 $310.4 $333.7 $372.9 $387.2 $384.0 $384.4 $186.7 $199.4 $210.5 $202.6 $224.2 $260.6 $272.3 $268.5 $266.8 $103.4 $104.4 $106.2 $107.8 $109.5 $112.3 $114.9 $115.5 $117.6 $- $50.0 $100.0 $150.0 $200.0 $250.0 $300.0 $350.0 $400.0 $450.0 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 T otal Expenditures, Revenue, Tax Levy (Excludes Bridges Library System Tax) (In Millions $) Expenditure w/o Library Tax Revenues (Includes Fund Balance) Tax Levy The charts below illustrates the allowable county tax levy limit, compared to adopted/proposed increases. The allowable levy limit fluctuates from year to year, mostly due to changes in net new construction and changes in debt service payments. $0 $500,000 $1,000,000 $1,500,000 $2,000,000 $2,500,000 $3,000,000 $3,500,000 2018 2019* 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025* 2026 Tax Levy Increase vs Levy Limit Limit Actual Increase *Allowable levy growth was reduced by state statute reflecti ng the exemption of personal property for 2019 and 2025 budget purp oses. For 2019, machinery, tools, and patterns (not used in manufacturing) were exempted, and for 2025, all remaining personal property w as exempted. Both reductions in allowable levy were offset with state aid payments, including $744,000 in 2019 and $1.2 million in 2025. 25 2025 2026 Adopted Adopted Budget Budget $ % OPERATING BUDGETS Gross Expenditures $344,725,103 $345,503,017 $777,914 0.23% MEMO: Less Interdept. Charges (a) $47,505,424 $49,016,620 $1,511,196 3.18% MEMO: Net Expenditures (a) $297,219,679 $296,486,397 ($733,282) -0.25% Less: Revenues (Excl. Retained Earnings) $212,079,540 $209,558,543 ($2,520,997) -1.19% Less Net Appropriated Fund Balance $13,079,906 $14,537,169 $1,457,263 TAX LEVY - OPERATING BUDGETS $119,565,657 $121,407,305 $1,841,648 1.54% CAPITAL PROJECTS BUDGET Expenditures $43,745,400 $45,966,400 $2,221,000 5.1% Less: Revenues $36,890,865 $36,474,830 ($416,035) -1.1% Less: Appropriated Fund Balance $6,459,277 $8,534,105 $2,074,828 $0 TAX LEVY-CAPITAL PROJECTS BUDGET $395,258 $957,465 $562,207 142.2% COUNTY TOTALS Expenditures (a) $388,470,503 $391,469,417 $2,998,914 0.8% Less: Revenues $248,970,405 $246,033,373 ($2,937,032) -1.2% Less: Appropriated Fund Balance $19,539,183 $23,071,274 $3,532,091 County General Tax Levy (Excl Library)(b) $115,537,401 $117,607,753 $2,070,352 1.79% Bridges Library System Tax Levy (c) $4,423,514 $4,757,017 $333,503 7.5% Total County Tax Levy (b) $119,960,915 $122,364,770 $2,403,855 2.00% (a) (b) (c) 2025 2026 Adopted Adopted Budget Budget $ % General County Tax Levy $115,537,401 $117,607,753 $2,070,352 1.79% General County Tax Rate $1.3479 $1.2668 ($0.0811) -6.02% General County Equalized Value $85,713,447,900 $92,839,031,800 $7,125,583,900 8.31% Bridges Library System Tax Levy $4,423,514 $4,757,017 $333,503 7.54% Bridges Library System Tax Rate $0.2015 $0.2012 ($0.0003) -0.15% Bridges Library System Equalized Value $21,951,625,900 $23,639,273,300 $1,687,647,400 7.69% Incr/(Decr) From 2025 Adopted Budget 2026 Budget Tax Levy Breakdown (General County and Bridges Library System) 2026 BUDGET SUMMARY 2026 operating budget net expenditures are $296,486,397 and total County net expenditures are $342,452,797 after eliminating interdepartmental chargeback transactions (mostly from internal service fund operations and cross charges, e.g. Sheriff Bailiff and Conveyance services), included in gross expenditures to conform with GAAP , but in effect results in double budgeting. The tax levy (for 2026 Budget purposes) increase is within Wisconsin's statutory limits (see Planning and Budget Policy Section). State statute limits general property tax levy increases to the growth in net new construction (1.46% for 2026), with adjustments for debt service, the closure of tax increment districts, and prior-year unused levy capacity. Special County Library tax applied to those Waukesha County communities without a library. Incr/(Decr) From 2025 Adopted Budget 26 AGENCY FUND RETAINED Tax Levy $ Chg NAME EXPEND. REVENUES F UND BALANCE EARNINGS TAX LEVY '25 - '26 JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS General $8,732,283 $1,093,315 $48,360 $7,590,608 $180,000 Radio Services $2,198,869 (a) $1,615,071 $876,774 ($292,976) $0 $0 DISTRICT ATTORNEY $3,501,332 $858,392 $176,150 $2,466,790 $70,000 CIRCUIT COURT SERVICES $11,647,803 $5,691,517 $0 $5,956,286 ($193,512) MEDICAL EXAMINER $3,489,118 $1,392,553 $496,352 $1,600,213 $117,000 SHERIFF $55,963,825 $17,152,670 $2,015,656 $36,795,499 $1,521,050 Subtotal: Justice & Public Safety $85,533,230 $27,803,518 $3,613,292 ($292,976) $54,409,396 $1,694,538 HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES CORPORATION COUNSEL Child Support (General Fund) $3,344,880 $2,936,060 $0 $408,820 $6,688 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES Human Services (General Fund) $93,660,100 $63,737,853 $1,738,530 $28,183,717 $0 Aging and Disability Resource Center Contract (ADRC) Fund $4,370,986 $4,370,986 $0 $0 $0 Subtotal: Health and Human Services $101,375,966 $71,044,899 $1,738,530 $0 $28,592,537 $6,688 PARKS, ENVIR, EDUC. & LAND USE REGISTER OF DEEDS $1,590, 232 $3,752,861 $0 ($2,162,629) ($50,000) UW-EXTENSION: EDUCATION $539,318 $142,574 $0 $396,744 $10,000 BRIDGES LIBRARY SYSTEM County $4,757,017 $0 $0 $4,757,017 $333,503 State Aids $2,729,792 $2,621,292 $108,500 $0 $0 CAFÉ Shared Automation $560,313 $542,440 $24,000 ($6,127) $0 $0 PARKS & LAND USE General $15,893,060 $8,250,397 $371,890 $7,270,773 ($360,000) Community Development $3,320,402 $3,320,402 $0 $0 $0 Workforce and Economic Development $2,718,087 $2,551,287 $154,300 $12,500 $0 Parkland Management and Land Acquisition $400,000 $0 $400,000 $0 $0 Golf Courses $2,691,452 (a) $2,763,076 $0 ($71,624) $0 $0 Ice Arenas $1,569,474 (a) $1,409,077 $0 $160,397 $0 $0 Material Recycling Facility $2,778,861 (a) $2,886,183 $0 ($107,322) $0 $0 Subtotal: Parks, Env., Ed. & Land Use $39,548,008 $28,239,589 $1,058,690 ($24,676) $10,274,405 ($66,497) 2026 BUDGET SUMMARY BY FUNCTIONAL AREA BY AGENCY BY FUND 2026 Adopted Budget 27 AGENCY FUND RETAINED Tax Levy $ Chg NAME EXPEND. REVENUES F UND BALANCE EARNINGS TAX LEVY '25 - '26 2026 BUDGET SUMMARY BY FUNCTIONAL AREA BY AGENCY BY FUND 2026 Adopted Budget PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS General $10,134,824 $560,535 $401,000 $9,173,289 $195,000 Transportation $18,639,257 $14,612,918 $109,000 $3,917,339 $155,000 Central Fleet Maintenance $4,666,262 (a) $4,613,294 $101,083 ($48,115) $0 $0 Vehicle/Equipment Replacement $3,793,904 (a) $4,398,670 $0 ($604,766) $0 $0 Airport $1,615,264 (a) $1,445,682 $169,582 $0 $0 Subtotal: Public Works $38,849,511 $25,631,099 $780,665 ($652,881) $13,090,628 $350,000 GENERAL ADMINISTRATION COUNTY EXECUTIVE $795,440 $0 $0 $795,440 $35,000 COUNTY BOARD $1,006,958 $0 $0 $1,006,958 $0 COUNTY CLERK $1,061,090 $296,500 $299,112 $465,478 $56,016 TREASURER $780,687 $7,819,284 $120,000 ($7,158,597) ($258,000) ADMINISTRATION General $7,101,917 $5,339,689 $60,000 $1,702,228 ($234,825) Risk Management $4,127,598 (a) $3,634,194 $493,404 $0 $0 Collections $1,310,166 (a) $1,273,166 $37,000 $0 $0 End User Technology $11,488,881 (a) $9,015,811 $903,426 $2,253 $1,567,391 $28,089 CORPORATION COUNSEL General $1,788,263 $630,050 $0 $1,158,213 $73,312 Subtotal: General Administration $29,461,000 $28,008,694 $1,912,942 $2,253 ($462,889) ($300,408) NON DEPARTMENTAL GENERAL $4,897,937 $3,040,624 $1,857,313 $0 $0 HEALTH & DENTAL INSURANCE $26,894,400 (a) $26,758,400 $136,000 $0 $0 Subtotal: Non-Departmental $31,792,337 $29,799,024 $1,993,313 $0 $0 $0 DEBT SERVICE--GENERAL $18,942,965 $0 $3,439,737 $0 $15,503,228 $157,327 Subtotal: Operating Budget $345,503,017 $210,526,823 $14,537,169 ($968,280) $121,407,305 $1,841,648 CAPITAL PROJECTS $45,966,400 $36,474,830 $8,534,105 $0 $957,465 $562,207 GRAND TOTAL $391,469,417 $247,001,653 $23,071,274 ($968,280) $122,364,770 $2,403,855 28 TAX LEVY BY FUNCTIONAL AREA Just. & Safety 44.5% Hum. Sv cs. 23.4% Parks* 8.4%Pub. Works 10.7%Gen. Admin, Debt Svc, & Non-Dept 12.3% Capital 0.8% 2026 Tax Levy Trends:  Justice & Public Safety and Health and Human Services: These two functional areas continue to receive the largest share, using about two-thirds of the county’s tax levy.  Justice & Public Safety: The share of levy increases due to it being a priority area with less revenue flexibility and higher cost drivers, particularly the jail. Just. & Safety 41.2% Hum. Sv cs. 23.9% Parks* 7.9%Pub. Works 10.2%Gen. Admin, Debt Svc, & Non-Dept 15.6% Capital 1.1% 2022 Beginning in 2025, General Administration and Non-Departmental in the aggregate budget for more revenue than expenses due to the recognition of investment income and state personal property aid in these programs, which produces a negatively tax levy. This levy credit frees up resources for other governmental fund operations. For the purposes of this chart General Administration/Non-Departmental is grouped with Debt Service. Use of tax levy by General Administration/Non- Departmental is -0.4% in 2026 and 2.8% in 2022, while Debt Service uses 12.7% in 2026 and 12.8% in 2022. * Includes Parks, Environment, Education, and Land Use 29 2025 2026 Adopted Adopted BY FUNCTION Budget Budget $ % Justice & Public Safety $52,714,858 $54,409,396 $1,694,538 3.2% Health & Human Services $28,585,849 $28,592,537 $6,688 0.0% Parks, Env., Educ. & Land Use $10,340,902 $10,274,405 $(66,497) -0.6% Public Works $12,740,628 $13,090,628 $350,000 2.7% General Administration ($162,481) ($462,889) $(300,408) 184.9% Non-Departmental $0 $0 - - Debt Service $15,345,901 $15,503,228 $157,327 1.0% Capital Projects $395,258 $957,465 $562,207 142.2% Total Tax Levy $119,960,915 $122,364,770 $2,403,855 2.0% 2025-2026 TAX LEVY BY FUNCTION (COMBINES ALL FUNDS) Incr/(Decr) From 2025 Adopted Budget $(10.00) - $10.00 $20.00 $30.00 $40.00 $50.00 $60.00 Just. & Safety Hum. Svcs. Parks* Pub. Works Gen. Admin. Non- Dept. Debt Svc. Capital $ in Millions 2022-2026 Budgeted Tax Levy by Functional Area 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 The chart above shows the majority of recent tax levy growth trend to be primarily within the Justice and Public Safety. * Includes Parks, Environment, Education and Land Use 30 2025 Incr/(Decr) from 2024 Adopted 2025 2026 2025 Actual Budget Estimate (a) Budget Adpt. Budget $152,841,223 $159,294,656 $157,315,418 $165,810,721 $6,516,065 $131,513,940 $140,578,667 $121,119,933 $132,457,551 $(8,121,116) $25,203,078 $25,758,029 $25,320,768 $26,589,266 $831,237 $2,120,822 $1,936,975 $2,472,046 $1,702,514 $(234,461) $16,671,648 $17,156,776 $17,156,776 $18,942,965 $1,786,189 $59,599,016 $43,745,400 $36,694,475 $45,966,400 $2,221,000 $387,949,726 $388,470,503 $360,079,416 $391,469,417 $2,998,914 2025 Incr/(Decr) from 2024 Adopted 2025 2026 2025 Actual Budget Estimate (a) Budget Adpt. Budget $78,075,113 $82,393,552 $82,867,243 $85,533,230 $3,139,678 $106,051,517 $112,060,898 $96,668,824 $101,375,966 $(10,684,932) $41,282,876 $38,775,719 $38,599,748 $39,548,008 $772,289 $35,019,627 $37,790,818 $36,537,791 $38,849,511 $1,058,693 $26,280,898 $27,893,997 $26,882,005 $29,461,000 $1,567,003 $24,969,031 $28,653,343 $24,672,554 $31,792,337 $3,138,994 $16,671,648 $17,156,776 $17,156,776 $18,942,965 $1,786,189 $59,599,016 $43,745,400 $36,694,475 $45,966,400 $2,221,000 $387,949,726 $388,470,503 $360,079,416 $391,469,417 $2,998,914 (a) (b) (c) (d) Estimated expenditures exceed budget due in part to prior year appropriations carried forward and expended in current year other budget modifications approved by County Board through an ordinance or fund transfer. Proprietary Fund (Internal Service and Enterprise funds) expenditure appropriations exclude fixed asset and Debt Service principal payments to conform with generally accepted accounting standards. Fixed Asset purchases and Debt Service principal payments will be funded through operating revenues, Tax Levy, or Fund Balance appropriations and are included, as applicable, in each agency budget request. 2024 - 2026 EXPENDITURE SUMMARY Capital Projects (a) (c) Total Expenditures Capital Projects (a) (c) Total Expenditures Capital Projects includes $42,966,400 total expenditures for the Capital Improvement Plan and $3,000,000 total expenditures for the Vehicle Replacement Plan. FUNCTIONAL ARE A APPROPRIATION UNIT Personnel Costs Fixed Assets & Imprvmnts (a) (b) Interdepartmental Charges Operating Expenses Debt Service-Excl Proprietary (b) The table is restated to include expenses that had been budgeted in the General Administration functional area under the Department of Administration - American Job Center Fund to instead be restated in the Parks, Environment, Education, and Land Use functional area under the Workforce and Economic Development Fund. General Administration (d) Non-Departmental Debt Service-Excl Proprietary (b) Justice & Public Safety Health & Human Services Parks, Env., Educ. & Land Use (d) Public Works (a) 31 2026 EXPENDITURE HIGHLIGHTS Expenditure Budget: The 2026 total expenditure budget is $391,469,400, an increase of $2,998,900 or 0.8% from the 2025 adopted budget. The 2026 b udget appropriations consist of departmental operating budget and debt service expenditures totaling $345,503,000 and capital project spending of $45,966,400. The total operating budget increases by $777,900 or 0.2% from the 2025 a dopted operating budget while capital project expenditures in crease by $2,221,000 or 5.1% from the 2025 adopted budget. The net total operating expenditure budget is $296,486,400 after excluding $49,016,600 of interdepartmental charges, mainly from internal service funds (which are double budgeted), which is a decrease of $733,300 or 0.2%. The budget includes personnel costs totaling $165,810,700 or 50.8% of the total operating expenditure budget (excluding debt service) . Personnel costs are budgeted to increase by $6,516,100 or 4.1% from the 2025 a dopted budget level. Operating expenses and interdepartmental charges in total decrease by $7,289,900 or 4.4% to $159,046,800 in the 2026 budget. Fixed assets and improvement expenditures (excluding capital projects) are budgeted at $1,702,500 , a decrease of $ 234,500 from the 2025 budget. Debt service payments are budgeted at $18,943,000, which is a n increase of $1,786,200 from the 2025 budget. This is about 6.2% of governmental fund expenditures (and well within the County’s performance measure benchmark of less than 10%). Justice & Public Safety 21.9% Human Services 25.9% Parks * 10.1% Public Works 9.9% Gen. Admin. 7.5% Non-Dept. 8.1% Debt Service 4.9% Capital Projects 11.7% 2026 Expenditures as a Percent of Total * Includes Parks, Environment, Education and Land Use Functional Area Expenditure Budget % of Total Expenditure Budget Justice & Public Safety $85,533,230 21.9% Human Services $101,375,966 25.9% Parks * $39,548,008 10.1% Public Works $38,849,511 9.9% Gen. Admin. $29, 461,000 7.5% Non-Dept. $31,792,337 8.1% Debt Service $18,942,965 4.9% Capital Projects $45,966,400 11.7% Total Expenditures $391,469,417 100.0% * Include s Parks, Environment, Education and Land Use 32 2026 EXPENDITURE HIGHLIGHTS A brief summary of the major changes in the past five adopted budgets follows: The 2026 Budget expenditure level increases $2,998,900 to $391.47 million. The 2026 capital budget increases $2,221,000 or 5.1% to $45.97 million. The operating budget increases by $777,900 or 0.2% to $345.50 million. This includes personnel costs of $165.81 million, which increase $6,516,100 or 4.1% reflecting to the cost to continue staff and an increase of 5.80 FTE extra help positions, partially o ffset by a net reduction of 7.73 FTE regular full-time and part-time positions. Operating expenses decrease $8,121,100, due in large part to the elimination of pass-through expenditures and revenues to cover claims paid to service providers by the Health and Human Services Children with Long-Term Needs – Third-Party Administrator. Both general government revenue and operating expenses, budgeted at $14.0 million in 2025, are eliminated in the 2026 budget because the state is no longer requiring the county to report these expenses or manage the provider audits associated with this funding. Other major changes to Health and Human Services include an increase of an increase of $495,100 related to the state’s mandate not to have a wait list for Children with Long-Term Support (CLTS) services and an increase in the number of CLTS contracted staff necessary to support the increase in CLTS clients served, $404,400 in residential care services for clients that do not qualify for CCS, CRS or other reim bursement programs, and $529,000 in higher child group home expenses. Other major changes include a one-time increase of $2,000,000 to offset demolition costs related to the future sale of the former UW-Milwaukee at Waukesha campus property which is funded by a Branch Campus Redevelopment Grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, $865,400 in the active employee health insurance program mostly due to estimated claims costs for the county’s self-insured health plans and plan administration costs, $373,000 in the risk management fund due to estimated insurance costs, increases in liability insurance costs based on social inflation costs in jury awards, adverse claims trends for law enforcement, and the impact of natural disasters and inflation on property insurance market, and an increase of $202,000 in the County Clerk’s office due to a significant increase in the price per ballot from $0.28 to $0.31 and a higher number of elections in even-numbered years. The 2025 Budget expenditure level decreases $2.90 million to $388.47 million. The 2025 capital budget decreases $9.18 million or 17.3%. The operating budget increases by $6.3 million or 1.9%. This includes personnel costs, which increase $4.1 million or 2.6%, reflecting the cost to continue staff, partially offset by a net reduction of 11.3 regular full- and part-time positions. Operating expenses increase $1.49 million or 1.1%. Major changes include an increase of $2.19 million with the Sheriff’s Department due to increases for medical services costs within the jail and the implementation and administration of the electronic monitoring program. In Health and Human Services, there is an increase of $1.77 million in the Youth CCS program. Contracted services with the Administration division increased $720,700 mainly due to the outsourcing of additional program billing and increased Netsmart licensing costs. There is also a $4.0 million increase in pass-through expenses for the Children with Long-Term Support (CLTS) needs third- party administrator program due to higher enrollment levels, a $443,100 increase for the CLTS program contract expenses, and an increase of $691,900 to the Regional Crisis Stabilization Facility (due to an increase in assumed average daily census and a change in methodology for reporting vendor costs) from the 2024 budget. These are offset by a decrease of $552,300 in contracted services related to CCS and CRS programs. and a decrease of $854,500 of expenses for adults and children at the state mental health institutes. Expenses in the Parks & Land Use Community Development Fund decrease $2,103,700 as a result of the remaining subgrantee portion of HOME-ARPA funds having been allocated in the 2024 budget and a decrease in HOME entitlement and program income funded projects. The last of two one-time $4.5 million contributions toward t he revolving loan GROW fund, which promotes economic development, is not repeated in 2025. The 2024 Budget expenditure level increases $14.4 million to $391.4 million. The 2024 capital budget increases $7.3 million. Operating expenses decrease $1.11 million or 0.8% largely due to the expiration of grant funding, partially offset by modest increases across most functional areas. Personnel costs increase $7.2 million or 4.8% and reflect cost to continue and costs associated with implementing the county’s compensation study, which used data from other local governments and the private sector to craft recommendations to remain competitive in the labor market. These recommendations include adjustments to pay range assignments, performance pay, benefit eligibility, vacation time, and holidays. The total cost of the study’s recommendations is $2.7 million. About $570,000 of this impact was anticipated early in the budget development process and factored into departments initial spending proposals. The remaining $2.13 million was determined later and additional resources were provided to departments to offset these costs. This latter amount is specified at the beginning of each functional area summary. Compensation study-related costs will be funded a mix of county tax levy, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) revenues, and other funding sources. Budgeted full-time equivalents (FTEs) decrease by a net of 12.4, including temporary extra help and overtime. Emergency Preparedness expenditures increase $424,000, mostly due to $583,900 to include modified salary adjustments for telecommunicators from enrolled ordinance 178-84 and other compensation study impacts. The Regional Crisis Stabilization Facility in Health and Human Services increases expenditures by $1.0 million to $1.2 million due to the department moving coverage of care to a 24-hour, 14 bed crisis stabilization operation that is expected to be open in 2024. In addition, HHS – Children with Special Needs Unit (Includes Birth to Three Program) increases by $827,200 due to additional Children’s Long-Term Support (CLTS) contracted services. The 2023 Budget expenditure level increases by $39.5 million to $376.9 million. The 2023 capital budget increases $17.1 million. Operating expenses increase $12.1 million or 9.5% and reflect modest increases across most functional areas and an increase in grant funded expenditures. Personnel costs increase by $7.5 million or 5.4% and reflect costs to continue and an increase in (largely grant funded) positions. Budgeted full-time equivalents (FTEs) increase by a net of 10.02, including temporary extra help and overtime. Total expenditure related to federal funding American 33 2026 EXPENDITURE HIGHLIGHTS Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF) increases $20.8 million to $28.9 million. Funds are budgeted among the Justice and Public Safety, Health and Human Services, Parks and Land Use, Public Works, and General Administration functional areas for project specific purposes, including addressing the court case backlog, building public safety capacity, enhancing public health and human services, improving technology, renovating the courthouse, maintaining park infrastructure, and managing stormwater pollution. Additional information can be found on these projects on pages 474-479. Sheriff expenditures increase $3,524,200 largely for personnel, which increases $2,038,300 or 5.7% due to a across-the-board wage increase for non-elected sworn officers (enrolled ordinance 177-16) to improve retention and recruitment of deputy sheriff positions. HHS - Mental Health Outpatient-Clinical expenditures increase $1.9 million largely due to an increase of expenses for adults and children at the state mental health institutes, as days of care increased based on trends associated with levels of acuity and staffing levels at the Mental Health Center. HHS – Youth Intensive Services increases $1.3 million to expand a Medicaid-funded mental health program for community youth. ARPA funds cover the initial costs of hiring and training 10 positions before Medicaid reimbursement is available. HHS – Children with Special Needs Unit (Includes Birth to Three Program) increases $1.2 million mostly due to increased contracted service costs of $896,800 related to the state’s funded mandate to eliminate CLTS wait lists, and the subsequent increased volume of both contracted staff and CLTS Waiver clients served. The 2022 Budget expenditure level increases by $23.4 million to $337.4 million. The 2022 capital budget increases $9.3 million. Operating expenses increase $8.4 million or 7% and reflect modest increases across most functional areas and an increase in grant funded expenditures. Personnel costs increase by $3.9 million or 2.8% and reflect costs to continue and an increase in (largely grant funded) positions. Total expenditure increases include $8.0 million related to federal funding American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF). This includes $6 million related to the Courthouse Renovation Project (#201705) and $1.1 million in the Circuit Courts and District Attorney’s Office related to addressing the court case backlog created in 2020 due to COVID-19. Also, Community Development expenses increase $3.5 million including a $2.2 million increase related to U.S. Department of Treasury funding. The grant-funded expenditures will provide assistance to individuals unable to pay their rent or utilities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as aid in housing stability. Also, the HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) increases expenses $1.3 million related to a separate ARPA funding allocation that will be used to create affordable housing and provide services to assist individuals at risk or experiencing homelessness. The Health and Human Services - Juvenile Center closing in Oct 2021 results in an expenditure savings estimated of $450,000 in the 2022 budget. Future Projections and Trends: External factors will continue to play a key role in significantly impacting future trends and projections including how federal and state funding priorities may likely affect local funding policies and services carried out by local governments provided in different ways. Also, volatility of fuel, ener gy, and commodity prices, and increasing medical and health insurance costs are likely to have future budget impacts. In addition, internal factors include high costs of jail inmates, Emergency Preparedness 9-1-1 dispatch communications, and future debt service payments as a result of infrastructure projects including the project to expand and modernize the courthouse and funding of major highway projects. Detailed expenditure highlights are included within each Functional Area Summary. A summary of major 2026 funding changes, which impact expenditures by functional area, follows: Justice and Public Safety • The 2026 expenditure budget for this functional area totals $85,533,200, an increase of $3,139,600 or 3.8% from the 2025 budget. • Emergency Preparedness – General Fund expenditures decrease $212,300 or 2.4%. Personnel costs increase $84,400 due to cost to continue but is offs et by the unfunding of 0.60 FTE Programs and Projects Analyst and a decrease of 0.54 FTE of overtime fo r telecommunicators. There is a $100,000 increase in operating expenses due an $87,900 budget increase fo r software, which includes $30,500 for CAD, $15,000 to continue payroll through the previous vendor, $13,400 for software to track the locations of opioid overdose kits, and other maintenance costs increases. Internet and communication costs increase $13,400. Fixed assets decrease $419,200 due to not repeating the CAD upgrade project in 2026. • Emergency Preparedness – Radio Services Personnel costs decrease by $11,100 mainly due to unfunding 0.40 FTE of a Programs and Projects Analys t previously budgeted in this fund. Operating expenses increase $149,700 mainly due to an increase in depreciation based on radio replacements during 2025 and anticipated equipment replacements in 2 026. Fixed asset memo items include $110,250 for remote terminal unit replacements and $50,000 for unanticipated equipment replacement. • Sheriff expenditures increase $2.1 million, or 4.0%, to $56.0 million. Personnel increases $1,622,700 or 4.0% to $42.4 million, primarily due to cost to continue. The budget includes the current year increase of 2.00 FTE Deputy Sheriffs (School Resource Officers) that have sunset provisions and are funded through their respective school districts. An expanded Electronic Monitoring program began in June 2024 when the Sheriff’s Department ended Huber facility operations. This expense is budgeted at $600,500 in 2026. Inmate Medical services are budgeted to increase by $1,500 to $3,914,100 after the new contract for 34 2026 EXPENDITURE HIGHLIGHTS medical services was finalized. Budgeted fuel costs decrease $27,300 due to a lower assumed price per gallon of gas in 2026 compared to 2025. The Sheriff’s budget includes non-corrections equipment of $353,700 for the equipment replacement plan. This plan is funded with $155,400 of prior year seized fund revenues (assigned General Fund balance) and $193,300 of General Fund balance. The jail equipment replacement plan increases by $62,300 in 2026 to $187,300, funded with prior-year jail assessment fees (assigned General Fund balance). • Circuit Court Services expenditures increase $454,100 or 4.1%. Personnel costs increase $353,200 or 4.8% for cost to continue. Operat ing costs decrease $28,700 partly due to the discontinuation of hard copy versions of the law library. • The District Attorney expenditures increases $35,700 mostly due to the cost to continue and the creation of a 0.50 FTE Victim/Witness Specialist. This is partia lly offset by $125,000 in expenses associated with the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) grant that is eliminated as the grant funding ends in 2025. • The Medical Examiner’s Office personnel costs increase $402,300, due to the cost to