SHAWANO, WI- Shawano County is preparing to borrow $3.4 million and draw another $3 million from reserve funds to balance its proposed 2026 budget, with a final vote scheduled for Sept. 3. Officials say the strategy will cover rising costs while keeping the county’s mill rate lower than last year’s.
County Board Chairman Tom Kautza said dipping into reserves makes sense because the account is above the county’s own target. “We’re over that high mark right now,” Kautza explained. “So we’re going to use some of that out of the general fund to take that back down and get that in the right bracket the county set for itself.”
Like many counties across Wisconsin, Shawano has faced mounting financial pressure. Kautza noted the state has kept funding flat while still requiring counties to maintain services, particularly through health and human services. “They tell us we have to keep providing these programs, but the money they send back never increases, and sometimes it even gets trimmed back,” he said.
One of the largest pieces of the budget is employee wages. County staff are set to receive a 7.5% pay increase in 2025, aimed at closing the pay gap with surrounding counties. The board also approved shift premiums and new lead positions for correctional officers and dispatchers to combat high turnover, though Kautza remains skeptical that higher pay alone will solve workforce shortages. “I don’t believe that’s going to solve the problem, just raising the wages,” he said, pointing out that many recent departures have been due to retirements, not pay.
The proposed budget also includes funds to repair 6.7 miles of county roads and bridges, though more than $1 million is still needed to meet the county’s 10-mile annual goal. Additional dollars will come from ARPA funds and a drawdown of the public health department’s balance, leaving reserves within the 20-25% range set by county policy.
Kautza said more hard choices are ahead as the county continues to balance services with limited state aid. “Everybody’s got to learn to do with a little less,” he said. “We’ve got to start sorting out what is an absolute necessity and what is a wish list.”
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