continue for 16.00 FTE staff and the addition of 1.00 FTE associate medical examiner position during 2025. The budget includes 0.44 FTE in overtime (a decrease of 0.06 FTE) and 0.70 FT E in temporary extra help (a decrease of 0.29 FTE) for deputy medical examiners. Operating expenses increase $36,400 due to increasing costs for replacing inventory in the morgue, staff training, and rising medical services costs that include toxicology and x-rays. Health and Human Services • The 2026 expenditure budget for this functional area totals $101,376,000, a decrease of $10,684,900 or 9.5% from the 2025 budget. This is largely due to the removal of the Children with Long-Term Needs – Third Party Administrator pass-through payments and revenues after the state is no longer requiring the county to report these expenses or manage the provider audits. • HHS - Administrative Services Division personnel costs are budgeted to increase by approximately $181,700 to $6,795,000. This increase reflects the cost to continue for 68.00 FTE, which reflects a net decrease of 1.00 FTE from the prior year. The changes to FTE count in clude abolishing 3.00 FTE Administrative Assistants and 1.00 FTE Senior Fiscal Specialist. This also includes the reallocation 1.00 FTE Administrative Assistant from ADRC Contract Fund, 1.00 FTE Administrative Assistant from Veterans Services, 0.75 FTE Administrative Specialist from ADRC General Fund along with 0.25 FTE Support Staff Supervisor to accurately reflect operational reporting. Extra help increased by 0.12 FTE and overtime increased by 0.40 FTE. Contracted services decrease by $175,000 due to a contract renegotiation for the all-inclusive electronic health record software, a decrease in contracted staff related to continuous quality improvement project that ended in 2025 of $77,000, a reduction of opioid education expenses of $25,000, and various contracted services related to department training decrease by $21,400. These decreases are offset by increases of $130,000 in contracted services for documentation software that will allow providers to upload the same documentation that is used in their internal software and contracted services for Electronic Heath Records (EHR) consulting of $40,000. Interdepartmental charges increase by $421,000 to $2,526,300 primarily due to a $450,300 administrative overhead charge for the Wisconsin Medical Assistance Cost Reporting (WIMCR). • HHS - Economic Services Administration and Support Program Personnel costs are budgeted to increase by approximately $183,500 to $4,145,700. This is primarily due to the creation of 1.00 FTE Economic Support Specialist position, which is offset by the abolishment of a 1.00 FTE Administrative Assistant in the Administrative Services cost center. In addition, the increase reflects the cost to continue of the 44.80 FTE along with an offsetting decrease of 0.33 FTE Economic Support Specialist in extra help and 0.17 FTE Economic Support Specialist overtime. • HHS – Veterans’ Services personnel costs are budgeted to decrease $68,800 to $374,800. This reflects the transfer of 1.00 FTE Administrative Assistant position to the Administrative Services cost center and the cost to continue of the 4.0 FTE staff. The transferred position will continue to be located in the Veterans’ Service Office for support, but will be accounted for and managed through the Administrative Services Division. • HHS - Criminal Justice Collaborating Council (CJCC) Operating expenses are budgeted to increase by approximately $126,400 to $1,825,400. This is primarily related to an increase in contracted services of $103,000 based on a new RFP contract for program and case management services, along with an increase of $12,000 related to court interpreter services for treatment courts. In addition, there was an increase due to the Drug Treatment Court Peer Services Coordinator contracted position of $29,300, which had been previously included with the Outpatient Behavioral Health cost center. • HHS - Public Health appropriated fund balance is budgeted to increase $29,300 to $217,000 related to Waukesha County Opioid Settlement funds. These funds will be used for data analysis software and positions related to opioid strategies. Personnel costs are budgeted to increase by approximately $154,500 to $3,387,500. • HHS - Child Protective Services Program Personnel costs are budgeted to increase by $843,100 to $5,119,800. This is due to cost to continue for 44.50 FTE staff. In addition, 3.0 FTE Senior Care Managers, 1.0 FTE Human Services Supervisor and 1.0 FTE Human Services Support Specialist are transferred from Youth Justice in the amount of $517,000, along with 1.28 FTE overtime costs of $114,700. In addition, there is a 0.16 FTE increase in 35 2026 EXPENDITURE HIGHLIGHTS overtime costs of $4,900. Operating expenses are budgeted to increase by $200,200 to $4,286,100. This is a combination of an increase in contracted services for child group home expenses of $288,000, foster care placements of $54,900 due to an increase in the cost of care, and $4,800 in the foster care program for the Act 260 Foster Parent Grant. These increases are offset by decreases in residential care center expenses of $100,000 based on trend and subsidized guardianship of $30,000. • HHS – Youth Justice personnel costs are budgeted to decrease by $645,100 to $3,087,700. This is due to 3.0 FTE Senior Care Managers, 1.0 FTE Human Services Supervisor, and 1.0 FTE Human Services Support Specialist shifting from Youth Justice to Child Protecti ve Services Program, along with 1.0 FTE Human Services Manager transferring to Coordinated Services, in the amount of $517,000. The cost to continue for 28.0 FTEs is also included in the budgeted personnel costs. In addition,1.28 FTE overtime cost is transferred to Child Protective Services program in the amount of $114,700. Operating expenses are budgeted to increase by about $112,200 to $3,669,300. This is due primarily to an increase of $241,000 in Child Group Homes expenses and a $103,300 increase in contracted services, primarily due to a rate increase and vendor change for Shelter Care beginning 7/1/25, along with an increase of $23,600 in Residential Care Center expenses, and $100,000 in expenses due to obtaining funding from the Youth Justice Innovation Grant. These increases are offset by decreases in expenses for Juvenile Correctional placement by $232,700, and Foster Care Payments by $110,000 based on trend. • HHS – Children with Special Needs Unit (Includes Birth to Three Program) – This program area budgets additional resources to help meet the state-mandated elimination of the waitlist for participation in the Children’s Long-Term Support (CLTS) program. Operating expenses are budgeted to increase by $483,500 to $7,794,100. This is mostly due to an increase in contracted services costs of $495,100 related to the state’s mandate not to have a wait list for services, and an increase in the number of CLTS contracted staff necessary to support the increase in CLTS clients served. • HHS – Youth Intensive Services – Personnel costs are budgeted to increase $196,800 to $2,333,700. This is based on the transfer of 1.0 FTE Human Services Manager from Child and Youth Family Services, as well as cost to continue for 19.00 FTE. Operating expenses increase by $34,100 to $2,499,300. This is mostly due to an increase of $30,000 for Comprehensive Community Services (CCS provider) contracted services. • HHS - Mental Health Outpatient-Intensive – Personnel costs are budgeted to increase by $102,000 to $3,747,800. This reflects the cost to continue for existing staff of 34.5 FTE, which decrease by 0.88 FTE. This decrease includes a 0.2 FTE of a Senior Clinical Psychologist transferred to Outpatient Clinic and a decrease in extra help by 0.68 FTE. Operating expenses are budgeted to increase by $391,300 to $4,577,600, mainly due to an increase of $400,400 in contracted services related to residential care services for clients that do not qualify for CCS, Community Recovery Services (CRS) or other reimbursement programs. • HHS - Mental Health Outpatient-Clinic – Personnel costs are budgeted to increase by $42,700 to $4,532,200. This reflects the costs to continue of 32.86 FTE, and a decrease of 0.69 FTE from the 2025 budget. The decrease in FTE is due to the abolishment of the remaining 0.25 FTE Clinical Services Manager and unfunding 0.40 FTE Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. There is a transfer of 0.1 FTE Health & Human Services Coordinator and 0.5 FTE Programs & Projects Analyst to the Emergency Behavioral Health cost center. These decreases are partially offset by a transfer in of a 0.20 FTE Senior Clinical Psychologi st from Outpatient Intensive. In addition, 0.37 FTE was added for extra help and overtime reduced by 0.02 FTE. Operating expenses are budgeted to decrease by $2,026,800 to $3,034,500. The state mental health institutes expense of $2,333,300 was transferred to Emergency Behavioral Health. • HHS – Crisis Resource Center personnel costs are budgeted to increase by $48,100 to $176,300, which includes the cost to continue of 1.00 FTE position in this area to oversee the operations of the Crisis Resource Center and a transfer in of 0.2 FTE of the Human Services Manager from the Psychiatric Hospital program. Operating expenses are budgeted to increase by approximately $25,100 to $1,606,000, primarily due to an increase of $43,300 for contracted services due to an increase in the contract vendor rate. • HHS – Psychiatric Hospital Personnel costs are budgeted to decrease by $173,500 to $4,754,100, which includes the cost to continue for 39.86 FTE staff assigned to this program. Position changes include the transfer in of 0.50 FTE Program & Projects Analyst, and 0.10 FTE Health & Human Services Coordinator from the Outpatient Behavioral Health cost center. In addition, there was a decrease in FTE due to the abolishment of a 0.17 FTE of a Clinical Services Manager allocated to this program, reducing 0.5 FTE of a Psychiatric Technician, reducing 0.3 FTE of a Registered Nurse and the transfer out of 0.40 FTE of a Human Service Manager to the Crisis Resource Center and Crisis Services programs. Overtime decreased by 0.90 FTE and extra help increased by 4.41 due to the transfer of 3.0 FTE Weekend Nurses from regular FTE and 1.6 FTE for Psychiatric Technician, offset by smaller FTE reductions. Operating expenses are budgeted to increase approximately $2,576,400 to $3,813,100 primarily due to the transfer of State Institute stays of $2,582,600 from the Outpatient Behavioral Health cost center. • HHS – Crisis Services personnel costs are budgeted to increase by $507,200 to $3,050,000. This reflects the cost to continue of 23.76 FTE, including the transfer in of 0.2 FTE Human Services Manager from the Psychiatric Hospital. 36 2026 EXPENDITURE HIGHLIGHTS • HHS - Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) General Fund - Adult Protective Services (APS) - Personnel costs are budgeted to increase approximately $62,400 to $1,235,100 due to the cost to continue of 10.5 regular FTEs and a 0.01 FTE decrease in social worker extra help. Operating expenses are budgeted to decrease approximately $4,500 to $103,800 due to a reduction of $11,900 in Marsh Country Health Alliance expense in contracted inpatient care, offset by increases of $2,500 in travel costs, $2,100 in books publications and subscriptions, $1,000 in both mileage reimbursement and interpretation services, and $500 in training and registration. • The HHS - Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) General Fund - Community Services - Personnel costs are budgeted to decrease $335,900 to $1,526,200. The decreases include moving 1.5 FTE of ADRC management staff (1.0 FTE HHS Coordinator, 0.5 FTE Human Services Manager) to the ADRC Contract Fund, moving 0.25 FTE of a Support Staff Supervisor and 0.75 FTE of an Administrative Specialist to the Administrative Services cost center, and unfunding 0.6 FTE for a Senior Dining Manager. Other decreases include extra help by 1.21 FTE. Increases include the cost to continue of the 16.56 FTE, along with the transfer in of 0.12 FTE Senior Care Manager and 0.10 FTE Health & Human Services Coordinator from the ADRC Contract Fund. Operating expenses are budgeted to decrease about $269,800 to $5,154,000. Decreases include $243,400 in food service costs for Senior Dining and Home Delivered Meal programs due to a Home Delivered Meal prioritization process and the reduction of two Congregate meal sites at Oconomowoc and LaCasa and eliminating $210,100 in grants to taxi firms for their operating costs that will instead be built into taxi program rates. Other decreases include $15,600 in client support services, $12,000 in health screening, $11,900 in promotional and public relations supplies, $7,300 in telephone lines and service, $4,900 in mileage reimbursement, and $3,500 in computer equipment. These decreases are offset by increases of $120,600 in transportation costs and $82,100 in contracted services, both related to reducing taxi operating grants (mentioned above) and instead accounting for these costs through taxi program charges. Deceases also include $42,600 for respite personal care. • The HHS - Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) Contract Fund - Personnel costs are budgeted to increase approximately $339,700 to $3,935,200. The increase includes the cost to continue of 35.85 FTE, as well as increases of 1.0 FTE for a Health & Human Services Coordinator and 0.5 FTE for a Human Services Manager, both moved from the ADRC General Fund. Extra help also increases 0.75 FTE. The increases are offset by decreases of 1.00 FTE for an Administrative Assistant moved to the Administrative Services cost center, and the transfer out of 0.12 FTE Senior Care Manager and 0.10 HHS Coordinator to the ADRC General Fund. Interdepartmental charges decrease $247,500 to $180,700 mainly due to the elimination of $234,800 in administrative overhead for DOA indirect charges. • Corporation Counsel – Child Support personnel costs increased by $65,000 or 2.3% to $2,935,100, mainly for cost to continue, partially offset by a decrease in temporary extra help by 0.06 FTE, or $11,000. Parks, Environment, Education, and Land Use • The 2026 expenditure budget for this functional area totals $39,548,000, an increase of $919,600 or 2.4% from the 2025 budget. • Register of Deeds personnel costs are budgeted to decrease by $33,100. One position is planned to be unfunded in the 2026 Budget, and these decreases are partially offset by the costs to continue the remaining 15.02 FTE staff. Operating expenses are budgeted to increase by $36,700, primarily due to licensing of new auto-indexing software ($25,000 per year) meant to decrease staffing needs and assist with backfile indexing. • Parks and Land Use General Fund total expenditures increase $576,700, including $385,200, or 3.7%, of increased personnel costs. This is driven by the cost to continue 84.71 FTE staff which is partially offset by the unfunding of 1.00 FTE Land Use Specialist. Temporary extra help increases 0.52 FTE, mostly related to an increase in land management activities. Operating expenses increase $159,100, which includes a $76,900 increase in contracted services related to a future use study at the Expo Center, a $38,500 increase in utility costs to better reflect prior year costs and anticipated price increases, and a $37,400 increase in supplies driven by a $23,600 increase in landscaping supplies to be used for targeted land conservation projects at park facilities. Fixed assets increase $32,600 for projects that mainly fall within the 3-Year Maintenance and Major Projects Plan (discussed below). • The Parks and Land Use General Fund 3-Year Maintenance and Major Projects Plan increases $21,200 to $364,900. The 2026 budget includes several large projects, including: $43,500 for the first phase of the children’s garden renovation at Retzer Nature Center (funded mainly with donations), $30,000 for a forklift at the Expo Center to assist with the breakdown and setup of events, boardwalk expansion and donation projects of $22,500, and water fountain and restroom fixture replacements of $25,600 at multiple parks. • Parks and Land Use – Community Development Fund expenditures and revenues from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are budgeted to decrease from 2025 budgeted levels for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program by about $28,400 to $1,443,000 based on anticipated changes in federal funding. Federal HOME revenues from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are budgeted at $1,436,700, an increase of $17,000 from the 2025 budget. The budget includes $1,340,700 in annual HOME allocated funds, a decrease of $1,700. This is offset by an increase of $18,700 to $96,000 in HOME- 37 2026 EXPENDITURE HIGHLIGHTS American Rescue Plan Act funding, to cover administrative costs in supporting this multi-year grant. The 2024 budget allocated the remaining subgrantee portion of HOME-ARPA funds to allow greater flexibility to program staff in managing the program until its grant end date in 2030. • Parks and Land Use Tarmann Land Acquisition Fund expense and revenue budgets continue to be maintained at the 2025 budgeted level of $400,000. Expenditures include $337,500 for land purchases, $50,000 for grants to conservancy organizations to assist with land purchases, and $12,500 for consulting services such as surveying, appraising, and other costs related to land acquisition. • Parks and Land Use – Golf Course Fund expenditures increase $67,000 to $2,691,500, including $69,600 for personnel related to cost to continue and an increase in temporary extra help of 0.64 FTE. Operating expenses decrease $26,400 largely due to a decrease of $32,000 in prior year non-fixed asset land improvements (largely for brush removal) as well as a $30,000 reduction in water and irrigation costs related to the planned installation of an onsite well, reducing the need for City of Waukesha water utility expenses. This is partially offset by an increase of $15,000 for additional food and merchandise for resale based on higher customer activity, $9,000 in building maintenance costs to address maintenance building painting costs, $8,000 in additional credit card finance charges based on customer utilization and $5,600 related to switching reservation systems to Vermont Systems thereby leveraging existing utilization by the parks system. Golf fixed assets memo items increase $2,700 to $220,200. The 2026 budgeted fixed assets includes $148,200 for 20 new golf carts at a cost of approximately $7,400 per cart and $20,000 for driving range renovations at Naga-Waukee golf course and $25,000 for cart path additions, $14,000 for exterior door replacements, and $13,000 for hole improvements at Moor Downs golf course. • Parks and Land Use – Ice Arena Fund expenditures increase $149,500 to $1,569,500, with a $91,900 increase in operating expenses including an increase of $32,500 in building repair and maintenance costs for a new Zamboni room door, replacement of multiple drinking fountains, and the replacement of rubber flooring in the locker rooms. Additionally, contracted recreational services increase $24,000 to better reflect costs associated with additional hockey league teams added in 2025 and increases related to ice skating lessons, and utilities costs increase $23,100 due to an increase in electricity costs driven by higher usage and increases in the utility rate. Fixed assets are budgeted to increase $88,100 to $116,400. This includes $64,400 for the installation of two new garage doors, as well as a new server to enable remote monitoring of arena mechanicals at Naga-Waukee ice arena; $22,000 for a new fire alarm system; and $30,000 for a new server to enable remote monitoring of arena mechanicals at Eble ice arena. • The Parks and Land Use – Material Recovery Facility (MRF) Fund – On May 31, 2023, a structural fire occurred at the Joint MRF facility. The damage to the equipment was considered significant and the building determined to be inoperable. Due to the fire, contractual cost and revenue sharing models were terminated with the Joint MRF’s third party processor. On November 13, 2024, the county released an RFP for recycling processing and a contract was awarded to Waste Management of Wisconsin, Inc. for private processing of Waukesha County Responsible Unit recyclable material, effective May 1, 2025. As a result, operating expenses decrease $1,026,700 to about $2,196,200. Processing costs decrease $830,000 to $2.1 million as a result of the 2025 contract with Waste Management. Processing costs are conservatively budgeted to increase 3% to $82.14 per ton (based on CPI) for over 25,000 tons. Additiona lly, transportation charges are reduced $200,000 to $0 due to the selection of a new materials processor. The co ntract with Waste Management outlines a fiscal framework that extends over a decade with the possibility for two additional five-year extensions, crafting a multi-year financial model for the budget. The contract includes a processing fee in 2026 estimated at $82.14 per ton for handling roughly 25,000 tons of recyclables annually, or about $2.1 million in costs. This is supplemented by an 80% revenue share from commodity sales which, using an average revenue of $100 per ton (net of tons that are not recyclable) for $1,690,000 of revenue. The allocation of $3 per ton for educational initiatives ensures that approximately $68,000 is systematically funneled towards enhancing recycling education and staffing annually to increase recyclable material quality and reduce waste. • Bridges Library System State Aids Fund – An increase in state aid allowed the system to continue support for electronic materials as well as grants and services to member libraries. Member libraries will increase their contribution to the OverDrive Advantage Program from $100,000 to $226,900, and the system will maintain their contribution of $150,000 from state aid revenues and provide an additional $50,000 from the fund balance (a decrease of $100,000 from 2025) to support the Advantage collection and a Lucky Day pilot project Year 2 for a total cost of $426,900. This will increase the availability of eBooks and eAudiobooks for residents of Waukesha and Jefferson Counties. • Extension Waukesha County personnel costs are budgeted to increase $2,900 mostly due to costs to continue. Operating expenditures are budgeted to increase slightly by $600. Workshops for the public have decreased $5,300 mostly due to changes in programming. This is partially offset by $2,500 increase in recreation services associated with the 4-H Camp (excluding 136 Contract educator costs associated with administering the camp) and a 3% increase in costs associated with the 136 Contract with the state, from $217,800 to $224,000. The 136 contract will continue to have 0.50 FTE extra help in Community Development. 38 2026 EXPENDITURE HIGHLIGHTS Public Works • The 2026 expenditure budget for this functional area totals $38,849,500, an increase of $1,058,700 or 2.8% from the 2025 budget. • Road Salt expenditures for county highway snow and ice removal operations are budgeted to increase by $59,900 in 2026. Salt rates increase by $4.04 or 5.0%, from $80.86 to $84.90 per ton based on the state’s salt contract for the 2025-26 winter season. The overall change includes a $33,600 decrease in the cost of salt used for county highways, based on an estimated 11,700 tons, which is a decrease of 1,000 tons to bring budget in line with the average usage over the previous few years. Actual salt used varies significantly by year, depending upon weather severity. This is offset by the budgeting of solar salt for the first time, with the budgeted amount of $66,800 coming from 500 tons at $133.65 per ton. This salt will be used to provide cleaner brine and reduce staff time cleaning the brine tanks and instead prioritize other highway work. Salt for Parks and Land Use for county facilities and parks roads increases $2,400, assuming 600 tons (same as 2025 budgeted level). • State Highway Maintenance operations program personnel expenses are driven by actual labor revenues generated from state work. Personnel expenses increase $290,300, which includes 1.00 FTE additional Patrol Worker for a total of 29.00 regular FTE positions. Anot her 2.32 FTE of temporary seasonal help and 2.86 FTE of overtime is budgeted in 2026, an increase of 1.00 FTE and 0.55 FTE from the 2025 budget, respectively. • The 2026 Transit Services program expenses are budgeted to decrease by $201,900, primarily due to elimination of service for commuter routes due to decreased ridership. Total transit costs are estimated at about $1.84 million, but the total budget for Waukesha County is only about $779,200 due to offsetting revenues. • The Central Fleet Vehicle Fuel budget assumes a decrease in fuel prices of $0.16/gallon, or 4.9%, to $3.11/gallon ($3.32/gallon with $0.21/gallon markup to departments). • The Central Fleet Repair and Maintenance budget includes an increase in interdepartmental revenues by about $111,000 or 3.8% due to an increase in internal maintenance rates and cost of parts. • Charges to departments for the Vehicle Replacement Fund are budgeted to increase about $174,300 or 4.8%, from $3.62 million to about $3.79 million, which is due to increases in new vehicle/equipment prices. • Energy and utility budget costs for county facilities are budgeted to increase in 2026 by $148,200 from the 2025 budgeted level of $2,856,400 to $3,004,600. The budget for electricity increases by $104,500 or 5.9% and water/sewer increases by $57,100 or 8.9% due to recent City of Waukesha water rate increases as part of a phase-in of higher costs related to obtaining Lake Michigan water. Additionally, natural gas increases by $13,300 or 3.1%. The average effective rates for all three utilities, electric, water, and natural gas, have all seen increases in recent years and are budgeted to see continued increases in 2026. Total budgeted consumption for electricity and natural gas are lower in the 2026 budget than in previous years due to bringing it in line with prior-year actuals. The budget for water/sewer consumption remains flat. • The Building Improvement Plan (BIP) totals $901,700 in the 2026 budget. The base BIP budget remains at the 2025 budget level of $850,000. In addition to the base BIP, the plan includes $51,700 for improvements at the Mental Health Center (MHC), which is offset by interdepartmental charges from Health and Human Services to recover a portion of these costs through daily rate increases. • Overall expenditures in the Housekeeping Services program decrease about $35,200 or 3.5% in the 2026 budget. Personnel costs decrease $71,900 due to the unfunding of a 1.00 FTE Building Service Worker and continued reliance on contracted housekeeping services, which is partially offset by the cost to continue of the remaining 1.10 FTE. Contracted housekeeping services increase by $35,500, which is a 4.9% increase from the 2025 budget due to an increase in the current housekeeping contract. • The 2026 Airport budget increase $38,100 and include revenues from increases built into land leases and rental contracts. General Administration • The 2026 expenditure budget for this functional area totals $29,461,000 an increase of $1,419,700 or 5.1% from the 2025 budget. • The County Clerk’s Office operating expenses are budgeted to increase $202,000 due to a significant increase in the price per ballot from $0.28 to $0.31, requiring a continued fund balance subsidy until these higher costs can be phased-in over time. Personnel expenses increase $44,200 due to the creation of 1.00 FTE Administrative Assistant, which is offset by the abolishment of 0.49 FTE Administrative Assistant position. • The County Board’s expenditures remain at $1,007,000. Personnel costs increase $19,200 due to the cost to continue. Operating expenses decrease $20,500, including a $10,000 decrease in consulting services that have historically not been used and other smaller reducti ons. Interdepartmental charges increase $1,300 due to computer maintenance and replacement costs. • The Department of Administration (DOA) General Fund expenditures increase $539,200. Personnel costs increase by $353,600 or 6.9%, due to the cost to continue, a limited double fill of the Community Services Representative position in the tax listing division; the creation of a Principal Financial Analyst, partially offset by the abolishment of a Senior Financial Analyst in the Business Office program; the creation of a Senior Buyer, partially offset by the abolishment of an Administrative Specialist in the Purchasing program; the reclassification of a Financial Analyst to a 39 2026 EXPENDITURE HIGHLIGHTS Senior Financial Analyst in the Accounting and Payroll Services program; and an increase of $25,000 of extra temporary help in the Business Office program. Operating expenses increase $172,60 • 0 primarily due to an increase in ongoing software costs for the new ERP system of $158,700 (net of other systems being replaced by the ERP). • The DOA-End User Technology Fund (EUTF) 2026 budget expenditures increase $276,200, or 2.5%. Personnel costs increase $319,400 primarily due to cost to continue, which is offset by a decrease of $142,900 associated with unfunding a 1.0 FTE Principal IT Professional within IT Operations along with a 0.17 FTE reduction in intern support. Operating expenses decrease $60,300 mostly due to decreased computer replacements costs and the Courthouse remodeling project which allows for consolidation of phone lines. • The DOA-Risk Management Fund budget expenditures increase 10.5% or $391,100 to $4.1 million. This is primarily due to operating expenses increasing $373,000 due to estimated insurance costs, increases in liability insurance costs based on social inflation costs in jury awards, adverse claims trends for law enforcement, and the impact of natural disasters and inflation on property insurance market. • The DOA-Collections Fund expenditures increase 4.0% or $50,900 to $1,310,200. This is primarily due to the double fill of the collections supervisor position prior to retirement, and the promotion of two collection specialists to senior collections specialists. Fund balance also increases $37,000 to assist with the limited double fill of the collections supervisor position. Fixed Assets of $12,400 are for the replacement of the letter folding machine, which is shared with Parks and Land Use. • The Corporation Counsel – General Legal Services budget expenditures increase $92,800 or 5.5%, mostly related to the personnel cost to continue for 12.85 FTE. Non-Departmental • The 2026 expenditure budget for this functional area totals $31,792,300, an increase of $3,139,000 or 11.0% from the 2025 adopted budget. • Non-Departmental – General Fund: Expenditures increase by $2,059,500 in 2026, which includes $2,000,000 for one-time demolition costs related to the future sale of the former UW-Milwaukee at Waukesha campus property. • Health and Dental Insurance Fund: Total expenditures increase $1,079,500, or 4.2%, primarily due to the following: o Active Employee Health Insurance Program: Operating expenditures increase $865,400, or 3.7%, mostly due to estimated claims costs for the county’s self-insured health plans, which are budgeted to increase by about $620,000, or 3.5%, from $17.6 million to $18.2 million reflecting recent claims experience. Plan administration and programming costs increase $150,600 to fund patient advocacy programs aimed at reducing long-term chronic health issue costs. Stop loss insurance coverage insurance for higher-cost claims is budgeted to increase by $106,900. Interdepartmental charges increase $28,700, mostly for $32,000 in higher administrative cost recovery for indirect costs and Human Resources staff time dedicated to implementing health, dental, wellness, and clinic operations. o Wellness Initiative Program: Operating expenses increase $160,000 related to the inclusion of the 457- Incentive Campaign to promote employee deferred compensation contributions for self-funded retirement savings. This campaign is entirely funded with revenues earned from the employee 457 plan and shared by the plan administrator with the county. o Waukesha Employee Health and Wellness Center : Expenses increase by $25,400 largely due to a $29,300 increase for contracted clinical staff due to cost to continue. o Contingency Fund remains at the 2025 budget level of $1.2 million, funded with General Fund balance. Debt Service: The Debt Service expenditure budget for general governmental purposes is $18,943,000, an increase of $1,786,200 or 10.4% from the 2025 Adopted Budget. To fund the 2026 Capital Project budget, $27.2 million is planned to be borrowed, which is a decrease of $2,000,000 from the 2025 adopted budget level. This includes $24.2 million of borrowing for the Capital Plan, and $3.0 million for major vehicle replacements in 2026. After retiring approximately $15.0 million of principal in 2026, the county's total debt outstanding is expected to be approximately $113.8 million at year-end 2026, well below the allowable levels set by state statutes. Capital Projects The 2026 Capital Project expenditure budget of $45,966,400 increases $2,221,000 from the 2025 adopted budget. The 2026 Capital budget identifies funding for existing and new projects at a net county cost of $33.7 million (after direct project revenues of $7,726,600 and proprietary, internal service, and restricted balance appropriations of $1,527,000 are applied). Tax levy, use of governmental fund balance, and other revenues generates the county’s “down payment” of 26% of net capital expenditures, slightly above the policy target of 20%. An additional $3.0 million is budgeted to continue borrowing for major vehicle replacements in 2026. 40 2025 Incr/(Decr) from 2024 Adopted 2025 2026 2025 Actual Budget Estimate Budget Adpt. Budget Intgov't Contracts & Grants $130,477,054 $87,208,425 $73,776,406 $80,037,970 $(7,170,455) State Transportation Aids $4,989,831 $4,992,282 $4,964,383 $4,992,282 - State Shared Revenues $4,883,533 $4,791,626 $4,526,847 $5,083,487 $291,861 State Personal Prop./Computer Aid $1,344,125 $2,541,918 $2,541,918 $2,588,436 $46,518 Fines & Licenses $3,672,418 $3,813,850 $3,865,028 $4,011,895 $198,045 Charges for Services (a) $49,540,687 $50,076,499 $50,884,205 $53,097,099 $3,020,600 Interdepartmental Revenue $44,623,575 $47,505,424 $45,095,707 $49,016,620 $1,511,196 Other Revenues (a) $15,687,505 $12,472,754 $17,350,563 $13,541,617 $1,068,863 Interest/Penalty on Delinq Taxes $1,308,788 $1,595,000 $1,358,841 $1,545,000 $(50,000) Investment Inc-Unrestricted Funds $7,738,364 $5,611,255 $7,500,000 $5,887,247 $275,992 Debt Borrowing $20,800,000 $29,200,000 $29,200,000 $27,200,000 $(2,000,000) Appropriated Fund Balance $(23,575,588) $19,539,183 $(2,876,284) $23,071,274 $3,532,091 Retained Earnings (a) $7,419,139 $(838,628) $1,930,887 $(968,280) $(129,652) Tax Levy $119,040,295 $119,960,915 $119,960,915 $122,364,770 $2,403,855 $387,949,726 $388,470,503 $360,079,416 $391,469,417 $2,998,914 2025 Incr/(Decr) from 2024 Adopted 2025 2026 2025 Actual Budget Estimate Budget Adpt. Budget Justice & Public Safety $28,089,493 $26,354,604 $26,987,686 $27,803,518 $1,448,914 Health & Human Services $79,163,668 $82,286,975 $69,879,055 $71,044,899 $(11,242,076) Parks, Env, Educ & Land Use (b) $32,401,998 $26,083,907 $31,106,021 $28,239,589 $2,155,682 Public Works $25,715,972 $24,896,281 $23,418,761 $25,631,099 $734,818 General Administration (b) $26,916,136 $26,572,529 $28,009,304 $28,008,694 $1,436,165 Non-Departmental $27,108,620 $26,723,872 $24,772,206 $29,799,024 $3,075,152 Debt Borrowing $20,800,000 $29,200,000 $29,200,000 $27,200,000 $(2,000,000) Capital Projects $44,869,992 $7,690,865 $7,690,865 $9,274,830 $1,583,965 Appropriated Fund Balance $(23,575,588) $19,539,183 $(2,876,284) $23,071,274 $3,532,091 Retained Earnings (a) $7,419,139 $(838,628) $1,930,887 $(968,280) $(129,652) Tax Levy $119,040,295 $119,960,915 $119,960,915 $122,364,770 $2,403,855 $387,949,726 $388,470,503 $360,079,416 $391,469,417 $2,998,914 (a) (b) (c) Total Revenues SOURCE (c) 2024-2026 REVENUE SUMMARY Includes revenues from proprietary fund (e.g., Radio Services) user fees and other revenue which are estimated to result in retained earnings. Revenues in excess of expenditures from proprietary funds that are retained in the appropriate fund and not used to offset the overall county tax levy. FUNCTION Total Revenues The table is restated to include revenues that had been budgeted in the General Administration functional area under the Department of Administration - American Job Center Fund to instead be restated in the Parks, Environment, Education, and Land Use functional area under the Workforce and Economic Development Fund. As part of the implementation of a new enterprise resource planning system during 2025, revenues have been reclassified to different categories, resulting in higher charges for service and general government revenue, offset by lower other revenue. The 2025 budget and 2024 actuals have been restated for comparison purposes. 41 2026 REVENUE HIGHLIGHTS Revenue Budget: The 2026 revenue budget (excluding property tax levy, fund balance appropriations, and revenue generating proprietary fund retained earnings) totals $246,033,373 a decrease of $2,937,032 or 1.2% from the 2025 Adopted Budget. The revenue budget includes $49,016,620 of interdepartmental revenues (mostly from internal service funds, e.g., Health and Dental Insurance Fund). The 2026 budgeted revenues consist of departmental operating revenues at $209,558,543 and capital project revenues at $36,474,830 including $27 ,200,000 from planned borrowing. Overall, the operating revenues decreases by $2,520,997 or 1.2% from the prior-year budget, while capital project revenues decrease by $416,035 or 1.1%. The graph below reflects the ratio of revenue sources budgeted for 2026 to all revenue sources (after excluding interdepartmental revenues), with tax levy of 35.7% and 27.1% of intergovernmental assistance as the major revenue components. Tax Levy 35.7% Fines & Licenses 1.2% Chgs. & Sv cs. 15.5% Inv. Inc./Other* 5.9% Debt Borrowing 7.9% Fund Balance 6.7% Intergov't Assist 27.1% 2026 Revenues as a Percent of Total (Excludes Interdepartmental) * Excludes Retained Earnings Revenue Projection Methodology Realistic, conservative, and accurate revenue estimates are one of the key building blocks in the development of a fiscally sound budget. The c ounty combines four primary projection methods, mentioned below, based on the unique characteristics of forecasted revenue. 1. Informed and Expert Judgment (e.g., the advice of a department head). 2. Deterministic Techniques (e.g., formula based). 3. Time Series Technique (e.g., trend analysis, rolling averages). 4. Estimates from external sources or appropriated in adopted legislation (e.g., state and federal governments). Projection and Trends: External factors that may affect estimated future revenue trends include a disruption in the economic recovery, a change in the interest rate trend affecting county investments, and a change in moderate inflation trends. Also, other impacts which could affect future revenue trends include federal and s tate budget deficits which will likely result in revenue reductions and the potential for higher future interest rates. Internal factors mainly include user fee rate increases, which help cover the rising costs of services and the ability to collect on client accounts. The graph below shows the total budgeted revenue trends from all sources for 2022- 2026. Total revenues, including tax levy and appropriated fund balance, are budgeted to increase $3.0 million or 0.8% to $391.5 million. $0 $25 $50 $75 $100 $125 $150 $175 $200 $225 $250 $275 $300 $325 $350 $375 $400 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 $ in Millions Year Budgeted Total Rev enues 42 2026 REVENUE HIGHLIGHTS A brief summary of the major changes in the past five years to the adopted budget are briefly explained as follows: The 2026 revenue budget increases $2,998,900 or 0.8% to $391.5 million, including a decrease in intergovernmental contracts and grant revenue of $6,832,100 or 6.9% largely due to the removal of the $14.0 million pass-through revenue associated with HHS–C hildren with Long-Term Needs – Third Party Administrator due to a change in the state requirement to record these transactions on the county books, resulting in the removal of this pass -through from the budget. Project specific intergovernmental revenues for Capital Project s increase by $2.1 million. The Non- Departmental budget also includes $2.0 million for the Branch Campus Redevelopment Grant (BCRG) from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation for costs related to the redevelopment of the former University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee at Waukesha campus property. Additionally, Circuit Court intergovernmental revenues increase $573,500 due to additional state funding in the state budget. Charges for services revenues increase by $3.0 million, or 6.0%, including $1.2 million in Health and Human Services due to an increase in client fees for patient care at the Psychiatric Hospital of $467,700 and in the Mental Health Outpatient – Intensive program of $458,300. Charges in Parks, Land Use, and Education increase by about $1.0 million due to park system fees and utilization of county owned golf courses and ice arenas. Justice and Public Safety charges increase $716,700 due to increases in municipal patrol and school resource officer contract revenues. Interdepartmental revenues increase approximately $1.5 million, or 3.2%, primarily due to $900,000 increase in the Non- Departmental Health and Dental Insurance Fund related to higher premium costs for health insurance. End User Technology Fund (EUTF) charges for computer maintenance and replacement increase $218,200, and risk management charges increase $113,000. The Vehicle Replacement Fund (VRP) increases charges by $174,300 for new county vehicles/equipment. Changes in other revenues, which increase $1.3 million, are due to $1.5 million for increased Wisconsin Medicaid Cost Reporting (WIMCR) and $276,000 in investment income. Fund balance appropriations increase $3.5 million, and county general tax levy (excluding the special library tax) increase $2,070,352 or 1.79% to $117,607,753 from the 2025 Adopted Budget. The 2025 revenue budget decreases $2.9 million or 0. 7% to $388. 5 million, including a decrease in intergovernmental contracts and grant revenue of $20,247,600 or 1 6.9% largely due to the decrease of $26.7 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, mentioned below. Within the Health and Human Services department, there is an increase in Children’s Long Term Support ( CLTS)-third party administrator revenues of $4.0 million and case management and other revenue reimbursements related to the CLTS program of $401,300 as a result of the state mandate to eliminate CLTS wait list and the subsequent increased volume of clients served. In the Circuit Courts, IV-D (Child Support) related reimbursements from the State of Wisconsin increase by $220,000 due to a changed methodology used by the Courts for expenses claimed. Project specific intergovernmental revenues for capital projects increase by $2.8 million in the 2025 budget. Charges for services revenues increase by $2.2 million, or 5.1%, to approximately $45.9 million primarily due to client fees in Health and Human Services increasing by $2.29 million. Charges in Parks , Land Use, and Education increase by $510,000 due to park system fees and utilization of county owned golf courses and ice arenas. Justice and Public Safety charges decrease $721,700 due to the removal of $1.2 million in federal prisoner inmate revenues, which are partially offset by a $494, 500 increase in municipal patrol contract revenues. Interdepartmental revenues increase $656, 600 to $47,505,000 primarily related to $253,700 in the Department of Administration – General Fund for Human Resources staff time charges to the Non- Departmental Health and Dental Fund and mailing charges and increases in postage charges . End User Technology Fund (EUTF) charges for computer maintenance and replacement increase $250,800, and risk management charges increase $89,800. The Health and Dental Fund increases the county’s share of employee health and dental premiums and contributions to health savings accounts by $251,000, mainly due to insurance plans shifting from Choice Plus to the High Deductible Health Plan. T he Vehicle Replacement Fund (VRP) increases charges by $129,000 for new county vehicles/equipment. There is an increase of $96,500 for interdepartmental revenues within the Public Works General F und, primarily due to charges within the Building Improvement Plan and Facility Maintenance. In the Transportation Fund, there is a $432,300 decrease due to shifting budget of state equipment and storage reimbursement to general government revenues. Changes in other revenues are due to $1.8 million for the Material Recycling Fund for contracted recycling services, $1. 1 million in investment income, and $761,800 in Health and Human Services due to client insurance claims in the Regional Crisis Stabilization Facility and Wisconsin Medical Assistance Cost Reporting (WIMCR) reimbursements. Fund balance appropriations increase $769,300, and county general tax levy (excluding the special library tax) increase $675,235 or 0. 59% to $115,537,401 from the 2024 Adopted Budget The 2024 revenue budget increases $ 14.4 million or 3.8% to $3 91.4 million, including a decrease in intergovernmental contracts and grant revenue of $ 2,546,000 or 2. 1%, largely due to a decrease in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) – Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF) funding with a decrease of $1. 5 million. This also includes $3 .5 million of additional state Shared Revenue related to the passage of 2023 Wisconsin Act 12 which increases the shared revenue payments to local government and an additional $1.2 million in case management and other revenues as part of a state mandate to eliminate the CLTS 43 2026 REVENUE HIGHLIGHTS wait lists and an increase in CLTS- third party administrator revenues of $1.0 million. Project-specific intergovernmental revenues for capital projects decrease $6.0 million. Charges for services increase $878,300, or 2.1%, to approximately $43.6 million, largely due to a $626,1 00 increase in clients fees for health and human services driven by $398,600 of new regional crisis stabilization facility revenues and $289,400 of higher mental health services’ fees. Justice and Public Safety charges increase $258,200, including $197,700 of higher municipal patrol contract revenues in the Sheriff’s Department. These increases are offset by a $382,700 decrease in Register of Deeds revenues including a $228,000 decrease for recording fees and a $146,000 decrease in real estate transfer fees. Interdepartmental revenues increase approximately $630,800, or 1.4%, to $46,848,800, including $217,00 0 of higher Risk Management departmental charges, $151,500 of higher vehicle replacement fund charges, and $151,500 of higher End User Technology Fund charges for software and technology. Other revenues decrease $ 951,900 or 4.7% to a total of $1 9.2 million, mostly due to a $2.1 million decrease in the Material Recycling Fund related to the ending of recycling operations at the county facility due to a major fire event in May 2023. In addition, Health and Human Services revenues for opioid class action lawsuit settlement proceeds are reclassified to fund balance from other revenue, resulting in a $729,800 decrease (with an offsetting increase in fund balance). Further changes to other revenues include $1.6 million of higher investment income in the Treasurer’s Office and $175,000 of additional asset sale proceeds in the vehicle replacement fund. Fund balance appropriations increase of $5.8 million, and the county general tax levy (excluding the special library tax) increases $2,563,183 or 2.28% to $114,862,166. The 2023 revenue budget increases $39. 5 million or 11.7% to $376.9 million, including an increase in intergovernmental contracts and grant revenue of $34. 0 million or 38.5%, largely due to federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) – Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF) funding of $29 .3 million (an increase of $20.8 million). This also includes an additional $1. 7 million in case management and other revenues as part of a state mandate to eliminate the CLTS wait lists and an increase in CLTS -third party administrator revenues of $2.5 million. Charges for services increase $694,500 to $42. 8 million, largely due to a $8 85,500 increase in Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) revenues related to additional billable services for adolescents, a $642,3 00 increase in municipal police services provided by the Sheriff’s Department, a $301 ,800 increase for Parks and Land Use- General Fund park system fees (annual park stickers, entrance fees, camping, etc.), and a $219,700 increase in Register of Deeds revenues for real estate transfer fees. Interdepartmental revenues increase approximately $1.7 million, to $46.2 million, primarily from a $729,900 increase in Public Works - Central Fleet fuel charges related to higher fuel costs; a $604,000 increase in Non- Departmental-Health and Dental Insurance Fund premiums and HSA contributions charged to county departments, reflecting a 2. 5% premium rate increase; and a $422,600 increase in End User Technology charges. Other revenues sources increase $724,300 or 3.7% to a total of $20.2 million, mostly Health and Human Services revenues including $729,800 of opioid class action lawsuit settlement proceeds, $421,800 of Wisconsin Medicaid Cost Reporting (WIMCR) prior year settlement revenue, and $348,800 of state institution collections revenue. Fund balance appropriations decrease of $2.4 million, and the county general tax levy (excluding the special library tax) increases $2,795,860 or 2.55% to $112,298,983. The 2022 revenue budget increases $23.4 million or 7.4% to $337.4 million, including an increase in intergovernmental contracts and grant revenue of $12.2 million, largely due to federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) – Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF) funding of $8.0 million. This also includes an additional $1.0 million in case management and other revenues as part of a state mandate to eliminate the CLTS wait lists and an increase in CLTS-third party administrator revenues of $387,800. Charges for services increase $2.1 million to $42.1 million, largely due to a $861,100 increase in Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) revenues related to additional billable services for adolescents, a $299,100 increase in municipal police services provided by the Sheriff’s Department , a $229,300 increase for Parks and Land Use- General Fund park system fees (annual park stickers, entrance fees, camping, etc.), and a $231,400 increase in Register of Deeds revenues for real estate transfer fees and copy and duplicating fees . Interdepartmental revenues increase approximately $2.5 million, to $44.5 million , primarily from a $1.3 million increase in End User Technology Fund driven by a higher cross -charge to Health and Human Services and a $788,000 increase in Non- Departmental- Health and Dental Insurance Fund premiums charged to county departments, reflecting a 2.2% premium rate increase. Other revenues sources increase $1.0 million to a total of $ 19.5 million, mostly for contributions from individuals and organizations and cost recovery towards capital project costs, which increase $585,000. F und balance appropriations in crease $4 .9 million, and the county general tax levy (excluding the special library tax) increases $1,689,728 or 1.57% to $109,503,123. Detailed revenue highlights are included within each functional area summary. A summary of highlights and major changes from the 2025 to the 2026 Revenue Budget, by source, follows. Intergovernmental Contracts & Grants: Combined, total 2026 intergovernmental contracts, grants, state/federal aids, and state shared revenues together reflect a budgeted decrease of $6.8 million or 6.9% from the 2025 Adopted Budget. 44 2026 REVENUE HIGHLIGHTS • State shared revenue increases $291 ,900 based on the approved state allocation for 2026 . The state budget approved a 3.4% for $141,900 increase for base and supplemental Shared Revenue. A separate provision of Shared Revenue, which provides counties revenues to offset the property tax exemption of utilities, increases $150,000 in 2026. • Health and Human Services Functional Area Intergovernmental Revenue decrease by approximately $13.7 million to $48.3 million as follows:  HHS–Children with Long- Term Needs –Third Party Administrator pass-through revenues decreases by $14.0 million to $0 due to a change in the state requirement to record these transactions on the county books, resulting in the removal of $14.0 of revenues and expenditures from the budget.  Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – Children with Special Needs Program includes an increase in administrative revenues of $457,400 and increased service coordination revenues of $156,300.  HHS–Clinical Services – Crisis Resource Center grant funding decreases $923,700 due to the ending of the grant to fund operations at the new regional crisis stabilization facility operated out of the Mental Health Center. This grant funding is meant to support the startup of operations of these crisis facilities which will eventually be supported by client fees and other funding sources. • Non-Departmental- General Fund revenue increases $2.0 million for the Branch Campus Redevelopment Grant (BCRG) from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation for costs related to the redevelopment of the former University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee at Waukesha campus property. • Circuit Court Services revenue increases $667,600 due a $ 573,500 increase in state funding for the C ircuit Court Support grant. They also have an additional increase of $91 ,400 related to state reimbursement of child support (IV-D) expenses. • Capital Project intergovernmental revenues increase $2.1 million to $ 8.5 million, primarily due to higher project specific revenues associated with several Parks and Land Use capital projects as well as transportation projects . Revenues from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF), which was budgeted in the 2025 Capital Budget, decreases $615,000 to $0 budgeted in 2026. Fines and Licenses: Fine and license revenues in crease $198,0 00 or 5.2% to $4,011 ,900 in 20 26. For the Medical Examiner’s Office, cremation permit revenues increase $116,500. Overall Parks and Land Use- General Fund license revenue increase $83,000 and include : $37,700 for restaurant licenses, $ 36,800 in retail food, and $11,700 for lodging fees . Utility permits in the Department of Public Works – Transportation Fund increase $ 12,800, mostly for the implementation of an oversized/overweight permit in 2026. Agricultural use conversion penalties for the County Treasurer decrease $18,000. Charges for Services*: User fees are budgeted to increase $3.0 million or 6.0% to approximately $53.1 million. User fees are charges for specific government services to those who utilize and value certain services. They provide an equitable, proportional user-based charging method to continue service operations without relying solely on property taxes. Major user fees include document recording and real estate transfers; public admission for recreation , regulation enforcement , and education within the Parks, Environment , Education and Land Use (PLU ) functional area; client treatment, inpatient and outpatient residential services fees in the Health and Human Services (HHS) area; and inmate board, contracted Sheriff patrols, and judicial and public safety related fees (JPS). *As part of the implementation of a new enterprise resource planning system during 2025, revenues have been reclassified to different categories, resulting in higher charges for service and general government revenue, offset by lower other revenue. 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Tota l $88.35 $122. 32 $119. 78 $99.53 $92.70 HHS $49.02 $56.53 $58.72 $62.03 $48.32 $0 $20 $40 $60 $80 $100 $120 $140Millions (S) Millions ($) Budgeted Intergovernmental Revenues 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026* Othe r $8.36 $7.23 $7.12 $7.13 $7.14 JPS $12.72 $13.59 $13.85 $13.13 $14.88 HHS $9.28 $9.66 $10.33 $12.77 $14.90 PLU $11.71 $12.29 $12.35 $12.86 $16.19 $0 $10 $20 $30 $40 $50 $60 Millions ($) Millions ($) *The 2026 Budget includes the recategorization of some accounts to Charges for Service, causing the increase in the chart. Budgeted Charges for Service 45 2026 REVENUE HIGHLIGHTS • Health and Human Services (HHS) functional area charges for service revenues are budgeted to increase by $1.2 million to $ 14.9 million. This is primarily due to an increase in client fees for patient care at the Psychiatric Hospital of $467,700 and in the Mental Health Outpatient – Intensive program of $458,300. There is also a net increase of $107,700 for collections revenue related to patients being treated at the state mental health institutes (revenue transferred from Mental Health Outpatient – Clinic to Psychiatric Hospital). • Parks, Environment, Education & Land Use (PLU ) functional area c harges for s ervice revenues increase by about $1.0 million to $ 16.2 million. Parks and Land Use- General Fund park system fees increase $ 262,000 (annual park stickers, entrance fees, camping, etc.) and $6 0,000 for fees for the Exposition Center . The department is also budgeting an additional $260,000 of annual landfill siting fee revenue that was being set aside for major parks maintenance projects in the capital plan and will instead use it to replace tax levy in its operating budget that funded the smaller three- year maintenance plan. Golf Course Fund and Ice Arenas Fund service fees increase $271,100 to $4.03 million related to increased utilization of county-owned facilities. Bridges Library- State Aids library services charges increase by $154,3 00 due increases in funding from the Prairie Lakes Library System and member libraries increasing their contributions to the Advantage Program. • Justice and Public Safety (JPS) functional area charges for service revenues increase by $716,7 00 to $14.9 million, including a n increase in Sheriff charges of $659,900, mainly due to municipal patrol and school resource officer revenues . The District Attorney has an increase of $27,200 related to copying fees. Emergency Preparedness – General Fund has an increase of $14,000 in municipal charges for annual computer aided dispatch and integrated systems support charges. There is an increase of $38,700 within the Radio Services Fund due primarily to $33,600 in radio maintenance support charges and $ 5,100 in cell tower lease revenues. These are partially offset by a $23,100 reduction in Medical Examiner charges related to expected number of autopsies performed for Washington County. Interdepartmental Revenues: 2026 i nterdepartmental revenues increase approximately $ 1.5 million, or 3.2%, to $49,016,600. Interdepartmental revenues are primarily related to internal service fund charges and cross -charges for services provided by one county department to another, which are in essence double- budgeted. These charges are originally funded through an external revenue source or tax levy in the service consumer (user) department budgets. • Non-Departmental-Health and Dental Insurance Fund interdepartmental revenues consist of the county’s share of employee health and dental premiums and county contributions to employees’ health savings accounts and are budgeted to in crease by $908 ,000 or 4.2% to $22.5 million mainly due to employee insurance plans shifting from the Choice Plus plan to the High Deductible Health plan, which has a higher county premium cost share, and an increase in premium rates due to claims experience and medical inflation. • DOA-General Fund charges decrease $ 113,800 due to the elimination of $74,500 of financial service charges to the Treasurer’s Office (offset with a transfer of tax levy) . Additionally, records management revenues are reduced by $60,000 primarily due to eliminating imaging revenues of $50,000 from the District Attorney’s Office. • DOA–End User Technology Fund charges increase $218,200 or 2.6% reflecting annual increases in charges to user departments for computer maintenance and replacement, as well as software subscriptions. • DOA-Risk Management charges increase $ 113,000 primarily for increases to liability and property insurance costs, as well as a smaller increase for worker’s compensation costs. • Public Works-Vehicle Replacement Fund departmental charges increase $174,3 00 due to increases in new vehicle/equipment prices. Departments are charged replacement fees based on the cost of the vehicle they currently operate (rather than paying toward an estimated future price). • Public Works -Central Fleet Fund departmental charges increase $ 111,000 for the repair and maintenance program, partially offset by $85,300 in lower fuel charges based on decreasing fuel prices . Other Revenues: Other revenues (before excluding retained earnings) from various sources increase $1.3 million or 6.6% to a total of $21.0 million. • Treasurer investment income increases $276,000 related to higher interest rates. • Health and Human Services other revenues increase $1.3 million primarily related to about $1.5 million of increased revenue from Wisconsin Medicaid Cost Reporting (WIMCR), which is a cost recovery for prior -year HHS services. Offsetting this increase are smaller reductions in several line items, including reduced ADRC donation revenues of $95,100. • Sheriff other revenues decrease by $241,900, including a reduction in jail communication revenue by $208,000. • Administration- General Fund increases $75,000 due to the implementation of new electronic checks to pay 46 2026 REVENUE HIGHLIGHTS invoices beginning in 2026. • Public Works – Vehicle Replacement Fund revenue from the sale of capital assets decrease $61,500 in the 2026 budget related to a decreased quantity of scheduled vehicles being auctioned. Debt Financing: The 2026 Budget includes borrowing of $27.2 million to fi nance a major portion of 2026 capital projects and vehicle replacements, a decrease of $2.0 million from the 2025 Adopted Budget. Appropriated Fund Balance: To reduce the 2025 Tax Levy (for 2026 Budget purposes), the budget includes fund balance appropriations of approximately $23.07 million for one-time projects and temporary expenditures or to phase-in the impact of significant revenue losses or new ex penses, an increase of $3.53 million from the previous ye ar. This includes $14.5 million for the operating budgets and $8.5 million for the capital projects budget, summarized below: Source of Fund Balance Fund Balance Use in Fund / Department Budgets General Fund Special Revenue Funds Internal Service Funds Enterprise Funds Capital Fund Debt Service Fund Component Unit Total Administration - General Fund $60,000 $60,000 Admin - Collections Fund $37,000 $37,000 Admin - End User Tech. Fund $725,000 $178,426 $903,426 Admin - Risk Mgmt Fund $413,404 $80,000 $493,404 Bridges Library System Funds $132,500 $132,500 Capital Projects Budget $5,000,000 $878,000 $649,000 $2,007,105 $8,534,105 Circuit Court Services $0 Contingency Fund $1,200,000 $1,200,000 County Clerk Dept. $299,112 $299,112 Debt Service Fund $1,650,000 $1,789,737 $3,439,737 District Attorney $8,150 $168,000 $176,150 Emergency Preparedness $35,000 $13,360 $876,774 $925,134 Human Services Dept. $631,934 $1,106,596 $1,738,530 Medical Examiner $382,000 $114,352 $496,352 Non-Departmental $657,313 $136,000 $793,313 Parks and Land Use Dept. $456,900 $469,290 $0 $926,190 Public Works Dept $510,000 $101,083 $169,582 $780,665 Sheriff Dept. $1,756,616 $259,040 $2,015,656 Treasurer $120,000 $120,000 UW Extension Dept. $0 Total by Fund Type $12,255,429 $3,008,638 $2,182,509 $1,695,356 $2,007,105 $1,789,737 $132,500 $23,071,274 Tax Levy: The overall 2025 tax levy (for 2026 Budget purposes) is $122,364,770, which represents an increase of $2,403,855 or 2.0% from the 2025 Adopted Budget. The tota l tax levy consists of general county purpose levy of $117,607,753, a $2,070,352 or 1.79% increase from the 2025 Adopted Budget, and the special Bridges Library System tax levy of $4,757,017, an increase of $3 33,503 or 7.5% from the 2025 Adopted Budget, which are assessed to municipalities without libraries. 47 DECISION MAKING CRITERIA FOR NEW POSITIONS County government has an obligation to meet the needs of its citizens in a fiscally prudent manner. One of the largest costs of government is personnel cost. Unlike capital projects that are paid for in a set period of time, position costs continue each year as long as the position exists. Therefore, before new positions are authorized, a careful review of the justification of these requests is warranted. In reviewing these requests, the following types of questions are asked. 1) Does the reason a position is being requested support the strategic plan for the County and the department? 2) Can the work be accomplish ed in any othe r way? 3) Does the proposed position improve customer service? 4) Does the proposed position provide direct services as opposed to administrative support, supervision, or management? 5) Will the investment in the proposed position allow the department to increase revenues or decrease expenditures beyond the cost of the position? 6) Is there outside (non-County Tax Levy) funding available for the proposed position, such as state or federal grants? 7) Can the position costs be offset by eliminating or reducing a lower priority function? 8) Has the organization been reviewed for efficiency? Is the organization a re-engineering candidate? 9) What will be the effect if the proposed position is not created? 2024 2025 2025 2026 Year Adopted Modified Adopted 24-25 FUNCTIONAL AREAS: End Budget Budget Budget Change Justice and Public Safety 552.03 543.65 546.65 546.15 2.50 Health and Human Services 474.22 471.26 471.26 463.04 (8.22) Parks, Env., Educ., and Land Use 129.30 129.80 129.80 128.30 (1.50) Public Works 131.00 129.00 129.00 129.00 - General Administration 139.45 138.96 138.96 138.45 (0.51) Non-Departmental - - - - - Total Regular Positions Countywide 1,426.00 1,412.67 1,415.67 1,404.94 (7.73) Temporary Extra Help 86.97 84.70 84.64 90.50 5.80 Overtime 28.45 27.63 27.63 27.78 0.15 Total Position Equivalents Countywide 1,541.42 1,525.00 1,527.94 1,523.22 (1.78) BUDGETED POSITIONS 2024-2026 SUMMARY BY FUNCTIONAL AREA *****BUDGETED POSITIONS ONLY***** This chart includes the number of positions that are authorized and funded with the exception of position overfills. Significant Changes for 2026 • Budgeted Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) decreases by a net of 1.78 FTE, including temporary extra help and overtime. • There is a net decrease of 7.73 FTE budgeted regular positions including 2026 and 2025 current year changes. • 2026 changes include the creation of 7.50 FTE positions. This is offset by the abolishment of 7.43 FTE, the net unfunding of 8.00 FTE (including 3.00 FTE Weekend Registered Nurse positions in Health & Human Services that are being accounted for as temporary extra help instead of regular positions), a decrease of 2.00 FTE sunset positions, and a decrease of 0.80 FTE part time position hours. • Temporary extra help increases a net of 5.80 FTE or about 12,064 hours including the 3.00 FTE Weekend Registered Nurses mentioned above. • Budgeted overtime increases a net of 0.15 FTE or about 312 hours. For more detail, see the Stats/Trends Section for the Regular Full-Time/Part-Time Budget Position Summary, the Summary of Net Change in Funded Regular Full-Time/Part-Time Positions and Budget Position Detail Summary for individual departments. Current-Year Changes in 2025 • 3.00 FTE are created: • Created 1.00 FTE by enrolled ordinance (180-25). • Created 1.00 FTE by enrolled ordinance (180-18). • Created 1.00 FTE by enrolled ordinance (179-53). 48 GENERAL & SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS Expenditures, Unassigned Fund Balance Expenditures and Unassigned Fund Balance General and Special Revenue Funds Unassigned Year Expenditures Fund Balance* % Ratio 2017 $191,779,767 $43,537,265 22.7% 2018 $195,709,968 $44,278,341 22.6% 2019 $203,124,733 $44,937,822 22.1% 2020 $211,265,224 $50,602,182 24.0% 2021 $224,918,330 $52,585,136 23.4% 2022 $232,851,301 $60,153,646 25.8% 2023 $242,897,008 $60,872,004 25.1% 2024 $252,159,887 $63,266,667 25.1% 2025 Est $240,764,695 $63,554,373 26.4% 2026 Est $260,134,816 $57,993,243 22.3% Policy and Practice Fund balance reserves will not be used to offset continuous operating costs. To the extent possible, reserves will be used to provide operating efficiencies over the long term. The County will maintain unrestricted fund balances to provide necessary working capital to avoid cash flow interruptions and short-term borrowing to fund daily operations and to maintain the County's Aaa/AAA bond ratings. The unassigned governmental (general and special revenue) fund balance to governmental expenditures ratios will be maintained at a minimum of 11%. The current target is between 15 and 16%, or about eight weeks of working capital for operations. *Does not include unrealized gains or losses on investments. While the County typically holds these investments to maturity or life of the security, generally accepted accounting principles require that these investments be recorded at their fair value. The fund balance figures above will differ from the subsequent schedules in this section (covering year-end 2024 through 2026) because they exclude a write-down of $4,318,350 at the end of 2024. 0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% $0 $50,000,000 $100,000,000 $150,000,000 $200,000,000 $250,000,000 $300,000,000 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Est 2026 Est Expenditures Fund Balance* % Ratio 49 SUMMARY OF FUND BALANCE PROJECTIONS Projections of fund balance are an indicator of the estimated financial condition of t he county at year-end. Fund balances are projected separately for general, special revenue, enterprise, internal service, debt, and capital project fund types. For a description of the county's financial structure and fund descriptions, see the Strategic Planning and Budget Policies Section of the 2026 Adopted Budget. December 31, 2025 (unaudited) The current-year projection (year-end 2025) is based on year-to-date information together with departmental estimates of revenues, expenditures and net transfers for various fund types. Total combined estimates of fund balances at December 31, 2025 are projected at $220.8 million, a decrease of $11.4 million from December 31, 2024 year-end combined fund balances. Of the combined fund balance amount, $161.6 million is non-spendable, restricted, committed (by the grantor, state law, County Board, etc.) or assigned for specific future use exclusively within each particular fund. A summary of projected fund balance by fund type is described below. General Fund Balance - The estimated fund balance for the General Fund at December 31, 2025 is projected at $84.4 million, an increase of $536,000 from 2024. Revenues are estimated to be $2.3 million above expenditures. Net transfers out of the General Fund are estimated to be $1.8 million. The unassigned portion of the fund balance is estimated at $59.2 million, a $288,000 increase from the 2024 unassigned fund balance of $58.9 million. Special Revenue Fund Balance - The December 31, 2025 estimated fund balance is $21.2 million, an increase of $5.6 million from 2024. Revenues are estimated to be $7.7 million above expenditures, mostly due to the proceeds of land sales of $5.2 million in the Parks and Land Use – Parkland Management and Land Acquisition Fund, which are planned to be used for future Park capital projects. Net transfers out of Special Revenue Funds are estimated to be $2.1 million. Working Capital - The unassigned General Fund balance provides working capital for nearly 13 weeks of operations based on the 2026 expenditure budget. In addition, the ratio of governmental funds unassigned fund balance to governmental expenditures for year-end 2025 is estimated at 26.4%. This estimated percentage exceeds the County's goal of at least 11%, which provides sufficient cash flow for the county's operations. It also exceeds the County’s target goal of 15- 16%. 50 SUMMARY OF FUND BALANCE PROJECTIONS, Cont. Enterprise Fund Balance – Year-end 2025 fund balance is projected at $43.3 million, a decrease of $3.6 million from 2024. The enterprise funds include two golf courses, two indoor ice arenas, radio services, a materials recycling facility, and an airport. Enterprise fund balances include non- spendable capital assets. Internal Service Fund Balance - Year-end 2025 fund balance is estimated at $41.9 million, an increase of $448,000 from 2024. Internal service fund balances include non-spendable capital assets. Debt Service Fund Balance – Year-end 2025 fund balance is estimated at $7.1 million, an increase of $1.5 million from 2024. Capital Projects Fund Balance – Year-end 2025 fund balance is projected at $21.7 million, a decrease of $15.8 million from 2024 as prior-year funds for projects are used to complete them. The entire fund balance is reserved for existing capital projects until the projects are closed. Fund balances remaining may be reserved to fund future capital projects. Component Unit Fund Balance – Year-end 2025 fund balance is projected at $1.3 million, a decrease of $164,000 from 2024. December 31, 2026 The year-end 2026 projection is based on 2026 budgeted revenues, expenditures, and estimates on completion of capital projects appropriated in prior years. At year-end 2026, total combined fund balances are estimated at $200.9 million, a decrease of $19.9 million from the estimated 2025 level. Of the estimated combined year-end 2026 total fund balance, $147.3 million is restricted, committed or assigned specific future use within the particular funds, and $53.7 million is estimated to be the unassigned fund balance. This is an estimated decrease in unassigned fund balance of about $5.6 million from year-end 2025. General Fund Balance - The estimated fund balance for the General Fund is projected at $72.8 million, a decrease of $11.6 million from the 2025 estimate. This decrease results from the planned fund balance use of $7.0 million in the 2026 budget and net transfers out of $4.7 million. Transfers out include $725,000 to the Department of Administration internal service End User Technology Fund, $154,300 to the special revenue Workforce and Economic Development Fund, $109,000 to the special revenue Transportation Fund, $413,404 to the Department of Administration internal service Risk Management Fund, and $5,000,000 to the Capital Project Fund. Transfers in include $1,661,348 of prior-year Opioid Settlement Funds and $69,290 of Parkland Management and Land Acquisition Funds from special revenues. The unassigned portion of the fund balance is estimated at $53.7 million. Special Revenue Fund Balance - The December 31, 2026 estimated fund balance is $19.8 million, a decrease of $1.4 million from 2025. This decrease results from projected revenues exceeding expenditures by $937,000, mostly due to estimated receipt of Opioid Settlement funds (which are received here and appropriated as fund balance in later years), offset by planned use of fund balances and transfers out in the 2026 budget. Working Capital - The ratio of governmental funds unreserved fund balance to governmental expenditures for year-end 2026 is estimated at 22.3%, a decrease from the 26.4% estimate for year-end 2025. 51 SUMMARY OF PROJECTED FUND BALANCE AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2025 SCHEDULE 1 General Special Internal Capital Component Fund Revenues Enterprise Service Debt Service Projects Unit Totals Revenues: General Intergovernmental 55,182,628 $ 21,210,076 $ 972,683 $ 164,396 $ 6,391,865 $ 1,958,653 $ $85,880,301 Taxes 94,482,101 8,198,353 1,539,302 15,345,901 395,258 119,960,915 Fines/Licenses 4,163,708 153,258 - - - 4,316,966 Charges for Services 35,794,994 1,176,454 7,926,264 481,000 952,077 46,330,789 Interdepartmental Revenue 4,738,907 367,407 553,757 19,514,992 - 25,175,063 Interest Income - Other Revenue 17,623,543 7,693,848 376,088 1,407,265 2,089,736 30,515,000 79,970 59,785,449 Total Revenues $211,985,881 $38,799,396 $9,828,792 $23,106,955 $17,435,637 $37,302,123 $2,990,700 $341,449,484 Expenditures: Personnel Costs 130,328,508$ 11,905,378 $ 3,356,659$ 9,852,397$ 946,691$ $156,389,633 Operating Expenses 59,370,248 13,074,074 6,565,481 12,704,910 2,048,858 93,763,571 Interdepartmental Charges 17,306,659 6,069,043 1,353,905 770,957 159,160 25,659,724 Fixed Assets/Capital Projects 2,640,680 70,103 0 0 57,197,733 0 59,908,517 Debt Service 17,156,777 17,156,777 Total Expenditures $209,646,096 $31,118,599 $11,276,045 (A) $23,328,264 (A) $17,156,777 $57,197,733 3,154,709 $ $352,878,221 Excess of Revenues over/(under) Expenditures (B ) $2,339,785 $7,680,797 ($1,447,253) ($221,309) $278,861 ($19,895,610 ) ($164,008) ($11,428,737) Footnotes: (A) Net of capital projects expenditures and revenues. (B) Negative amounts reflect planned use of restricted, committed, or assigned fund balances for one time or temporary purposes. 52 SUMMARY OF PROJECTED FUND BALANCE AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2025 SCHEDULE 2 General Special Internal Capital Component Fund Revenues Enterprise Service Debt Service Projects Unit Totals Fund Balance December 31, 2024 $83,895,489 $15,546,339 $46,869,548 $41,454,681 $5,547,351 $37,462,443 $1,486,272 $232,262,123 Restricted/Committed/Assigned Fund Balance 24,947,172 $15,546,339 46,869,548 41,454,681 5,547,351 $37,462,443 $1,486,272 173,313,806 Unassigned Fund Balance January 1, 2025 $58,948,317 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $58,948,317 Excess of Revenues over (under) Expenditures (A) 2,339,785 7,680,797 (1,447,253) (221,309) 278,861 (19,895,610) (164,008) (11,428,737) Net Operating Transfers in (out) (1,803,367) (2,054,683) (2,169,586) 669,250 1,250,000 4,108,386 - 0 Excess of Revenues & Other Financing Sources over (under) Expenditures $536,418 $5,626,114 ($3,616,839) $447,941 $1,528,861 ($15,787,224) ($164,008) ($11,428,737) Total Projected Fund Balance Dec. 31, 2025 84,431,907 21,172,453 43,252,709 41,902,622 7,076,212 21,675,219 1,322,264 220,833,386 Restricted/Committed/Assigned Fund Balance 25,195,884 (B) 21,172,453 43,252,709 (C) 41,902,622 (C) 7,076,212 21,675,219 1,322,264 161,597,363 Total Projected Unassigned Fund Balanc e $59,236,023 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $59,236,02 3 Footnotes: (A) Negative amounts reflect planned use of restricted, committed, or assigned fund balances for one time or temporary purposes. (B) Includes $11.7 million assigned for use in 2026 budget. (C) The enterprise and internal service fund balances include fixed assets and may include some unreserved funds. 53 SUMMARY OF PROJECTED FUND BALANCE AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2026 SCHEDULE 3 General Special Internal Capital Component Fund Revenues Enterprise Service Debt Service Projects Unit Totals Fund Balance December 31, 2025 $84,431,907 $21,172,453 $43,252,709 $41,902,622 $7,076,212 $21,675,219 $1,322,264 $220,833,386 Restricted/Committed/Assigned Fund Balance 25,195,884 21,172,453 43,252,709 41,902,622 7,076,212 21,675,219 1,322,264 $161,597,363 Unassigned Fund Balance January 1, 2026 $59,236,023 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $59,236,023 Excess of Revenues over (under) Expenditures (A) (6,974,363) 936,700 (734,831) (1,020,285) (3,439,737) (8,534,105) (126,373) ($19,892,994) Net Operating Transfers in (out) (4,671,066) (B) (2,345,338) (643,000) (511,596) 1,650,000 6,521,000 - 0 Excess of Revenues & Other Financing Sources over (under) Expenditures ($11,645,429) ($1,408,638) ($1,377,831) ($1,531,881) ($1,789,737) ($2,013,105) ($126,373) ($19,892,994) Total Projected Fund Balance Dec. 31, 2026 72,786,478 19,763,815 41,874,878 40,370,741 5,286,475 19,662,114 1,195,891 200,940,392 Restricted/Committed/Assigned Fund Balance 19,111,585 19,763,815 41,874,878 C 40,370,741 C 5,286,475 19,662,114 1,195,891 147,265,498 Total Projected Unassigned Fund Balanc e $53,674,894 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $53,674,89 4 Footnotes: (A) Negative amounts reflect planned use of restricted, committed, or assigned fund balances for one time or temporary purposes. (B) (C) The Enterprise and Internal Service Fund balances include fixed assets and may include some unreserved funds. General Fund balance transfers out include: $725,000 to the Department of Administration internal service End User Technology Fund, $154,300 to the special revenue Workforce and Economic Development Fund, $109,000 to the special revenue Transportation Fund, $413,404 to the Department of Administration internal service Risk Management Fund, and $5,000,000 to the Capital Project Fund. Transfers in include $1,661,348 of prior-year Opioid Settlement Funds and $69,290 of Parkland Management and Land Acquisition Funds from special revenues. 54 FUNCTIONAL AREA SUMMARY BY FUND TYPE 2026 BUDGET GENERAL SPECIAL COMPONENT INTERNAL CAPITAL REVENUES FUND (a) REVENUE UNIT ENTERPRISE SERVICE DEBT PROJECTS TOTAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY $26,188,447 $1,615,071 $850,000 $28,653,518 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES $66,673,913 $4,370,986 $71,044,899 PARKS, ENV., EDUC., LAND USE $12,145,832 $5,871,689 $3,163,732 $7,058,336 $2,931,400 $31,170,989 PUBLIC WORKS $560,535 $14,612,918 $1,445,682 $9,011,964 $3,945,200 $29,576,299 GENERAL ADMINISTRATION $14,085,523 $0 $13,923,171 $28,748,230 $56,756,924 NON DEPARTMENTAL $3,040,624 $26,758,400 $29,799,024 FUND BALANCE APPROPRIATION $7,584,363 $663,300 $132,500 $1,046,356 $1,670,913 $3,439,737 $8,534,105 $23,071,274 RETAINED EARNINGS $0 $0 ($6,127) ($311,525) ($650,628) ($968,280) TAX LEVY $95,649,830 $8,686,856 $0 $0 $1,567,391 $15,503,228 $957,465 $122,364,770 TOTAL REVENUES $225,929,067 $34,205,749 $3,290,105 $10,853,920 $52,281,211 $18,942,965 $45,966,400 $391,469,417 EXPENDITURES JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY $83,334,361 $2,198,869 $25,524,000 $111,057,230 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES $97,004,980 $4,370,986 $0 $101,375,966 PARKS, ENV., EDUC., LAND USE $18,022,610 $11,195,506 $3,290,105 $7,039,787 $6,241,400 $45,789,408 PUBLIC WORKS $10,134,824 $18,639,257 $1,615,264 $8,460,166 $14,001,000 $52,850,511 GENERAL ADMINISTRATION $12,534,355 $16,926,645 $18,942,965 $200,000 $48,603,965 NON DEPARTMENTAL (a) $4,897,937 $26,894,400 $31,792,337 TOTAL EXPENDITURES $225,929,067 $34,205,749 $3,290,105 $10,853,920 $52,281,211 $18,942,965 $45,966,400 $391,469,417 (a) Includes Contingency Fund. 55 APPROPRIATION UNIT SUMMARY BY FUND TYPE 2026 BUDGET GENERAL SPECIAL COMPONENT INTERNAL CAPITAL REVENUES FUND (a) REVENUE UNIT ENTERPRISE SERVICE DEBT PROJECTS TOTAL INTERGOVT. CONTRACTS/GRANTS $58,434,229 $22,500,944 $2,032,199 $972,683 $310,090 $8,452,030 $92,702,175 FINES & LICENSES $3,809,145 $202,750 $0 $0 $0 $4,011,895 CHARGES FOR SERVICES $38,440,700 $1,105,602 $1,103,533 $8,176,069 $4,271,195 $53,097,099 INTERDEPART. REVENUES $4,898,590 $390,297 $3,000 $573,261 $43,151,472 $49,016,620 OTHER REVENUES $17,112,210 $656,000 $25,000 $397,076 $1,960,778 $28,022,800 $48,173,864 FUND BALANCE APPROPRIATION $7,584,363 $663,300 $132,500 $1,046,356 $1,670,913 $3,439,737 $8,534,105 $23,071,274 RETAINED EARNINGS $0 $0 ($6,127) ($311,525) ($650,628) ($968,280) TAX LEVY $95,649,830 $8,686,856 $0 $0 $1,567,391 $15,503,228 $957,465 $122,364,770 TOTAL REVENUES $225,929,067 $34,205,749 $3,290,105 $10,853,920 $52,281,211 $18,942,965 $45,966,400 $391,469,417 EXPENDITURES PERSONNEL COSTS $137,767,891 $13,16 3,083 $926,468 $3,607,570 $10,345,709 $165,810,721 OPERATING EXPENSES $68,625,482 $14,70 8,957 $2,199,305 $5,803,351 $41,120,456 $132,457,551 INTERDEPARTMENTAL CHARGES $18, 170,680 $5,996,209 $164,332 $1,442,999 $815,046 $26,589,266 FIXED ASSETS & IMPROVEMENTS $1,365,014 $337,500 $0 $0 $0 $45,966,400 $47,668,914 DEBT SERVICE $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $18,942,965 $18,942,965 TOTAL EXPENDITURES $225,929,067 $34,205,749 $3,290,105 $10,853,920 $52,281,211 $18,94 2,965 $45,966,400 $391,469,417 (a) Includes Contingency Fund. 56 Strategic Planning & Budget Policies 57 ____________________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS STRATEGIC PLANNING AND BUDGET POLICIES ____________________________________________________________________________ Strategic Planning Overview .................................................................................................... 59 County-Wide Pillars .................................................................................................................. 60 Waukesha County Planning Processes ................................................................................... 61 Five Year Financial Forecast .................................................................................................... 63 Financial Management Policies ................................................................................................ 64 Capital and Operating Budget Process .................................................................................... 69 Financial Structure .................................................................................................................... 72 Waukesha County Budgetary Funds ........................................................................................ 74 Fund Descriptions ..................................................................................................................... 75 ____________________________________________________________________________ 58 STRATEGIC PLANNING OVERVIEW Waukesh a County has been using strategic planning t ools for well over twenty years. County departments hold stakeholder focus groups, conduct environmental scans and work with departmental strategic planning coordinators to perform major updates to their plans on a three-year basis and provide annual updates as needed. Through strategic planning, the County has establish ed links between our Standards of Service Excellence, business functions and measurable program outcomes across all departments resulting in continuously improving service delivery. To help guide our strategi c planning process and ident ify priorities, the County established a cross-departmental Strategic Planning Executive Committee, holds meetings and trainings with planning coordinators, and has worked with outside consultants to provide expert guidance to ensure that each new generation of our strategic plans are better than the last. The County continued its contract with the Studer Group, a nationally recognized and respected firm, to refresh and expand strategic planning investments. The 2026-28 strategic planning process kicked off during the summer of 2025 with teams from across the county participating in facilitator training. An environmental scan, highlighting key data and trends, will be completed during the fall. During the first quarter of 2026, departments will develop strategic plans, including new goals to address issues of countywide concern that were identified during the environmental scan review. The County continues to be a leader in the state by strategically providing high quality services at the lowest possible cost by sharing services, creating public/private partnerships, focusing on collaborative efforts whenever possible, and making investments in key technologies to improve how the County does business. Mission Statement: “The mission of Waukesha County government is to promote the health, safety and quality of life of citizens while fostering an economically vibrant community. We are committed to delivering effective, high quality programs and services in a courteous and fiscally prudent manner.” Vision Statement: “Waukesha County…leading the wa y with quality and value.” Standards of Service Excellence: Teamwork & Collaboration, Innovation, Efficiency & Cost Savings, Communication, Ethics & Diversity, Well-being 59 County-Wide Pillars: The areas in which our strategic plans are focused, supporting the county’s mission and vi sion and providing direction for goals and objectives: 1. Customer Service: High customer satisfaction 2. Quality: High standards of service excellence 3. Team: Best professionals serving the public in the best way 4. Health and Safety: Ensure the well-being of citizens 5. Finance: Protect taxpayer’s investment In addition to statutory requirements and conformance with recognized financial standards, Waukesha County’s commitment to strategic b udgeting requires decisions to be made in conformance with the County’s budget philosophy: • Balance spending with people’s ability to pay • Incorporate citizen and stak eholder involvement • Establish links to strategic planning • Base decisions on measurable objectives • Maintain best budgeting practices (for stable future budgets) • Protect the County’s Aaa/AAA bond ratings Departmental budgets are tied to the Strategic Plan in the following manner: • Budget initiatives are organ ized under County-Wide Pillars • Objectives focus on areas that utilize significant budget resources • Performance measures demonstrate level of achievement, including some over multiple years For reference, please see the examples illustrated below: Quality Pillar: High standards of service excellence Objective: LEAN – Continuous Improvement Implement Waukesha Continuous Improvement (CI) programming encouraging new staff to pursue improvement activities and sustain engagement through training of county employees that are interested in leading a project or participating in a project while obtaining a white, yellow, or green belt. Provide programming that supports other County initiatives to both new a nd experienced employees such as Strategic Planning, Leadership Development and Change Management. Further encourage and develop existing LEAN trained employees to conduct projects or other LEAN-CI activities such as PDSA, 5S, Kaizen Value Stream Mapping or other endeavors that lead to regul ar incremental improvements. Support a training plan that continues white, yellow, and green belt training and incorporates other annual training to build, support and sustain engagement amongst leaders and employees in Conti nuous Improvement. Provide tools to department leaders to track employees’ ideas for improvement and associated activities. 2024 LEAN-CI Initiative Accomplishments: 1. 1 Green Belt participant. 2. 2 “Intro to Lean – Continuous Improvement” classes held. 3. Provided a 3-part Lean series – Understanding How Work is Done, Understanding & Identifying Problems and Understanding Causes & Implementing Quick Solutions. 4. Provided demos of the Lean – Continuous Improvem ent Application that will help departments track their improvement ideas and improvement activities, with that information seamlessly transferring into the overall County’s Lean – CI site. Demos were provided to all County departments’ leadership teams for consideration. 60 WAUKESHA COUNTY PLANNING PROCESSES PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE To plan for the future, Waukesha County continues to engage in a strategic planning process, which focuses on long-term planning and the desire to be a mission driven organization continuously improving its services and operations. The County develops five-year capital projects and debt financing plans. In addition, a five -year operating budget plan is developed, which incorporates key assumptions, significant strategic budget initiatives , and budget drivers. The County has processes to identify and plan for recurring operational needs for the following : Building and Grounds Maintenance, Vehicle and Equipment Replacements, and Technology and Transportation infrastructures. BUDGET BOOK REFERENCE The County’s Strategic P lan is referenced throughout the budget document as part of each department’s strategic plan objectives. These objectives are directly linked to Waukesha County’s Mission Statement. The County’s capital operational equipment replacement facilities , grounds and parks maintenance plans are part of the operating budget document. The specific page references for these plans are included in the table of contents and in the budget index. The specific plans and processes used in the development and management of the county budget are listed in the summary chart below. PLAN TYPE OF PLANNING PROCESS DESCRIPTION OF PROCESS BUDGET IMPACTS Strategic Planning Long range (3 to 10 years) with objectives established for the budget year. The County Executive’s Office coordinates department plans with review by Strategic Planning Executive Committee Allows for the reallocation of resources to pre-determined strategic goals and objectives. Capital Projects Plan Five-year plan that includes project listing by plan year. County Executive submits plan for County Board approval by resolution with possible County Board amendments. Provides a predictable funding level from year to year to allow for the planning of debt service requirements, operating costs of new facilities, and infrastructure improvements. (Capital Projects and Operational Impacts) Operating Budget Financial Forecast Operating five-year forecast to facilitate long term financial planning. DOA Budget Division staff work together with department staff to determine key forecast assumptions to project major revenue sources and expenditures. Provides for budget fiscal sustainability, planning and direction for future action plans of resource allocation, linked to the County’s strategic planning goals. Technology Projects Review Process Multi-year (3 years) technology review process. Department submits projects for review by Technology Review & Steering Committees. Criteria are established to set priorities and make recommendations for funding. Provides a thorough technology review, considers best practices, and cost/benefit criteria. Ranks projects to meet budget priorities over the three-year planning cycle. Further detail on the county budget and operations can be obtained from the Waukesha County website at www.waukeshacounty.gov 61 WAUKESHA COUNTY PLANNING PROCESSES, CONT. PLAN TYPE OF PLANNING PROCESS DESCRIPTION OF PROCESS BUDGET IMPACTS End User Technology Fund (Internal service fund) Multi-year plan to replace computers and network infrastructure. Provides for IT support, maintenance, help desk support, web administration, and Records Management. The DOA Information Systems (Computers) and Records Management (Copiers) maintains computer support, inventories, and approves IT equipment replacements and computer support based on criteria reflective of the cost drivers and return on investment. Allows for the funding of IT equipment replacements, maintenance, service utilization, help desk support, network infrastructure, and web administration annually. Replacement decisions consider changing software technology, economic issues, maintenance costs, and downtime. This is based on IT utilization of IT resources. Building Maintenance Five-year plan by facility and maintenance activity or project. The Public Works Department prioritizes department requests for projects along with known required maintenance. Provides a stable annual level of expenditures to insure continued maintenance of county facilities. (Public Works Section, Five-Year Building Improvement Plan) Parks Maintenance Three-year plan to address County grounds, park facilities, parking lots, roadways, and paths. The Parks and Land Use Department schedule identifies ground maintenance for park facilities projects according to priorities and funding level. Provides for a stable annual level of expenditures to insure the continued maintenance of county grounds. (Parks, Environment, Education and Land Use Section, Three-Year Maintenance Plan) Vehicle/Equip. Replacement (Internal service fund) Multi-year plan to replace most vehicles and contractor type equipment. A Vehicle Replacement Advisory Committee reviews and approves replacement criteria. Allows funding of the replacement of vehicles or major equipment items annually at an established base level. This ensures that the condition of the fleet is at an optimal level, which reduces fleet maintenance and costs of service. (Public Works Section, Vehicle & Equipment Replacement Plan) Sheriff’s Jail Equipment Replacement Five-year plan to replace most jail equipment costing less than $100,000. The Sheriff’s Department submits and updates the replacement plan annually as part of the operating budget. Allows for funding necessary jail equipment replacements efficiently. Sheriff’s Non- Jail Equipment Replacement Five-year plan to replace investigative, patrol, public safety, and tactical equipment costing less than $100,000. The Sheriff’s Department submits and updates the replacement plan annually as part of the operating budget. Allows for finding necessary non- jail equipment replacements efficiently. Highway Improvements Program - Culvert Replacement - Repaving Plan - Bridge Replacement Internal ten-year plan to maintain and improve the County trunk highway system that integrates with the five-year Capital Plan. Public Works staff develops an internal highway improvement program based on Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC)'s Highway Jurisdictional Plan with priorities and criteria. - Replace 1-2 culverts annually. - Resurface approx. 15 to 20 mi. of CTH using pavement mgmt. system with pavement index goal of >70%. Long term planning for highway infrastructure needs, which mitigates future on-going maintenance costs, addresses highway safety issues, and extends the life of highways and bridges. Therefore, delays the need for their reconstruction. 62 WAUKESHA COUNTY FIVE-YEAR FINANCIAL FORECAST The county uses long-range financial planning to project the co st to continue existing programs by using assumptions about economic conditions, potential st rategic objectives, and financial challenges to estimate revenues and expenditures over a five - year period. The five-year forecast also provides dynamic in formation for the planning process and assists in providing direct ion for future actions and planning of resource allocations in a way that links to the county’s strategic planning goals. The five-year financial forecast is developed annually in the early stages of budget development. It includes a review of the prior fiscal year-end results and considers the impacts of various c ounty planning processes. The B udget Division of the Department of Administration works with staff in other departments to determine key financial assumptions to project impacts to future expenditures and major revenue sources. The purpose of utilizing a financial forecast is to identify and determine the extent of actions nec essary to close the gap between revenues and expenditures to ensure long-term fiscal sustainability and to prepare for impacts identified in future years. Belo w is a summary of Waukesha County’s financial outlook as it appeared in the current year’s five-year forecast prior to budget development. Operating Budget Five Year Financial Forecast Summary 2026-2030 Year Revenues Expenditures Gap 2025 Budget $327.6 $327.6 $0.0 2026 Forecast (a) $333.4 $339.8 ($6.4) 2027 Forecast $340.6 $353.5 ($12.9) 2028 Forecast $349.4 $368.9 ($19.5) 2029 Forecast $358.1 $384.7 ($26.6) 2030 Forecast $367.6 $401.6 ($34.0) Operating Budget (in Millions) The forecast applies to all budgeted county funds, except for Capital Projects and Debt Service. Generally, the cost-to-continu e existing services is expected to grow at a faster pace than revenues, producing a gap that grows over time. Most personnel costs were projected to increase 5%-6%, reflecting modest increases in across-the-board salary adjustments to remain competitive in the labor market and the cost of health insurance. Most operating ex penses and interdepartmental charges were projected to increase 3%. The outlook for inflation remains uncertain, but where appropriate, higher growth factors were applie d to cost drivers that exceed general assumptions (e.g., utilities). Most revenues were projected to grow at 2%-3%. This assumes reasonable increases to user fees, partially offset by restrictions se t by state statute on certain charges. This also assumes relatively minimal growth in state/feder al funding for mandated services based on hi storical experience. General tax levy (excluding the library system tax on non-library communities for t heir use of the system), was assumed to grow 1.4% annually. General levy growth is mostly restricted by state statute to t he growth in new construction values, less demolition, which has consistently been less than 2%, and is a majo r factor affecting the forecasted gap. Addi tional information on initial assumptio ns used in the forecast can be found in the 2026 Budget Assumptions page, at the beginning of the Summary section of this book. (a) The 2026 operating budget is balanced at $324.3 million, reflecting the elimination of the gap through expenditure reductions and revenue increases. 63 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICIES Waukesha County's long- and short-term financial policies are derived from various sources including state of Wisconsin statutes, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), and county policies adopted by ordinance and codified in the Waukesha County Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual. Below is a description of the county's current fisca l management policies for revenues, operating expenditures, capital improvements, debt, investments, reserves , and the basis of budgeting and accounting methods. The county budget is balanced as county budgeted expenditures and revenues are equal (including the use of fund balances). Revenue Policy 1. The county relies on property tax as its sole source of local tax revenues to fund state and local programs and services. Property taxes account for about 31% of total revenues. Excluding interdepartmental revenues, which are mostly charges from county internal service funds, property taxes account for about 36% of revenue. Other tax options allowable by statute to counties in clude a 0.5% county sales tax and a local motor vehicle registration fee. Waukesha County has not implemented these other tax options. 2. The county attempts to maintain a diversified and stable revenue stream. The county continues its efforts for greater reliance on true user fee service charges to help offset reductions or minimal growth in federal/state funding and to reduce reliance on property tax revenues. Service fee charges (user fees) are implemented for services that can be individually identified and where costs can be directly related to the level of service provided. The county's budgeting philosophy is to annually review and provide at least nominal inflationary increases on appropriate user fees charges for service to cover increasing costs of providing those services. 3. The county maximizes its return on investment consistent with its investment policy. Investment income is used to reduce reliance on the property tax levy. There is minimal risk of market losses because of the strict adherence to investment and liquidity guidelines. 4. One-time revenues shall not be used to fund continuous operating costs, except to manage a short-term spike in program costs, the phasing of a new or expanded program, making investments that have future payoffs, and to smooth out the impacts of significant state and/or federal funding reductions. 5. Revenue forecasts (estimates) need to document t he methods employed and the underlying assumptions that the revenue projections are based on. Balanced Budget A balanced budget is a budget in which revenues and expenditures are equal. Waukesha County’s budget is balanced, as county budgeted total expenditures are funded by a combination of various external revenue sources (e.g., intergovernmental grants, licenses, fees, or fines), property taxes, and funds available for appropriation in fund balances as identified in the prior year Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. Property Tax Levy Increase Limits Section 66.0602 of Wisconsin Statut es imposes a limit on property tax levies for counties. The statutes allow a county to increase its total property tax levy by the percentage change in growth in equalized value due to net new construction between the previous year and the current year plus an increment for terminated tax incremental districts. The limit includes exemptions for the Bridges Library System tax levy, debt services obligations (including related refinancings and refundings), and a provision to allow for adjustments for consolidated (shared) services as well as services transferred from one unit of government to another. In addition, unused tax levy authority up to a maximum of 1.5% of the prior year levy could be carried forward if authorized by a vote of the County Board. 64 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICIES, CONT. Operating Expenditure Budget 1. State statutes require budgetary control at the tota l expenditure level by agency or department. However, the county’s policy requires more stringent controls. The operating budget control is established for a department's fund budget by appropriation unit category or class of accounts (i.e. personnel costs, operating expenses, interdepartmental charges, and fixed assets) for governmental funds, with the exception of the Tarmann Park Land Acquisition Fund, which has bottom line expenditure co ntrol, and the Special Purpose Grant Fund (i.e., ARPA Fund), which has bottom-line expenditure control at t he project level. For proprietary, capital projects, and debt service funds, total expenditure levels are the control limit. 2. The fixed asset capitalization level is at $5,000 to be consistent with federal and state fixe d asset capitalization levels and to efficiently administer t he asset inventory tracking requirements imposed by Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) pronouncement #34. 3. The County Executive establishes specific departmental operating budget tax levy target guidelines to limit county spending and taxes in budgets presented to the County Board by October 1st of each year. • Departments having enterprise, internal service, and certain non-tax levy supported special revenue funds are expecte d to generate op erat ing revenues suffici ent to offset costs. Internal service fund operations receive no direct tax levy (although department’s that are charged may be levy funded) and are limited to billing rate service charge increases at or near inflationary cost s (with any proposed rate increases based on cost justification). The one e xception is the End User Technology Fund, which absorbed the IT Solutions program that is supported with tax levy and tranferred in from the Department of Administration – General Fund in the 2023 budget. • Departments may receive funding over levy target amounts or cost to continue funding, if these requests are base d on need or specific cost/benefit, or return on investment justifications. 4. The Public Works Department includes a highway pav ement replacement program in the Capital Projects budget. The estimated 15- to 20-year replacement cycle is implemented based on pavement ratings system to address safety concerns and highways with the greatest need of upgrade. 5. A five-year Vehicle/Equipment R eplacement Plan is updated annually to specify the replacement cycle for county vehicles and equipment that meet the required criteria. Adopted by the County Board, the plan reduces year-to-year fluctuations in departments' fixed asset budgets and helps to ensure that the county's vehicles and equipment are replaced before age or usage cause excessive maintenance costs and expensive equipment downtime. A Vehicle/Equipment Replacement Fund was created to implement this plan. Replacement vehicles and equipment are purchased from th is fund, and user departments pay for the asset (and associated insurance coverage) through an annual charge similar to a lease. The county began borrowing for replacement of a portion of vehicles/equipment during 2022, with departmental contributions to the Vehicle/Equipment Replacement Plan funding the subsequent principal payments. (See the Public Works section, Vehicle/Equipment Replacement Fund). 6. The End User Technology Fund (EUTF) has evolved from a similar fund established in the 1996 Budget to provide funding for computer technology maintenance and equipment replacements on a regular schedule. A long-term plan is intended to manage overall costs and the year-to-year variation in budgeting requirements by basing computer and infrastructure replacement and repair decisions on changing technology and just-in-time replacement, maintenance, and other economic issues. 7. Health & Dental Insurance Fund is budgeted in the N on-Departmental functional area as an Internal Service Fund to make the self-insured insurance costs more transparent in the budget. The fund is used to account for all claims and costs filed against and paid by the county’s self-funded insurance, the premiums paid for these plans, and costs associated with the wellness program and an onsite clinic. 65 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICIES, CONT. Operating Expenditure Budget (cont.) 8. The Parks and Land Use department is responsible for the county's Grounds Maintenance and Parks Pavement Management Program. The department has establis hed a three-year Parks maintenance program, which includes continued maintenance of county grounds and park facilities as a priority area within the department's operating budget. The five-year Capital Improvement Plan includes an ongoing Parks Pavement Management Plan project, which funds the pavement rehabilitation on park roads and parking lots and parking lots at other county facilities. 9. The Public Works Department maintains a five-year Building Improvement Plan. The five-year Building Improvement Plan identifies and prioritizes future bui lding improvement projects, including mechanical infrastructure replacements required for proper maintenance of county facilities. The first year of these plans is included in the operating budget, and individual projects are usually less than $100,000. Therefore, the capital budget and related financing is not used to fund these projects. 10. The 2011 budget included the first long-term plan for the Sheriff’s jail equipment replacements, funded with prior-year jail assessment fee revenues and some base budget equipment funding. The 2016 budget included the first non-jail equipment plan, funded with seized funds and General Fund balance. Capital Improvement Plan 1. The county prepares and adopts a five-year capita l improvement plan, which provides comprehensive planning, budget stability, and analysis of the long-range capital needs of the county. The plan describes details of each capital project, estimates the project cost and priorities, identifies funding, provides a cost/benefit or return on investment analysis justification, considers alternatives, and estimates the impacts to the operating budget. 2. A capital project is de fined as an active or proposed non-recurring expenditure in one or more specified plan years, of an amount in excess of $100,000 (including non County funding sources) for a permanent fixed asset (building, land, or technology improvements or equipment installation), which has or extends the useful life of an existing fixed asset, usually in excess of seven years. 3. The Capital Plan maintains emphasis on planning and funding for infrastructure and capital improvements projects, as they are needed rather than reacting to crisis situations. New projects should be requested in the last year of the five-year plan, unless circumstances require a more immediate time frame. County Code Sec 7- 16 (c) requires design and implementation for larger projects to be, at a minimum, in separate calendar years. This project methodology further identifies documentation and justification requirements to support the project from the first year included in the plan to project completi on. Information systems technology projects are required to follow an established technology review process that includes a business case analysis. 4. Operational impacts of capital pr ojects indicate the annual on-going and one-time costs or savings associated with implementing the capital improvement program. The additional on-going impacts are included in the departments’ operating budget requests. This includes providing for additional per sonnel, operating costs, needed fixed assets, or any new/additional revenues to be ac hieved. Cost savings are also identified in the department’s budget if base budget costs can be reduced or cost increases are offset or avoided. Major operating impacts (excluding Debt Service) in the budget are identified in each department’s operating budget, and explained in further detail in the Capital Projects section. Debt Service impacts are also identified in further detail in the Debt Service section. 66 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICIES, CONT. Debt Policy 1. Capital projects are in-part financed through the issuance of general obligation promissory notes. Beginning in 2022, the county began issuing debt for replacement of some vehicle/equipment replacements, with departmental contributions to the Vehicle/Equipment Replacement Plan funding the subsequent principal payments (interest funded with either tax levy or fund balance in the Debt Service Fund). The county’s goal is to borrow less than 80% of the net capital project expenditures (excluding vehicle/equipment replacement). A long-range goal to managing overall debt service is to use annual cash balances from tax levy and governmental fund balance to fund capital projects at a minimum of 20 percent of net capital expenditures. This "down payment," reduces the need to borrow additional funds and manages debt service growth in relationship to the operating budget. This also allows the coun ty to manage the debt service to operating budget expenditures ratio at less than 10% (excluding principal on debt issued for vehicle/equipment replacement that is funded through departmental contributions). The five-year Debt Service Plan is based on net capital expenditures planned in the county's five-year Capital Plan. See Debt Service Activity data for current trends. 2. The county structures its debt borrowing issues with a moderate term of nine to ten years to maintain stable annual debt service pa yments and to avoid major fluctuations between years. • Promissory notes are amortized with larger payments in final years to integrate new debt with existing debt in order to achieve operating budg et stability. Larger payments are structured in later years to take advantage of call provisions of the market rate s when warranted. (See Debt Service Section Requirements page and Projected Debt Service illustration page.) 3. By state statute, the County's debt obligations cannot exceed 5% of the equa liz ed value of all property in the county, including tax increment financing districts. The county has over 97% availability of its statutory debt limit with the planned 2026 debt issue. Reserve Policy 1. The county will maintain unassigned fund balances to prov ide necessary working capital (for at least eight weeks) to avoid cash flow interruptions and short-term borrowing to fund daily operations. These fund balance working capitals amounts are used to generate interest income and to assist in maintaining the county’s Aaa/AAA bond ratings. • The unassigned fund balance to gener al and specia l revenue fund expenditures ratio is maintained at a minimum of 11%. The current target is 15%. • An explanation of the coun ty's fund balance projections for each year-end December 31 is provided in the summary section of the adopted budget document and is published as part of the state mandated budget public notice issued in September or October of the preceding year. 2. There will be no shifting from fund balance reserves to offset continuous on-goin g ope rations, except to phase-in new major service costs, building projec t (one-time) improvements and equipment replacement plans, or to address the phase-out of a significant loss of revenue. To the extent possible, reserves w ill be used to make investments to provide operating efficiencies over the long term. 3. The county's Contingency Fund provides for emergenc ies or other expenditures, which could not have been planned for or anticipated during the budget review process. Contingency Fund transfers are authorized by the Finance Committee (fund transfer) and/or the County Board (by ordinance) as allowed by state law, if the need is of sufficient urgency, and it is not a circumvention of the budget process. 4. When committed, assigned, and unassigned fund balances are av ailable for use, i t is the county’s policy to use committed fund balances first, followed by assigned amounts and then unassigned amounts. Additionally, all spendable, unrestricted revenue amounts in the special revenue funds, Debt Service, and Capital Project Funds are assigned to be used for the purpose for which the fund was established (See “Fund Balance” entry in glossary near end of the book for definitions of the five fund balance classifications). Investments The county has adopted an investment policy with the primary objectives of preservation of capital in the overall portfolio, in order to protect investment principal, to maintain liquidity, and to maximize returns on investment. Investments are primarily limited to U.S. Treasury obligations, government agency securities, taxable municipal (G.O.) bonds, Aa- or Aaa-rated corporate bonds, Aaa-rated money market funds, and the state of Wisconsin Investment Pool. Significant management effort is directed towa rd managing the average and maximum life and duration of securities in the portfolio to ensure that liquidity needs are met. The county’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report complies with Governmental Accounting Standard Board (GASB) Statement 40 regarding disclosure of various investment risks, such as interest rate, custodial, and credit risk. 67 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICIES, CONT. Accounting Policy and Basis of Budgeting 1. The official books and records of the county will be maintained in conformance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America as promulgated by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). 2. The accounting records of the county are maintained on the modified accrual basis of accounting for the General Fund, special revenue funds, Debt Service Funds, Capital Project Funds, and component units. Enterprise funds, internal service funds, and fiduciary funds are maintained with the full accrual basis of accounting. In general, under the modified accrual basis of accounting, revenues are recognized when they become measurable and available as net current asse ts. Expenditures are generally recognized under the modified accrual basis of accounting when the related fund liability is incurred. In addition, the county publishes entity-wide statements prepared on the full accrual basis. Under the full accrual basis of accounting, revenues are recognized when earned, and expenses are recognized when liabilities are incurred or economic asset used without regard to receipt or disbursement of cash. The county’s fiscal year is on a calendar-year basis from January 1 to December 31. An expanded explanation of the county's accounting policies is contained in the Notes to Combined Financial Stat ements in the Annual Comp rehensive Financial Report (ACFR). 3. Budgetary control is maintained by a formal appr opriation and encumbranc e system. The annual budget approved by the County Board is by departmen t appropria tion unit in each fund (with the exception of proprietary funds and the Tarmann Land Acquisition special revenue fund, which are controlled by total expenditure budgets, and capital projects and the S pecial Purpose Grant special revenue fund, which are controlled by project). An appropriation unit is a group of accounts within a department. Types of appropriation units include personnel costs, operating expenses, interdepartmental charges, fixed assets and improvements (capital outlay), and debt service. The appropriation unit within each department and within fund maintains budgetary control. Purchase orders or payment vouchers, which result in an overrun of the appropriation unit, are not released or paid until additional appropriations are made available in accordance with county policy. 4. An appropriation system of internal control will be main tained to provide reas onable, but not absolute, assurance regarding: (1) the safeguarding of assets against loss from unauthorized use or disposition and (2) the reliability of financial records for preparing financia l statements and maintaining accountability for assets. The concept of reasonable assurance recognizes that: (1 ) the cost of control should not exceed the benefits likely to be derived, and (2) the evaluation of cost s and benefits requires estimates and judgments by management. 5. The county budget is adopted as required by state statutes and prepared on substantially the same basis as the financial statem ents. The basis of budgeting is in ac cordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and maintained on modified accrual for all funds other than proprietary funds which are budgeted on a full accrual basis. Budgetary expenditures include encumbrances, and budgetary revenues include all property taxes levied for the fiscal year and unrestricted fund balance appropriations. In addition, proprietary fund budgets do not budget for compensated absences and non-operating gains or losses on disposal of fixed assets. Fixed asset purchases and debt principal repayments in proprietary funds are shown as memo items for budget disclosure purposes to comply with state law. For certain funds with significant outside (i.e. non- county) capital investment, the county budgets only for the portion of depreciation expense proportionate to the county’s contribution. The county does not budget for Ja il Assessment fee revenues in the year they are received, but applies these fee payments on a one-year delayed basis to fund jail capital projects and related debt service, jail equipment replacements, and inmate medical costs. Fiduciary funds - are not included in the budget. The ACFR shows fund expenditures and revenues on both a GAAP basis and budget basis for comparison purposes. 6. County policy, which is in accordance with state and federal requirements, provides for an annual audit of the financial records of the government by a competent ce rtified public accountant. In addition to meeting the requirements set forth above, the audit is designed to meet the requirements of the federal Single Audit Act of 1984 and related U.S. Office of Management and Budget Circular A-133. The independent auditors' report on the general purpose financial statements, individual fund statements, and schedules are included in the financial section of the ACFR. The auditors’ report that is related specifically to the single audit is included in a separately issued single audit report. 7. Full disclosure for bond representation is provided in the county's official sta tement. In order to comply with SEC Rule 15c2-12, the county uses the Electronic M unicipal Market Access (EMMA) continuing disclosure service, which has been designated by the Securities and Exchange Commission as the single repository for municipal bond continuing disclosure. The information is available at www.emma.msrb.org. 68 KEY Operating Budget Process DATES Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Review prior year results/identify potential budget issues. Analyze impact of State budget on County funding/programs. Develop budget assumptions and Internal Service rates for the ensuing year. Department budget targets developed and issued. June Department budget development. Co. Executive seeks public opinion on budget. July Departments submit budget and new position requests. Department Heads present budget requests to Co. Executive. Executive budget prepared. Co. Executive message and budget presented to Co. Board. September Publication of County Board Public Notice. September Finance Committee holds public hearing on Proposed Budget. October Committees review of Co. Executive Proposed Budget. Finance Committee reviews amendments and makes recommendation to Board. Co. Board votes for adoption/amendment of budget. 2nd Tues. in Nov. Co. Executive vetoes (if necessary)- Co. Board action. Budget Monitoring. KEY Capital Budget Process DATES Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec All open projects reviewed; completed projects closed. Project list developed and submitted to departments. Review of open and planned projects. Preliminary consideration of new project requests. Technical reviews of projects. Departments present project plans to Co. Executive. Co. Executive seeks public opinion on budget. July Executive review and decision making. Executive's capital budget and five-year plan developed. Executive presents five-year plan to Co. Board . By Sep. 1 Committees review of five-year capital plan. Finance Committee holds public hearing on proposed budget. October Board adopts/amends capital plan. Capital budget is adopted with operating budget. 2nd Tues. in Nov. Capital and Operating Budget Process 69 CAPITAL AND OPERATING BUDGET PROCESS The annual budget process, under a County Executive form of government, is comprised of the development of both an operating budget and a capital budget with a five-year capital plan. Both processes involve department budget submittals to the County Executive for review and approval. The resulting Executive’s Budget is then presented to the County Board and reviewed by County Board Committees as assigned by the County Board Chairman and as designated in County Code. Standing Committees review the budget and recommend amendments to the County Board. The Executive Committee reviews, prioritizes, and makes recommendations relative to the five-year capital plan for County Board consideration. The County Board considers Committee and individual supervisor amendments and adopts a budget. The County Executive may exercise a line item veto of provisions contained within the County Board adopted budget. The County Board reviews all vetoes and takes action to override or sustain vetoes. The chronological sequence of events followed by the Capital and Operating Budget Processes is as follows: Capital Budget and Fi ve Year Plan Operating Budge t JAN-MAR (1st Qtr) All open projects reviewed; completed projects closed List of current projects developed and submitted to departments Review prior year results/identify potential budget concerns and issues to develop solutions Formulate budget strategies, planning, and update forecast Analyze impact of State Budget on County funding and programs APR-JUNE Review of open and pl anned projects Preliminary consideration of new project requests Technical reviews of project requests by Facilities Management, DOA-Information Systems Division, DOA-Budget Division and Executive’s Office Develop budget assumptions for ensuing year Budget procedures instructions, Internal Service Rates updated and distributed to departments Budget training provided to County Board of Supervisors, department heads, and fiscal staff Departmental budget targets issued Departments submit new position requests JULY-SEP County Executive seeks pu blic opinion Departments present project plans to County Executive Executive review and decision making Executive’s capital budget and five-year capital plan developed and finalized County Executive seeks public opinion Departments submit budget requests DOA-Budget Division staff review and analyze budget requests Department administrators present budget requests to County Executive DOA-Employment Services Division, Budget Office, and Executive’s Office review and recommend new/abolish positions DOA Budget staff make recommendations to Exec. Executive makes budget decisions SEP-OCT Executive presents five-year capital plan to County Board County Board Chairman designates distribution Appropriate Board Committees review and recommend amendments Executive Committee reviews and considers committee recommendations Executive Committee presents resolution to adopt capital plan County Board acts on proposed amendments and adopts capital plan Executive budget prepared County Executive message and budget document presented to County Board Publication of Public Notice Finance Committee holds Public Hearing on Executive’s proposed budget Standing Committee budget reviews Finance Committee budget reviews and consideration of Committee amendments Human Resources Committee reviews and presents ordinance recommending new positions to County Board 70 CAPITAL AND OPERATING BUDGET PROCESS, CONT. Capital Budget and Fi ve Year Plan Operating B udget NOV Capital budget appropri ations are made in conjunction with the adoption of the operating budget County Board agendizes ordinance to adopt budget for second week of November Finance Committee presents ordinances to adopt budget, distributes and recommends budget amendments Standing Committees/Supervisor propose additional budget amendments County Board acts on amendments and adopts budget County Executive reviews budget and may line item veto County Board review/takes action on vetoes Budget Amendment Process The Waukesha County budget process operates pursuant to Section 65.90(5)(a) and (b), Wisconsin Statutes. Any expenditure change which deviates from the original purpose or amount approved in the adopted budget constitutes a “budget change” and must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the entire County Board. Budget changes made under this statutory provision, except for Finance Committee transfers described in #1 and #2 below, require the County to publish a class 1 notice within 10 days after a change is made. Failure to give notice precludes changes in the proposed budget. To amend the budget an ordinance is prepared by the requesting department, reviewed by the Department of Administration and the County Executive. If the County Executive approves the ordinance, it is forwarded to the County Board for action. All such ordinances amending the County Adopted Budget require a two-thirds majority vote of the entire membership (17 votes of County Board). State law also permits county boards to delegate specific budgetary fund transfer authority powers to its finance committee. In Waukesha County, the County Board, in accordance with State Statutes, has empowered the Finance Committee to authorize the following fund transfers: 1. To transfer funds between budgeted items of an individual office, agency or department, if such budgeted items have been separately appropriated. 2. To supplement the appropriation for a particular office, department, or activity by transfers from the contingency fund. Committee transfers shall not exceed the amount set up in the contingency fund and may not exceed 10% of the funds originally appropriated for an individual office, department, or activity. Transfers in excess of 10% must follow the budget amendment process. If a transfer of funds is determined to be necessary and the above two criteria are met, then the requesting department prepares the transfer request and submits it to the DOA-Budget Division for review and a recommendation to the County Executive. If the County Executive approves the request, it is forwarded to the Finance Committee for action. 71 _______________________________________________________________________________ FINANCIAL STRUCTURE ______________________________________________________________________________ Summary Waukesha County (the County) was incorporated in January 1846, and operates in accordance with provisions set forth in Chapter 59 of the Wisconsin State Statutes. The County is governed by a County Board. In April 1991, the County elected its first County Executive to coordinate and direct all administrative and management functions of County government which ar e not vested in other elected officials. The Executive has the authority to propose and veto legi slation, and formulate the County budget and veto in whole or in part the budget adopted by the County Board. A two-thirds vote (17 members) of the Board is required to override each County Executive veto. The County provides many functions and services to citizens, including but not limited to law enforcement, justice administration, health and human services, parks, education and cultural activities, planning, zoning, land use, environmental including water quality, recycling and general administrative services. Other activities the County provides are public works services including highway operations, mass transit, airport and fleet and facilities maintenance. In addition, golf courses, ice arenas, a convention and meeting facility, and grounds are available for citizen use. Fund Accounting Similar to most government entities, the County or ganizes its finances on the basis of funds and account groups. Each fund is considered a separate accounting entity. Operations of individual funds are accounted for with a separate set of accounts that consists of its assets, liabilities, fund equity, revenue and expenditure or expenses, as appropriate. County resources are accounted for in each fund based on the purpose for which they are spent and by which spending activities are controlled. In 2002, the County implemented the new financial reporting mode required by Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 34. In addition to traditional fund reporting, a statement of activities and statement of net assets are prepared on an entity-wide basis. Fund Types Funds are normally classified according to the acc ounting conventions which apply to them. The County presents financi al statements in its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), grouped into three broad fund categories comprised of seven fund types as i ndicated below. Note however, the County does not budget for fiduciary fund types (For more detailed information, see Fund Balance Projections and Fund Descriptions within the Summary.) "GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS" are governed by standards developed specifically for government activities. General Fund -The General Fund is the general operating f und of the County. It is used to account for all financial resources except those required to be accounted for in another fund. Special Revenue Funds - Special Revenue Funds are used to account for the proceeds of specific revenue sources (other than major capital projects) that are legally restricted to expenditures for specified purposes. Debt Service Funds - Debt Service Funds are used to account for the accumulation of resources for, and the payment of, general long-term principal, interest and related costs, but excludes debt serviced by proprietary funds. Capital Projects Funds - Capital Projects Funds are used to account for financial resources which are used for all acquisition or construction of major capital facilities (other than those financed by proprietary funds and trust fund). 72 ______________________________________________________________________________ FINANCIAL STRUCTURE, CONT. _______________________________________________________________________________ "PROPRIETARY FUNDS" are governed by the same accounting standards which apply to private business. Enterprise Funds - Enterprise Funds are used to account for operations (a) that are financed and operated in a manner similar to private business enterprises where the intent of the governing body is that the costs (including depreciation) of providing goods or services to the general public on a continuing basis be financed or recovered primarily through user charges; or (b ) where the governing body has decided that periodic determination of revenues earned, expenses incurred and/or net income is appropriate for capital maintenance, public policy, management control, accountability or other purposes. Internal Service Funds - Internal Service Funds are used to account for the financing of goods or services provided by one department or agency to other departments or agencies of the County or to other governments on a cost reimbursement basis. "FIDUCIARY FUNDS" are agency funds. Note the County does not budget for these funds. Agency Funds - Agency Funds are used to account for assets held by the County in a trustee capacity or as an agent for individuals, private organizations, other governments and/or other funds. Agency Funds are custodial in nature (assets equal liabilities) and do not involve measurement of results of operations. “MAJOR FUNDS” -The County also presents financial statements in its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), grouped by Major and Non-Major fund. A fund is considered major if it is the primary operating fund of the County or meets the following criteria: a) Total assets, liabilities, revenues, or expenditu res/expenses of that individual governmental or enterprise fund are at least 10 percent of the corresponding total for all funds of that category or type, and b) The same element of the individual governmental fund or enterprise fund that met the 10 percent test is at least 5 percent of the corresponding total for all governmental and enterprise funds combined. c) In addition, any other governmental or proprieta ry fund that the County believes is particularly important to financial statement users may be reported as a major fund. The County has six major funds; General, Capital Proj ects, Debt Service, Airport, Radio Services and Materials Recovery Facility. The County’s financial structure and definition of major funds are included in the Budgetary Fund Structure organizational chart on the following page. For more details regarding Basis of Accounting, refer to the County's Year End Comprehensive Annual Report (CAFR) Notes to Combined Financial Statements on the County’s website at http://www.waukeshacounty.gov/Accounting/ 73 GENERAL FUND - The General Fund is the primary operati ng fund of the County. It is used to account for resources traditionally associated with governments, except those required to be accounted for in another fund. SPECIAL PURPOSE FUND – To account for and report financial resources related to the American Rescue Plan Act and other special purpose grants. DEBT SERVICE FUND - The debt service fund is used to account for the accumulation of resources for the payment of general long-term debt principal, interest and service costs. CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND – To account for financial resources used for the acquisition or construction of major capital facilities. MATERIALS RECOVERY FACILITY FUND – To accoun t for the operation and maintenance of the contracted recycling facility. RADIO SERVICES FUND – To account for the operation and maintenance of the County radio system, located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. AIRPORT OPERATIONS FUND – A proprietary fund that accounts for the operation and maintenance of the County airport facilities and runways, located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Waukesha County Budgetary Funds General Fund (Major Fund- See Description) Capital Projects Fund (Major Fund- See Description) Debt Service Fund (Major Fund- See Description) Special Revenue Funds Enterprise Funds Internal Service Funds End User Technology Vehicle/ Equipment Replacement Central Fleet Maintenance Risk Management Collection Management Radio Services (Major Fund-See Description) Golf Course Ice Arena Materials Recovery Facility (Major Fund-See Description) Health and Human Services - Aging and Disability Resource Center Grant Fund Community Development Transportation Tarmann Parkland Acquisition Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act County Library Fund Proprietary FundsGovernmental Funds Health and Dental Insurance Department of Public Works – Airport Operations Fund (Major Fund-See Description) Component Unit Bridges Federated Library Funds American Job Center Special Purpose Grant Fun ds 74 GENERAL FUND 2026 Expenditure Budget 2026 Tax Levy The General Fund is the largest single county fund. It is the primary operating fund of the county. It accounts for all revenues that are not required to be processed through another fund. Nearly half of General Fund revenue is received from taxes, but it also receives fines, fees, intergovernmental revenues, interest earnings, and other revenues. TOTAL GENERAL FUND $225,929,067 $95,649,830 SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS Special revenue funds are used to account for the proceeds from specific revenue sources (other than expendable trust or major capital projects) that are legally restricted to expenditures for specific purposes. HHS - Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) Contract Fund To account for special revenue (federal/state) funds needed to provide older adults and individuals with disabilities age 18 and above, and their families, services with information, referral, assistance, long-term care financial and functional eligibility, long-term care options counseling, short-term case management, elderly and disability benefits counseling, prevention, early intervention, health promotion, outreach/marketing, advocacy, and emergency referrals and services related to aging or living with a disability. $4,370,986 $0 Transportation Fund To account for funds needed to provide all services on the county trunk highway system and selected non- county roads, including: planning, designing, maintenance, and construction and to account for state funds provided on a reimbursement basis for performing maintenance and repair on other projects as specified on all state trunk highways within the County. To account for state, federal, and local funds used to provide transit bus services to selected areas of the County. $18,639,257 $3,917,339 County Library Fund This fund is for the special levy that charges residents that live in non-library (True Non-Resident – TNR) communities for borrowing privileges at any of the sixteen public libraries in the County as well as libraries in adjacent counties. $4,757,017 $4,757,017 Community Development Fund To account for federal funds to provide to other governmental units or nonprofit organizations that aid low- to moderate-income and other disadvantaged persons. $3,320,402 $0 American Job Center Fund To account for funds to operate a one-stop operator location for the integration of employment, training, education and economic development services for job seekers, workers and employers. $74,300 $0 Walter J. Tarmann Parkland Acquisition Fund To account for funds provided to acquire parkland and natural areas as identified in the Waukesha County Park and Open Space Plan. $400,000 $0 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Fund To account for federal funds to support staff and contracted services that assist job seekers to access employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the labor market and to match employers with the skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy. $2,643,787 $12,500 Special Purpose Grant Fund (ARPA Fund) In March of 2021, the federal government approved legislation authorizing and funding the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocating $350 billion of direct aid to state and local governments through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF) program. Waukesha C ounty’s CSLFRF allocation is $78.5 million and allows for program costs to be spent or obligated by December 31, 2024 and completed by December 31, 2026. Permis sible uses of the grant funding include supporting public health; responding to negative economic impacts from the public health emergency; providing premium pay for essential workers; investing in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure; and supporting general county government services and infrastructure by offsetting revenue loss due to the pandemic. The Speci al Purpose Grant Fund was established to more readily track and manage resources allocated to the county through ARPA-CSLFRF (enrolled ordinance 176-46). The county will budget for specific items in this special revenue fund on a project basis, with budget authority controlled at the bottom-line expenditure level. Note: This fund is being used to account only for ARPA-CSLFRF grant funds. The American Rescue Plan Act allocates additional funding for specific purposes (e.g., Emergency Rental Assistance), in addition to the CSLFRF, which will be accounted for in departmental budgets. $0 $0 SPECIAL REVENUE FUND TOTALS $34,205,749 $8,686,856 FUND DESCRIPTIONS 75 FUND DESCRIPTIONS 2026 Expenditure Budget 2026 Tax Levy COMPONENT UNIT Bridges Library System Funds To account for funds provided to maintain a member library system. $3,290,105 $0 INTERNAL SERVICE FUNDS Internal Service funds account for the financing of goods or services provided by one department or agency to other departments or agencies of the County or to other governments on a cost-reimbursement basis. End User Technology Fund To finance the common technology infrastructure for county users. The fund is managed on a total cost of ownership basis, and is designed to identify the services provided and resources required by the Information Systems staff to support end user departments. To account for the costs associated with the operation and maintenance of the county's central imaging, microfilming, records management services, and mail room services. Costs are billed to user departments based on a time and material cost basis. $11,488,881 $1,567,391 Vehicle/Equipment Replacement Fund To account for the costs associated with the financing of vehicle/equipment replacements when the individual item's cost equals or exceeds $7,500, and has a useful life of two or more years. Costs are billed to user departments based on the depreciable life of the asset. $3,793,904 $0 Central Fleet Maintenance Fund To account for the costs associated with the maintenance, repairs, and centralized fueling of all county- owned motorized equipment. Costs are billed to user departments based on work orders, time, and material costs. $4,666,262 $0 Risk Management Fund To account for the costs associated with loss control, the investigation and payment of employee claims, claims administration, and the transfer of risk to third parties through purchased insurance coverage. Costs are allocated to other county departments mostly on a claims experience/exposure basis, except for special insurance coverage, which are charged based on actual costs. This fund also accounts for funds invested in the Wisconsin Municipal Mutual Insurance Company (WMMIC). The county, together with certain other units of government within the state of Wisconsin, created WMMIC to provide general and police professional liability, errors and omissions, and vehicle liability coverage for counties or cities in Wisconsin. $4,127,598 $0 Collection Management Fund To account for the costs associated with county-wide delinquent account collection activity. Costs are allocated to other county departments based on costs of services provided. $1,310,166 $0 Health and Dental Insurance Fund The Health Insurance Fund is an interest-bearing internal service fund established to provide for and effectively manage the health and dental benefits for county employees, elected officials, retirees, and dependents. The fund also accounts for a wellness program and on-site clinic. $26,894,400 $0 INTERNAL SERVICE FUND TOTALS $52,281,211 $1,567,391 76 FUND DESCRIPTIONS ENTERPRISE FUNDS 2026 Expenditure Budget 2026 Tax Levy Enterprise funds are used to account for operations (1) that are financed and operated in a manner similar to private business enterprises, where the intent of the governing body is that the costs (expenses, including depreciation) of providing goods or services to the general public on a continuing basis be financed or recovered primarily through user charges; or (2) where the governing body has decided that periodic determination of revenues earned, expenses incurred, and/or net income is appropriate for capital maintenance, public policy, management control, accountability, or other purposes. Radio Service Fund To account for operations and maintenance of County-wide radio services. Customers are billed on a fee for service basis. $2,198,869 $0 Golf Courses Fund To account for operations and maintenance of the two county golf courses. $2,691,452 $0 Ice Arenas Fund To account for operations and maintenance of the two county ice arenas. $1,569,474 $0 Department of Public Works - Airport Operations Fund To account for department of Public Works Airport operations and development of the county airport. $1,615,264 $0 Materials Recycling Facility Fund To account for operations and maintenance in the processing and marketing of recyclable materials collected from municipalities within the county program. $2,778,861 $0 ENTERPRISE FUND TOTALS $10,853,920 $0 DEBT SERVICE FUNDS Debt service funds are used to account for the accumulation of resources for the payment of general long- term debt principal, interest, and services costs (excludes debt services budgeted in internal service and enterprise funds). For further detailed information, see Debt Service Section. TOTAL DEBT SERVICE FUNDS $18,942,965 $15,503,228 CAPITAL PROJECTS FUNDS All capital project funds used to account for financial resources used for the acquisition or construction of major capital facilities. TOTAL CAPITAL PROJECTS FUNDS $45,966,400 $957,465 TOTAL ALL FUNDS $391,469,417 $122,364,770 77 THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK 78 Justice & Public Safety 79 ___________________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY ____________________________________________________________________________ Justice and Public Safety Functional Area .......................................................................81 Emergency Preparedness All Funds ....................................................................................................................89 Fund: General ...........................................................................................................90 Fund: Radio Services ................................................................................................97 District Attorney Fund: General ..........................................................................................................105 Circuit Court Services Fund: General ...........................................................................................................115 Medical Examiner Fund: General ...........................................................................................................129 Sheriff Fund: General ...........................................................................................................137 80 JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY Functional Area Budget Highlights The budgets within this functional area provide local law enforcement, corrections, support to state and county court operations and legal services, as well as emergency response and emergency communications. The Department of Emergency Preparedness includes the Communication Center operations, which provide emergency dispatch services for county departments including the Sheriff’s Department and 34 municipalities that agreed to join in the collaborative service venture. Emergency Management coordinates all the disaster-related planning, training of local officials, response activities and recovery efforts . Radio Service operations maintain the c ounty’s radio communication infrastructure. The District Attorney staff prosecutes state and local violations of law and provides services to crime victims through the Victim/Witness program. For administration and budgetary purposes, the Register in Probate, Juvenile Court, Court Commissioner, and Family Court Services budgets are merged with the Clerk of Courts’ operating budget under an umbrella agency known as Circuit Court Services. The Clerk of Courts Office provides administrative support for the state and local court system within Waukesha County, including civil, family, and criminal and traffic courts. The Juvenile/Probate Court and Court Commissioner functions assist court operations in their specific areas and operate Family Court Services. The Medical Examiner's Office investigates deaths in Waukesha County as mandated by Wisconsin s tate statutes to ensure the safety, health, and general welfare of the community and provides contracted autopsy services to Washington and Kenosha (limited to pediatric autopsies) counties. The Sheriff’s Department provides patrol, investigation, and specialized law enforcement services to the entire county. Courtroom security and transportation are provided to court -supported operations through interdepartmental agreements. The department also operates the county jail for prisoners awaiting trial and those serving jail terms of less than one year and an electronic monitoring program. Not incl uded in this functional area are Justice and Public Safety related capital projects (see Capital Projects Section) and technology replacements in the End User Technology Fund in the General Administration Functional Area. $78.08 $82.39 $85.42 $40.48 $29.96 $31.31 $49.17 $52.71 $54.41 $0 $10 $20 $30 $40 $50 $60 $70 $80 $90 2024 Actual 2025 Budget 2026 Budget $ in Millions Expenditures Revenues County Tax Levy The 2026 ex penditure budget for this functional area totals $85.4 million after excluding fund capitalization fixed asset items. This represents an increase of $3.02 million, or 3.7%, from the 2025 adopted budget. Revenues, including fund balance in the 2026 budget total $31.1 million, an increase of $1,343,700, or 4.5% from the 2025 budget. The county tax levy necessary to fund this functional area totals $54.4 million, an increase of $1.7 million, or 3.2%, from the 2025 budget. 81 JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY Functional Area Summary by Agency FY2024 FY2025 FY2025 FY2026 Change from 2025 Adopted Budget Financial Summary Actual Adopted Budget Estimate Budget $ % TOTAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY Revenue $28,089,493 $26,354,604 $26,987,686 $27,803,518 $1,448,914 5.5% Fund Balance (a) $2,385,654 $3,608,526 $4,062,057 $3,613,292 $4,766 0.1% County Tax Levy / (Credit) $49,167,928 $52,714,858 $52,714,858 $54,409,396 $1,694,538 3.2% Expenditures (b) $78,075,113 $82,393,552 $82,867,243 $85,533,230 $3,139,678 3.8% Rev. Over (Under) Exp. $1,227,746 $0 $556,287 $0 $0 N/A Oper Income/(Loss) (c) $340,216 $284,436 $341,071 $292,976 $8,540 3.0% BREAKDOWN BY AGENCY EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS Revenue $2,900,543 $2,636,534 $3,036,201 $2,708,386 $71,852 2.7% Fund Balance (a) $896,052 $1,237,452 $1,282,354 $925,134 -$312,318 -25.2% County Tax Levy / (Credit) $6,960,608 $7,410,608 $7,410,608 $7,590,608 $180,000 2.4% Expenditures (b) $10,088,718 $11,000,158 $11,381,054 $10,931,152 -$69,006 -0.6% Rev. Over (Under) Exp. $328,268 $0 $7,038 $0 $0 N/A Oper Income/(Loss) (c) $340,216 $284,436 $341,071 $292,976 $8,540 3.0% DISTRICT ATTORNEY Revenue $1,615,968 $900,656 $920,098 $858,392 -$42,264 -4.7% Fund Balance (a) $77,368 $168,150 $168,150 $176,150 $8,000 4.8% County Tax Levy / (Credit) $2,296,790 $2,396,790 $2,396,790 $2,466,790 $70,000 2.9% Expenditures $3,880,987 $3,465,596 $3,453,367 $3,501,332 $35,736 1.0% Rev. Over (Under) Exp. $109,139 $0 $31,671 $0 $0 N/A CIRCUIT COURT SERVICES Revenue $5,188,641 $5,043,947 $5,291,881 $5,691,517 $647,570 12.8% Fund Balance (a) $35,000 $0 $0 $0 $0 N/A County Tax Levy / (Credit) $6,049,798 $6,149,798 $6,149,798 $5,956,286 -$193,512 -3.1% Expenditures $10,766,836 $11,193,745 $10,978,654 $11,647,803 $454,058 4.1% Rev. Over (Under) Exp. $506,603 $0 $463,025 $0 $0 N/A MEDICAL EXAMINER Revenue $1,382,261 $1,299,179 $1,362,642 $1,392,553 $93,374 7.2% Fund Balance (a) $36,000 $135,602 $313,602 $496,352 $360,750 266.0% County Tax Levy / (Credit) $1,418,213 $1,483,213 $1,483,213 $1,600,213 $117,000 7.9% Expenditures $2,796,316 $2,917,994 $3,142,882 $3,489,118 $571,124 19.6% Rev. Over (Under) Exp. $40,158 $0 $16,575 $0 $0 N/A SHERIFF Revenue $17,002,080 $16,725,783 $16,628,359 $17,411,710 $685,927 4.1% Fund Balance (a) $1,341,234 $1,815,827 $2,046,456 $1,756,616 -$59,211 -3.3% County Tax Levy / (Credit) $32,442,519 $35,274,449 $35,274,449 $36,795,499 $1,521,050 4.3% Expenditures $50,542,256 $53,816,059 $53,911,286 $55,963,825 $2,147,766 4.0% Rev. Over (Under) Exp. $243,578 $0 $37,978 $0 $0 N/A (a) Appropriated fund balance usage includes (see department budget pages for more detail): Fund balance appropriation 2024 Actual 2025 Budget 2025 Estimate 2026 Budget $72,695 $454,153 $467,270 $48,360 $823,357 $783,299 $815,084 $876,774 $77,368 $168,150 $168,150 $176,150 $35,000 $0 $0 $0 $36,000 $135,602 $313,602 $496,352 $1,341,234 $1,815,827 $2,046,456 $1,756,616 TOTAL FUND BALANCE APPROPRIATION $2,385,654 $3,357,031 $3,810,562 $3,354,252 (c) Operating income amounts generated from enterprise fund operations are retained in fund balance and do not result in a reduction of Tax Levy funding for other operations. (b) To conform with financial accounting standards, proprietary fund expenditures exclude fixed asset expenditures, debt service principal payments and proprietary fund retained earnings. District Attorney Opioid settlement funding and courthouse facility dog donations Department Emergency Preparedness - General Fund Phase-in costs, equipment replacements, and purchase orders and carryovers from prior year Emergency Preparedness - Radio Services Fund Radio operations depreciation and phase-in of new software support charges Circuit Court Services Equipment replacement plan and temporary extra help Medical Examiner Phase-in costs, opioid settlement funding, and one time radio replacement contribution Sheriff Reserved fund balance, equipment replacement programs, correctional officer positions, and jail medical contracts 82 JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY Functional Area Budget Highlights Signifi cant program and funding changes to the 2026 Budget include the following: • Emergency Preparedness – General Fund includes $597,600 of supplemental state Shared Revenue, unchanged from the 2025 budget. Fund balance usage decreases $405,800 to $48,400, due to a one-time CAD upgrade project in 2025 not being repeated in 2026. There is a $14,000 increase in municipal charges for services to cover the for costs to continue for computer aided dispatch (CAD) and related systems operations and support charges. Total expenditures decrease $212,300 or 2.4%. Personnel costs increase $84,400 due to cost to continue but is offset by the unfunding of 0.60 FTE Programs and Projects Analyst and a decrease of 0.54 FTE of overtime for telecommunicators. There is an $100,000 increase in operating expenses due an $87,900 budget increase for software, which includes $30,500 for CAD, $15,000 to continue payroll through the previous vendor, $13,400 for software to track the locations of opioid overdose kits, and other maintenance costs increases. Internet and communication costs increase $13,400. Fixed assets decrease $419,200 due to not repeating the CAD upgrade project in 2026 (mentioned above). • Emergency Preparedness – Radio Services increases the appropriated Radio Services Fund balance by about $93,500 to $876,800, mostly to offset an increase in depreciation. Charges for services increase $38,700 due to increased municipal charges of $34,300 and cell tower leasing revenue increases of $5,100. Personnel costs decrease by $11,100 mainly due to unfunding 0.40 FTE of a programs and projects analyst previously budgeted in this fund. Operating expenses increase $149,700 mainly due to an increase in depreciation based on radio replacements during 2025 and anticipated equipment replacements in 2026. Fixed asset memo items include $110,250 for remote terminal unit replacements and $50,000 for unanticipated equipment replacement. • Sheriff expenditures increase $2.1 million, or 4.0%, to $56.0 million. Personnel increases $1,622,700 or 4.0% to $42.4 million, primarily due to cost to continue. The budget includes the current year increase of 2.00 FTE Deputy Sheriffs (School Resource Officers) that have sunset provisions and are funded through their respective school districts. Tax levy allocated to this department increases $1.5 million or 4.3%. • The Sheriff’s revenue budget includes State Shared Revenues of $2,565,200, or an increase of $120,000 from the 2025 budget. • Fund balance decreases by $51,700 to $2,015,700, and includes the phase-in of costs for non-elected sworn officer retention efforts ($ 450,000), the implementation of an electronic monitoring program ($535,900), jail assessment fees for the jail equipment replacement plan and a portion of jail medical contract expenses ($241,000), General Fund balance to offset inmate medical costs ($44,000), the non-corrections equipment replacement program ($ 198,300), seized funds mostly for non- corrections replacement program expenses ($157,400), and variations in the jail medical contract ($60,000), offsetting higher risk management charges ($60,000), and the annual bullet proof vest replacement program ($10,000) . Opioid funds of $259,000 are included in fund balance to offset the costs of a Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) nurse within the jail. • An expanded Electronic Monitoring program began in June 2024 when the Sheriff’s Department ended Huber facility operations. This expense is budgeted at $600,500 in 2026. • Inmate Medical services are budgeted to decrease by $1,500 to $3,914,100 after the new contract for medical services was finalized. • Fuel decreases $27,300 due to a lower assumed price per gallon of gas in 2026 compared to 2025. • Municipal Charges for Police Services increase $690,600 or 8.7% to $8.73 million mainly due to the addition of 2.00 FTE Deputy Sheriffs as School Resource Officers and an increase in municipal patrol contract and school resource officer contract revenue for the cost to continue. • Jail Prisoner Board Revenues decrease $10,200 to $659,000. The department is budgeting for 16 inmates per day from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, which is the same assumption in the 2025 budget. Revenues related to Electronic Monitoring decrease by $69,500 due to a reduction in the budgeted number of inmates. 83 JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY Functional Area Budget Highlights • The Sheriff’s budget includes non-corrections equipment of $353,700 for the equipment replacement plan. This plan is funded with $155,400 of prior year seized fund revenues (assigned General Fund balance) and $193,300 of General Fund balance. The jail equipment replacement plan increases by $62,300 in 2026 to $187,300, funded with prior-year jail assessment fees (assigned General Fund balance). • Circuit Court Services expenditures increase $454,100 or 4.1%. Personnel costs increase $353,200 or 4.8% for cost to continue. Operating costs decrease $28,700 partly due to the discontinuation of hard copy versions of the law library. General government revenues increase by $ 667,600 or 26.6%, primarily due to additional state funding for the Circuit Court support grant of $573,500 . IV-D revenues from the State of Wisconsin for expenses within the Family Division also increase $32,900, and within the Court Commissioners by $61,200. • The District Attorney’s General Fund expenditures increases $35,700 mostly due to the cost to continue and the creation of a 0.50 FTE Victim/Witness Specialist. This is partially offset by $125,000 in expenses associated with the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) grant that is eliminated as the grant funding ends in 2025. In revenues, tax levy increases by $70,000. General government revenues decrease $65,800 mostly related to a $125,000 decrease in Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reflecting the ending of the grant funding. The state Victim Witness reimbursement rate is budgeted to increase from 50% in 2025 to about 55% in 2026, and increase revenues by $59,200. The District Attorney’s office was allocated $168,000 in opioid settlement revenues due to the department’s involvement with drug-overdose related cases, as well as providing resource for families and victims effected by the opioid epidemic. • The Medical Examiner’s Office non-levy revenues increase $454,100, largely due to an increase of $360,750 in fund balance, mostly to support phasing in an associate medical examiner position created during 2025, and $116,500 of increased cremation permit fee revenues. Tax levy increases by $ 117,000. In expenditures, personnel costs increase $402,300 or 17.1%, due to the cost to continue for 16.00 FTE staff and the addition of 1.00 FTE associate medical examiner position. Personnel costs also include $110,000 additional expenses, supported with General Fund balance, to cover uncertain impacts of staffing changes (e.g., retirements). The budget includes 0. 44 FTE in overtime (a decrease of 0.06 FTE) and 0.70 FTE in temporary extra help (a decrease of 0.29 FTE) for deputy medical examiners. Operating expenses increase $36,400 due to increasing costs for replacing inventory in the morgue, staff training, and rising medical services costs that include toxicology and x-rays. • The Criminal Justice Collaborating Council (CJCC--see table of contents, Health and Human Services Functional Area Section) with participation from the Sheriff, District Attorney and Courts management personnel continues to carry out targeted programs, projects and special studies to recommend and implement comprehensive changes aimed at reducing jail inmate recidivism, controlling jail inmate population growth, and reducing the number of jail days inmates serve to help control variable jail costs. 84 2025 2025 2024 Adopted Modified 2026 25-26 Agency Fund Year End Budget Budget Budget Change EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS General 60.30 58.30 58.30 57.70 (0.60) Radio Services 5.70 5.70 5.70 5.30 -0.40 Subtotal 66.00 64.00 64.00 63.00 (1.00) DISTRICT ATTORNEY General 36.53 32.15 32.15 32.65 0.50 Special Purpose Grant Fund (ARPA) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Subtotal 36.53 32.15 32.15 32.65 0.50 CIRCUIT COURT SERVICES General 81.00 81.00 81.00 81.00 0.00 Special Purpose Grant Fund (ARPA) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Subtotal 81.00 81.00 81.00 81.00 0.00 MEDICAL EXAMINER General 16.00 16.00 17.00 17.00 1.00 SHERIFF General 352.50 350.50 352.50 352.50 2.00 TOTAL REGULAR POSITIONS 552.03 543.65 546.65 546.15 2.50 TOTAL EXTRA HELP 8.68 8.86 8.86 8.57 (0.29) TOTAL OVERTIME 17.16 17.43 17.43 17.59 0.16 TOTAL BUDGETED POSITIONS 577.87 569.94 572.94 572.31 2.37 2026 BUDGET ACTIONS Emergency Preparedness-General Unfund: 0.60 FTE Programs and Projects Analyst Decrease: 0.54 FTE Overtime Emergency Preparedness-Radio Services Fund Unfund: 0.40 FTE Programs and Projects Analyst Decrease: 0.03 FTE Overtime District Attorney Reclassify: 1.00 FTE Victim Witness Counselor to Paralegal Create: 0.50 FTE Victim Witness Specialist Circuit Court Services Decrease: 0.01 FTE Extra Help Decrease: 0.16 FTE Overtime Medical Examiner Create: 1.00 FTE Deputy Medical Examiner / Path. Assistant Create: 1.00 FTE Associate Medical Examiner Sunset: 1.00 FTE Deputy Medical Examiner / Path. Assistant Sunset: 1.00 FTE Associate Medical Examiner Decrease: 0.29 FTE Extra Help Decrease: 0.06 FTE Overtime Sheriff Reclassify: 1.00 FTE Support Staff Supervisor to Office Services Coordinator Increase: 0.95 FTE Overtime 2025 CURRENT YEAR ACTIONS Medical Examiner Create: 1.00 FTE Associate Medical Examiner Sheriff Create: 2.00 FTE Deputy Sheriff (Sunst) Refund: 1.00 FTE Administrative Specialist Unfund: 1.00 FTE Administrative Assistant BUDGETED POSITIONS 2024-2026 SUMMARY BY AGENCY AND FUND JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY 85 THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK 86 Emergency Preparedness 87 Emergency Preparedness Radio Services Emergency Planning EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FUNCTION / PROGRAM CHART 1. Position counts stated in terms of budgeted full time equivalent positions (FTE) includes extra help and overtime. 2. See Stats/Trends Section for position detail. Communications General Radio Operations 5.33 Communication Center 58.79 Emergency Management 3.00 67.12 TOTAL FTE'S Equipment Replacement 0.00 88 All Funds Emergency Preparedness Statement of Purpose/Summary Statement of Purpose It is the mission of the Department of Emergency Preparedness to ensure that county and local governments have emergency response plans in place with information -sharing capabilities to quickly respond to all types of disasters, personal safety, and security situations. The essence of the mission is to provide a comprehensive emergency management system with public safety telecommunications and information technologies to ensure that emergency service personnel can provide the highest level of response in a timely and efficient manner. FY2024 FY2025 FY2025 FY2026 Financial Summary Actual Adopted Budget Estimate Budget $ % General Fund Revenues $1,396,982 $1,079,866 $1,479,320 $1,093,315 $13,449 1.2% Fund Balance Appropriation $72,695 $454,153 $467,270 $48,360 $4,635 1.0% County Tax Levy $6,960,608 $7,410,608 $7,410,608 $7,590,608 $180,000 2.4% Expenditures $8,102,017 $8,944,627 $9,350,160 $8,732,283 ($212,344) -2.4% Rev. Over (Under) Exp. $328,268 $0 $7,038 $0 $0 N/A Radio Services Fund Revenues $1,503,560 $1,556,668 $1,556,881 $1,615,071 $58,403 3.8% Fund Balance Appropriation $823,357 $783,299 $815,084 $876,774 $70,506 9.0% County Tax Levy $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 N/A Expenditures $1,986,701 $2,055,531 $2,030,894 $2,198,869 $143,338 7.0% Operating Inc. / (Loss) $340,216 $284,436 $341,071 $292,976 $8,540 3.0% Total All Funds Revenues $2,900,543 $2,636,534 $3,036,201 $2,708,386 $71,852 2.7% Fund Balance Appropriation $896,052 $1,237,452 $1,282,354 $925,134 ($312,318) -25.2% County Tax Levy $6,960,608 $7,410,608 $7,410,608 $7,590,608 $180,000 2.4% Expenditures $10,088,718 $11,000,158 $11,381,054 $10,931,152 ($69,006) -0.6% Rev. Over (Under) Exp. $328,268 $0 $7,038 $0 $0 N/A Operating Inc. / (Loss) $340,216 $284,436 $341,071 $292,976 $8,540 3.0% Position Summary (FTE) Regular Positions 66.00 64.00 64.00 63.00 (1.00) -1.6% Extra Help - - - - - N/A Overtime 4.67 4.69 4.69 4.12 (0.57) -12.1% Total 70.67 68.69 68.69 67.12 (1.57) -2.3% Change from FY2025 Adopted Budget (a) General Fund balance is budgeted as follows: 2026: $48,360, 2025: $454,153, 2024: $35,000 (b) Radio Services Fund balance is appropriated as follows: 2026: $871,500, 2025: $765,300, 2024: $817,800 to partially cover depreciation expenses of federally funded capitalized assets , recovery of lost revenue from Radio Core hosting, and unanticipated equipment replacement. 89 General Fund Emergency Preparedness Objectives Fund Purpose To provide reliable and efficient emergency call -taking and dispatching services, training, and administrative support for municipal and county police, fire, emergency medical service, and public works agencies throughout the C ounty. Effectively and efficiently process information to assist citizens and responding agencies. Support the operation of an emergency communication center serving as the critical link between customers in n eed and resources to help. The Waukesha C ounty Communication Center operates in 34 municipalities that includes cities, villages, and towns, as well as c ounty-wide for the Sheriff’s Department. Develop and implement a comprehensive and integrated emergency management program designed to mitigate, prepare for, respond to , and recover from the effects of natural and technological hazards , which impact the health, safety, and general welfare of all Waukesha County residents; and to implement and administer the planning and reporting requirements for hazardous substances used by business, industry , and government (Emergency Planning and Community Right -to-Know Act [EPCRA]). The department is also r esponsible for business c ontinuity planning, training, and related exercises for County departments. FY2024 FY2025 FY2025 FY2026 Change from FY2025 Adopted Budget Financial Summary Actual Adopted Budget Estimate (b) Budget $ % Revenues General Government $1,165,940 $854,873 $1,261,865 $854,343 ($530) -0.1% Fine/Licenses $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 N/A Charges for Services $211,091 $217,205 $217,205 $231,184 $13,979 6.4% Interdepartmental $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 N/A Other Revenue $19,951 $7,788 $250 $7,788 $0 0.0% Appr. Fund Balance (a) $72,695 $454,153 $467,270 $48,360 ($405,793) -89.4% County Tax Levy (Credit) $6,960,608 $7,410,608 $7,410,608 $7,590,608 $180,000 2.4% Total Revenue Sources $8,430,285 $8,944,627 $9,357,198 $8,732,283 ($212,344) -2.4% Expenditures Personnel Costs $6,304,946 $6,643,374 $6,577,698 $6,727,817 $84,443 1.3% Operating Expenses $1,083,001 $1,317,322 $1,788,581 $1,427,338 $110,016 8.4% Interdept. Charges $548,268 $564,778 $564,728 $577,128 $12,350 2.2% Fixed Assets $165,802 $419,153 $419,153 $0 ($419,153) -100.0% Total Expenditures $8,102,017 $8,944,627 $9,350,160 $8,732,283 ($212,344) -2.4% Rev. Over (Under) Exp. $328,268 $0 $7,038 $0 $0 N/A Position Summary (FTE) Regular Positions 60.30 58.30 58.30 57.70 (0.60) Extra Help 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Overtime 4.63 4.63 4.63 4.09 (0.54) Total FTEs 64.93 62.93 62.93 61.79 (1.14) (a) Appropriated fund balance includes: Description 2024 Actual 2025 Budget 2025 Est. 2026 Budget Change Unanticipated Emerg. Equipment Replacement needs $35,000 $35,000 $35,000 $35,000 $0 Purchase Orders and Carryovers from the prior year $37,695 $0 $1,303 $0 $0 Fund Balance for upfront NG911 Grant $0 $0 $430,967 $0 $0 Opioid Settlement - Pulsepoint $0 $0 $0 $13,360 $13,360 CAD Systems Upgrade $0 $419,153 $0 $0 ($419,153) Total Fund Balance Appropriation $72,695 $454,153 $467,270 $48,360 ($405,793) (b) Expenses exceed budget due to ordinances and carryovers. 90 General Fund Emergency Preparedness Objectives Major Departmental Strategic Plan Objectives Health and Safety Pillar: Ensure the well-being of residents Objective 1: Meet NENA-STA-020.1-2020 Meet and exceed the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) Standard 020.1 -2020, which states that 90% of emergency calls be answered within 15 seconds and 99% within 40 seconds to improve response time and dispatch calls in a timely manner. The percentage of emergency calls that will be answered within 15 seconds and 40 seconds to meet the NENA standards: 2024 2025 2025 2026 Performance Measures: Actual Target YTD Target Answer call within 15 seconds 99% 90% 100% 90% Answer call within 40 seconds 100% 99% 100% 99% Objective 2: Meet APCO Call Processing Standards Meet or exceed the APCO American Standard 1.113.2 -2024 for call processing for fire and medical calls for service. These numbers are based on 100% of all Pre-Alert Fire event types (as determined by fire department partners). A. Call Answer to Entry : The APCO standard states that 90% of calls for service shall be processed within 60 seconds. WCC telecommunicators utilizing enhanced dispatching tools and work flows, US Digital Design Alerting System , and Pre-Alert implementation, are currently meeting and exceeding expectations in this standard. 2024 2025 2025 2026 Performance Measures: Actual Target Estimate Target Fire Call Entry (60 seconds) 90% 90% 90% 90% EMS Call Entry (60 seconds) 90% 90% 90% 90% B. Call Entry to Dispatch : The APCO standard states that 90% of calls shall be dispatched within 90 seconds. WCC telecommunicators utilizing enhanced dispatching tools and work flows, US Digital Design Alerting System , and Pre-Alert implementation, are currently meeting and exceeding expectations in this standard. 2024 2025 2025 2026 Performance Measures: Actual Target Estimate Target Fire Calls Dispatch (90 seconds) 90% 90% 90% 90% EMS Calls Dispatch (90 seconds) 90% 90% 90% 90% 91 General Fund Emergency Preparedness Objectives Finance Pillar: Retention of Employees Objective 3: Apply operational efficiencies to Improve Hiring and Retention Highlights/Initiatives: • WCC is focused on continuing to build upon improved culture, focusing on hiring for “fit”, then training for skill. Hiring requisitions have resulted in numerous lateral applicants as word of WCC’s improved culture has carried to other agencies. • WCC has made significant improvement to its training process, including the introduction of dual - training phones and radio after classroom. Anecdotally, this change has improved the total training time and retention of new hire telecommunicators . Training data will continue to be monitored as the department works to establish new benchmark hours for phones and radio training. • WCC paused hiring for fall 2024 to catch up on cross -training current employees to ensure necessary operational flexibility and readiness on the dispatch floor. • Shift different ial for hard -to-fill hours remains in place , but will be reduced significantly for 2026 and beyond. This has aided in the retention of telecommunicators assigned to third shift after train ing is completed. • The WCC Leadership Team is working to complete a complete revamp of policies and procedures. This work will align policy with current procedures and create a procedural guide to aid in new hire training. Position Summary 2022 2023 2024 2025 YTD Total Budgeted Positions (a) 48 48 47 46 Deployable Dispatchers (Beginning of Year)(b) 29.0 26.0 32.0 36.0 Total Number Hired 23 15 8 4 Total Employment Separations 22 10 7 3 Annual Position Gain/(Loss) 1 5 1 1 (a) Total budgeted positions does not include authorized overfills. (b) Deployable Dispatchers amount does not include staff still in training. 92 General Fund Emergency Preparedness Program Communication Center Operations FY2024 FY2025 FY2025 FY2026 Budget Actual Budget Estimate Budget Change Staffing (FTE) 61.93 59.93 59.93 58.79 -1.14 General Government $906,346 $597,556 $977,370 $597,556 $0 Fine/Licenses $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Charges for Services $211,091 $217,205 $217,205 $231,184 $13,979 Interdepartmental $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Other Revenue $2,297 $0 $0 $0 $0 Appr. Fund Balance $72,695 $454,153 $467,270 $48,360 ($405,793) County Tax Levy (Credit) $6,640,964 $7,065,897 $7,065,897 $7,243,089 $177,192 Total Revenues $7,833,394 $8,334,811 $8,727,742 $8,120,189 ($214,622) Personnel Costs $5,974,267 $6,275,256 $6,238,044 $6,368,003 $92,747 Operating Expenses $915,269 $1,155,409 $1,628,106 $1,254,261 $98,852 Interdept. Charges $471,472 $484,993 $484,998 $497,925 $12,932 Fixed Assets $165,802 $419,153 $419,153 $0 ($419,153) Total Expenditures $7,526,810 $8,334,811 $8,770,301 $8,120,189 ($214,622) Rev. Over (Under) Exp. $306,584 $0 ($42,559) $0 $0 Program Highlights General government revenue remains steady at $597,600 in 2026. Charges for services increase by $14,000, reflecting an increase in costs to continue for c omputer aided dispatch (CAD) and related systems operations and support charges, a portion of which is distributed to partner municipalities as an annual fee. General Fund balance of $48,400 is budgeted for continued use of unplanned emergency equipment replacement items of $35,000 and $13,400 related to prior-year opioid settlement funding for Pulsepoint software, which is used for co-locating overdose response kits , and had been transferred to this budget from Health and Human Services because Emergency Preparedness manages this contract. Personnel costs are budgeted to increase by $92,700 due to cost to continue. This is partially offset by the unfunding of 0.60 FTE Programs and Projects Analyst , the other 0.40 FTE was in Radio Services, and a decrease of 0.54 FTE for overtime for telecommunicators. Operating expense s increase by $ 98,900 primarily due to $ 87,900 budget increase for software, which includes $30,500 for CAD, $15,000 to continue payroll through the previous vendor, $13,400 for software to track the locations of opioid overdose kits , and other maintenance costs increases. Internet and communication costs increase $13,400. Interdepartmental charges see a n increase of $ 12,900, primarily due to increases in End User Technology Fund (EUTF) charges. 93 General Fund Emergency Preparedness Program Communication Center Operations (cont.) Based on prior County Board action (2004-2025), General Fund Balance of $ 5,350,000 has been assigned through the budgetary processe s for funding future equipment and software replacement at the dispatch center (except for desktop computers already in the replacement plan). The Waukesha County Department of Administration will reserve an additional $ 350,000 of General Fund Balance each year as part of a five -year plan through 2030 for this purpose. Below is a listing of dispatch center equipment replacement projects budgeted with reserved funds through the 2014-2025 Budgets. • In 2014, $900,000 was budgeted for radi o console equipment as part of a capital project and $48,000 wa s budgeted to reconfigure the Dispatch Center to accommodate 2 additional positions – should the need arise. • In 2015, $48,000 was budgeted to reconfigure the Dispatch Center to accommodate 2 additional positions (4 total, including the 2 added in 2014) – should the need arise. • In 2016, $120,000 was budgeted to upgrade the CAD system software and $48,000 was budgeted for a recording system upgrade and dispatch chair replacement. • In 2017, $48,000 was budgeted for a paging system upgrade and dispatch chair replacement • In 2018, $48,000 was budgeted for communications center equipment and replacements. • In 2019, $48,000 was budgeted for workstation and dispatch chair replacements, and educational/training equipment. • In 2020, $100,000 was budgeted for workstation replacements/upgrades to sit/stand motors and controls. • In 2021, $90,000 was budgeted for equipment in order to move forward with NextGeneration 9-1-1 capabilities and interconnection with statewide Emergency Services IP Network. The project is reimbursed at 60% and requires a 40% match of local funds. • In 2022, there was no budgeted dispatch center equipment replacement. • In 2023, $45,000 has been budgeted to replace workstation monitors, dispatch chairs, and local match dollars as grant funding is sought to support replacement of the existing recording solution. • In 2024, there is no budgeted dispatch center equipment replacement. • In 2025, $419,000 had planned to be used to update the CAD system within the Communications Center , but a grant covered 90% of the costs, with a 10% county match. Participating Members Cities : Brookfield, Delafield, Oconomowoc, Pewaukee, and New Berlin. Towns (a): Brookfield, Delafield, Eagle, Genesee, Merton, Mukwonago, and Ottawa. Villages (b): Big Bend, Butler, Chenequa, Dousman, Eagle, Hartland, Lac La Belle, Lannon, Menomonee Falls, Lisbon, Merton, Mukwonago, Nashotah, North Prairie, Oconomowoc Lake, Pewaukee, Summit, Sussex, Wales, Waukesha, and Vernon. County: Sheriff’s Department (a) The Town of Mukwonago paid to join the Waukesha County Communications Center in 2002 . In 2021, WCC took over responsibility for fire and emergency medical service call processing and dispatching. (b) The Village of Mukwonago paid to join the Waukesha County Communications Center in 2002. In 2021, WCC took over responsibility for fire and emergency medical service call processing and dispatching. The City of Muskego, the City of Waukesha, and the Village of Elm Grove remain stand alone Public Safety Answering Points. 94 General Fund Emergency Preparedness Objectives Emergency Management Program Description Emergency Management coordinates disaster response, general preparedness, homeland security, response and recovery training activities, Waukesha County business continuity planning and implementing the planning and reporting requirements of the Emergency Planning and Community Right - To-Know Act (EPCRA). The office continues to pursue federal and state funding to better equip and train first responders, increase critical infrastructure security , and enhance citizen preparedness. The office is the single point of contact for National Incident Management System (NIMS) compliance and continues to coordinate and participate in disaster exercises throughout the county. The division maintains the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) , as adopted by the County Board in 2013 , ensuring the contents, protocols, and responsibilities assigned remain consistent and current with county policy and capabilities. The County maintains a county-wide Pre -Disaster Hazard Mitigation Plan in conjunction with the municipalities within the c ounty. The division is active in implementation of the Wisconsin Credentialing and Asset Management System (WICAMS) program for emergency response personnel accountability. The division funds access to the Konexus mass notification system, which provides emergency and non -emergency notification services to county staff. The system also provides an alert and warning mechanism to community members for life threatening emergencies. The county - wide hazmat team is also contracted with these funds. FY2024 FY2025 FY2025 FY2026 Budget Actual Budget Estimate Budget Change Staffing (FTE) 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 0.00 General Government $259,594 $257,317 $284,495 $256,787 ($530) Fine/Licenses $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Charges for Services $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Interdepartmental $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Other Revenue $17,654 $7,788 $250 $7,788 $0 Appr. Fund Balance $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 County Tax Levy (Credit) $319,644 $344,711 $344,711 $347,519 $2,808 Total Revenues $596,892 $609,816 $629,456 $612,094 $2,278 Personnel Costs $330,679 $368,118 $339,654 $359,814 ($8,304) Operating Expenses $167,732 $161,913 $160,475 $173,077 $11,164 Interdept. Charges $76,797 $79,785 $79,730 $79,203 ($582) Fixed Assets $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total Expenditures $575,207 $609,816 $579,859 $612,094 $2,278 Rev. Over (Under) Exp. $21,685 $0 $49,597 $0 ($0) Note: The Hazardous Materials Management and Disaster Management programs are merged into the Emergency Management program in the 2025 budget; this is carried over in subsequent years. Program Highlights Emergency Management is estimated to receive general government revenues from the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG), Emergency Planning and Community Right -to-Know Act (EPCRA) Planning Grant, and the Computer and Hazmat Response Equipment Grant. The EPCRA and Hazmat Response Equipment grants are funded through regulatory administrative fees taken in by the State of Wisconsin and are expected to remain flat in 2026. Other revenue is budgeted at $7,800 for pass through revenues given to the City of Waukesha for contracted hazmat services. Personnel costs decreased by $ 8,300 due to changes in employee benefit plans. Operating expenses increased by $11,200 for $7,400 to right size based on prior year actuals a nd $3,400 due to higher staff development expenses. Interdepartmental charges decreased by $600 due to a decrease in the vehicle replacement charges. 95 General Fund Emergency Preparedness Objectives Health and Safety Pillar: Ensure the well-being of residents Objective 1: Emergency Management Activities and Participation Conduct activities in all five nationally recognized phases of Emergency Management including mitigation, prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. The chart indicates participation in activities related to disaster response exercises, emergency response training, public education, and review of county-wide emergency operations plans. 2024 2025 2025 2026 Performance Measures: Actual Target Estimate Target Participate in 1 regional or statewide exercise 1 1 1 1 Complete 1 county led HSEEP* exercise 1 1 1 1 Complete 32 hours of training per staff (96 total) 96 96 96 96 Complete 6 outreach initiatives via various methods 6 6 6 6 Participate in one statewide or regional WebEOC** drill 1 1 1 1 Update the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan 1 1 1 1 Attend regularly scheduled SE EM Region meetings 100% 100% 100% 100% Update the Integrated Preparedness Plan 1 1 1 1 *Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program **WebEOC is an incident management software platform used by state and county emergency management offices. Objective 2: Hazardous Material Preparedness Carry out the functions and duties of the Federal Emergency Planning and Community Right -to-Know Act (EPCRA) and Wisconsin Statute sections 323.60 through 323.72 pertaining to hazardous material preparedness, response, and recovery. 2024 2025 2025 2026 Performance Measures: Actual Target Estimate Target Off-site Plans created or updated* 25% 25% 25% 25% Update Comprehensive Emergency Response Plan 1 1 1 1 Complete 3 EPCRA outreach initiatives via various methods 3 3 3 3 Attend quarterly LEPC meetings 4 4 4 4 Chemical releases reported to LEPC** 100% 100% 100% 100% * Off-site Plans are hazardous chemical emergency plans developed or updated every four years for any facility, private or public, that has an amount greater than 500 pounds or the designated threshold planning quantity (whichever is lower) of an EPA identified extremely hazardous substance. Plans are developed in cooperation with regulated facilities and the LEPC. They are shared with Wisconsin Emergency Management, the countywide hazmat team, and local police and fire departments. **Emergency Management receives hazardous chemical spill reports from a variety of sources such as the WDNR, US Coast Guard, local response agencies, and industrial facilities. These reports are reviewed, compiled, and shared with the LEPC to support stakeholders’ compliance with EPCRA Section 304. 96 Radio Services Fund Emergency Preparedness Enterprise Fund Fund Purpose An enterprise fund is used to account for operations that are financed and operated like private businesses, where the costs of providing services are financed or recovered primarily through user charges to Waukesha County Departments and outside agencies. The Radio Services Fund includes three major program areas: General Radio Operations provides conventional radio services and equipment repair and maintenance; Trunked Radio infrastructure operations; and an equipment replacement accumulation fund for County agencies’ radio equipment replacements. Program descriptions and activitie s are outlined on the following program pages. The Radio Services Fund fully transition ed to the digital radio system environment in 2018, which met new FCC standard s and phased out outdated analog technology to provide better service and reliability to county operations and community partners. FY2024 FY2025 FY2025 FY2026 Change from FY2025 Adopted Budget Financial Summary Actual Adopted Budget Estimate Budget $ % Revenues General Government $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 N/A Fine/Licenses $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 N/A Charges for Services $969,833 $1,003,096 $1,003,124 $1,041,810 $38,714 3.9% Interdepartmental $520,637 $553,572 $553,757 $573,261 $19,689 3.6% Other Revenue $13,090 $0 $0 $0 $0 N/A Appr. Fund Balance (a) $823,357 $783,299 $815,084 $876,774 $93,475 11.9% County Tax Levy (Credit) $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 N/A Total Revenue Sources $2,326,917 $2,339,967 $2,371,965 $2,491,845 $151,878 6.5% Expenditures Personnel Costs $746,631 $769,684 $741,415 $758,630 ($11,054) -1.4% Operating Expenses $1,089,079 $1,127,775 $1,131,407 $1,277,429 $149,654 13.3% Interdept. Charges $150,992 $158,072 $158,072 $162,810 $4,738 3.0% Fixed Assets (Memo) $0 $50,000 $62,707 $160,250 $110,250 220.5% Total Expenditures $1,986,701 $2,055,531 $2,030,894 $2,198,869 $143,338 7.0% Rev. Over (Under) Exp. $340,216 $284,436 $341,071 $292,976 $8,540 3.0% Position Summary (FTE) Regular Positions 5.70 5.70 5.70 5.30 (0.40) Extra Help 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Overtime 0.04 0.06 0.06 0.03 (0.03) Total FTEs 5.74 5.76 5.76 5.33 (0.43) (a) Appropriated fund balance includes: Program Item 2024 Actual 2025 Budget 2025 Est. 2026 Budget $ Bud Change General Radio General Radio Operations Depreciation $60,227 $65,690 $65,690 $65,690 $0 General Radio Phase In of Motorola Support Charges $84,081 $65,100 $65,100 $56,540 ($8,560) Equipment Replacement Equipment Replacement Depreciation $559,542 $536,105 $567,890 $671,356 $135,250 General Radio Reduction of Revenues from MKE Core Payment $80,765 $83,189 $83,189 $83,189 $0 General Radio Phase in of PPA position $33,215 $33,215 $33,215 $0 ($33,215) General Radio Compensation study $2,768 $0 $0 $0 $0 All Carryovers $2,759 $0 $0 $0 $0 $823,357 $783,299 $815,084 $876,775 $93,475Total Radio Services Fund Balance (b) Amounts charged back to departments provides a sinking fund to build up Radio Services Fund balance reserves planned for over a ten -year replacement period. This allows for funds to be available for necessary and timely replacements. (c) Total expenditures exclude fixed assets to conform with financial accounting standards. Fixed asset purchase orders will be funded with existing fund balance and are included in the department’s fixed asset request. 97 Radio Services Emergency Preparedness Objectives Fund Major Departmental Strategic Plan Objectives Health and Safety Pillar: Ensure the well-being of residents Objective 1: Radio System Performance Maximize uptime, performance, and reliability of countywide trunked radio communications. Performance Measure: 2024 Actual 2025 Target 2025 Estimate 2026 Target Percent of time the system is available overalll (reliability) 100.00% 99.90% 100.00% 100.00% Percent of time the system has unimpaired coverage(performance) 98.8% (b) 98.5% 98.8% 98.5% (a) Both performance and overall reliability are measured in terms of unimpaired coverage and uptime percentage. (b) Unimpaired uptime is marginally higher for 2024 and 2025 due to the migration to WiPSN. These were planned and scheduled feature interruptions and were coordinated in advance with the system users. Objective 2: Radio Programming Provide rapid, accurate programming of custom user radio talk group/channel templates. ▪ Radio Services is responsible for programming all radios on the Waukesha County trunked system . ▪ Users work with Radio Services to develop a custom programming template reflecting each agency’s needs. ▪ Since 2009, radios have been converted to “Advanced System Key” to enhance security and prevent tampering. ▪ Digital system augments security by adding military -grade authentication to prevent hacking from illegal radios. Trunked subscriber reprogramming : Agencies using the trunked radio system enjoy tremendous flexibility in their ability to select, deploy , and use talk groups (channels) countywide for daily operations and emergency interoperability. Agency: 2024 Actual 2025 Target 2025 Estimate 2026 Target County 82 75 80 400 In-County Municipal 1,083 500 1,200 1,200 Out-of-County 90 60 60 60 Total 1,255 635 1,340 1,660 (a) 2025 and 2026 totals may be higher than estimated dependent on participation in Wisconsin Public Safety Network (WiPSN). (b) County programming count is expected to be higher than average due to mobile radio replacements. 98 Radio Services Emergency Preparedness Program Fund General Radio Operations Program Description Provides radio design and engineering consultation services, purchasing, installation, operation, and servicing of traditional radios and base stations , including new Communication Center radio consoles and related equipment ( dispatch operations). Operations include maintenance and repair services of two -way radio communication (remaining UHF , VHF, and RF), user equipment repair and maintenance, and dispatch consoles. This program area services transmitters, microwave, and public safety aircards within the c ounty and municipalities in surrounding counties at reasonable fee charges. In addition, this program area works with the private sector and Corporation Counsel to negotiate tower site leases with wireless cellular phone service providers. FY2024 FY2025 FY2025 FY2026 Budget Actual Budget Estimate Budget Change Staffing (FTE) 5.74 5.76 5.49 5.33 -0.43 General Government $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Fine/Licenses $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Charges for Services $969,833 $1,003,096 $1,003,124 $1,041,810 $38,714 Interdepartmental $246,605 $269,136 $269,321 $280,285 $11,149 Other Revenue $13,090 $0 $0 $0 $0 Appr. Fund Balance $263,814 $247,193 $247,194 $205,418 ($41,775) County Tax Levy (Credit) $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total Revenues $1,493,342 $1,519,425 $1,519,639 $1,527,513 $8,088 Personnel Costs $746,631 $769,684 $741,415 $758,630 ($11,054) Operating Expenses $554,537 $591,669 $563,517 $606,073 $14,404 Interdept. Charges $144,497 $158,072 $158,072 $162,810 $4,738 Fixed Assets $0 $25,000 $0 $25,000 $0 Total Expenditures $1,445,665 $1,519,425 $1,463,004 $1,527,513 $8,088 Rev. Over (Under) Exp. $47,678 $0 $56,635 $0 ($0) (a) Total expenditures exclude fixed assets to conform with financial accounting standards. Fixed asset purchase orders will be funded with existing fund balance and are included in the department’s fixed asset request. Fixed assets in the 2025 and 2026 budgets include $25,000 for unanticipated radio replacements. Program Highlights Charges for services increas es by $38,700 mainly due to an increase of $ 33,600 in Motorola support charges and $5,100 in land lease revenues. Interdepartmental revenues increase $ 11,100 due to increased trunked radio charges to departments for usage. Fund balance decreases by $41,800 mostly due to phasing in the P25 system and ongoing phase in of the Genesis/Cirrus system. Personnel costs decreases by $ 11,100 due to a 0.40 FTE decrease in Programs and Projects Analyst. Operating expenses increase by $14,400, primarily due to $6,200 in repair and maintenance costs and $4,700 in network monitoring and system reporting software maintenance costs. 99 Radio Services Emergency Preparedness Program Fund Equipment Replacement Program Description Provides for the accumulation of funding to afford the replacement of equipment after the useful life is exhausted. Equipment included in this funding accumulation is trunked r adio replacement s for county departments’ radio (portable/mobile/sirens) units, including Sheriff ancillary items such as cases, speakers, and microphones. FY2024 FY2025 FY2025 FY2026 Budget Actual Budget Estimate Budget Change Staffing (FTE) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 General Government $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Fine/Licenses $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Charges for Services $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Interdepartmental $274,032 $284,436 $284,436 $292,976 $8,540 Other Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Appr. Fund Balance $559,543 $536,106 $567,890 $671,356 $135,250 County Tax Levy (Credit) $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total Revenues $833,575 $820,542 $852,326 $964,332 $143,790 Personnel Costs $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Operating Expenses $534,542 $536,106 $567,890 $671,356 $135,250 Interdept. Charges $6,494 $0 $0 $0 $0 Fixed Assets $0 $25,000 $62,707 $135,250 $110,250 Total Expenditures $541,036 $536,106 $567,890 $671,356 $135,250 Rev. Over (Under) Exp. $292,539 $284,436 $284,436 $292,976 $8,540 (a) Amounts charged back as lease charges to departments provides a sinking fund to build up Radio Services Fund Balance reserves planned for over a ten-year replacement period. This allows for funds to be available for necessary and timely replacements. (b) Radio Services Fund balance is appropriated to offset the depreciation on the Trunked Radio System. (c) Total expenditures exclude fixed assets to conform with financial accounting standards. Fixed asset purchase orders will be funded with existing fund balance and are included in the department’s fixed asset request. Fixed assets in the 2025 and 2026 budgets include unplanned equipment replacement of $25,000. Program Highlights Revenues continue the accumulation of funds for c ounty departments to be used as a user equipment replacement fund. Interdepartmental revenues from equipment fund replacement charges increase by $8,500 due to the costs associated with the replacement of inventories that have reached the end of useful life. Operating expenses remains stable in relation to depreciation . Depreciation and fixed assets are budgeted at $25,000 for unanticipated radio replacement. These costs are fully offset by the appropriation of Radio Services Fund balance. 100 Radio Services Emergency Preparedness Program Fund Activity – Radio Replacement Charges 2025 2026 2025 2026 # of Radios (a) # of Radios (a) Budget (a) Budget $ Change Public Works 115 137 $53,538 $55,144 $1,606 Parks & Land Use 83 83 $37,777 $38,911 $1,134 Sheriff 305 311 $156,843 $161,549 $4,706 Public Works - Central Fleet 7 11 $2,613 $2,691 $78 Medical Examiner 6 6 $3,933 $4,051 $118 Emerg. Prep – Emerg. Mgmt. 3 22 $1,883 $1,939 $56 Emerg. Prep - Radio Services 9 9 $5,773 $5,773 $0 Emerg. Prep - Comm. Center 29 29 $13,112 $13,505 $393 Health & Human Services 11 17 $6,326 $6,516 $190 Airport 9 11 $2,638 $2,716 $78 Misc - - $0 $181 $181 Total (b) 577 636 $284,436 $292,976 $8,540 Department (a) Radio replacement charges are based on a % of the retail replacement cost for each radio. Annual charges vary from $288-$630 per radio, based on model and features. (b) Total replacement charges do not include $2,800 in charges to Waukesha County Technical College. 101 THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK 102 District Attorney 103 District Attorney DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FUNCTION / PROGRAM CHART 1. Position counts stated in terms of budgeted full time equivalent positions (FTE) includes extra help and overtime. 2. See Stats/Trends Section for position detail. District Attorney's Office 21.65 Victim/Witness 11.00 32.65 TOTAL FTE'S 104 General Fund District Attorney Summary Statement of Purpose The office of the District Attorney is created under Chapter 978 of the Wisconsin Statutes. This Department represents the people of the State of Wisconsin and County of Waukesha in the courts. The District Attorney and staff prosecute state criminal matters; forfeiture actions; State and County traffic code and ordinance violations; Department of Natural Resource violations; and juvenile, domestic abuse, sexual predator, and harassment cases. The Office of the District Attorney also attempts to educate the public through various conferences, programs, and outreach efforts to the community regarding the criminal justice system and the responsibility of the District Attorney. In addition, the District Attorney also operates the Victim/Witness Program, which provides statutory and constitutionally mandated support to victims and witnesses of crime . The mission of the Waukesha Victim Witness Assistance Program is to inform, support and assist crime victims and witnesses by providing a range of services that promote justice, safety, and recovery from crime. Waukesha Victim Witness (VW) offers advocacy, information, referral, and support to citizens and law enforcement officers who have been victims of or witnesses to crime. VW professionals uphold victims’ rights as mandated by the Wisconsin Constitution and the Wisconsin Statutes and facilitate access to and participation in the justice system process. VW staff members provide resources and referrals that help victims to maintain their safety and recover from the harmful impacts of crime. Our goal is to provide victim -centered direct services that help individuals navigate the aftermath of crime and the criminal justice process with dignity, respect and sensitivity. FY2024 FY2025 FY2025 FY2026 Change from FY2025 Adopted Budget Financial Summary Actual Budget Estimate Budget $ % Revenues General Government $1,267,746 $587,374 $606,816 $521,548 ($65,826) -11.2% Fine/Licenses $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 N/A Charges for Services $127,926 $95,000 $95,000 $122,252 $27,252 28.7% Interdepartmental $208,948 $200,921 $200,921 $196,498 ($4,423) -2.2% Other Revenue $11,347 $17,361 $17,361 $18,094 $733 4.2% Appr. Fund Balance (a) $77,368 $168,150 $168,150 $176,150 $8,000 4.8%