County budget OK'd, but emergency radios get tuned out
Proposals to buy emergency responder radios and freeze the sheriff's budget attracted crowds of supporters but still didn't make it into Dane County's $451 million operating budget, which the County Board approved Monday night.
The board voted down an amendment proposed by Supervisor Bob Salov to purchase 15 emergency responder radios for every fire and emergency medical services department in the county at a cost of $687,500.
"It's a small amount of money that will send a strong message," said Supervisor Eileen Bruskewitz. "This is something that will show the county's commitment."
The radios are part of a larger plan to allow different emergency officers to communicate on the same radio network. The plan, which is slated to go into effect in 2013, is the second-largest public works project in Dane County history. However, its expected $30 million price tag doesn't include the cost of radios needed to plug into the new network.
"We don't need these radios at this time. We need them before the shift to the new frequency happens," County Board Chairman Scott McDonell said.
Dozens of EMS personnel and firefighters showed up to support the measure, which failed 14-22.
An amendment proposed by Supervisor Al Matano attempted to freeze new spending for the Sheriff's Office.
"Here in Dane County we should be resisting the worst excesses of the Bush administration, not cooperating," said Matano.
The measure was aimed at protecting undocumented immigrants from being targeted by Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE). Matano said he introduced the measure because the office's cooperation with ICE resulted in several deportations over the past year.
The measure attracted a crowd of activists, who dispersed after the amendment failed to pass with a 6-to-30 vote.
The operating budget passed on a voice vote.
In the capital budget, renewable energy projects came under fire due to worries among some supervisors about increasing the county's existing debt, but the projects remained at levels agreed upon in earlier County Board committee sessions.
Borrowing $1.75 million for a geothermic heating system at the new Badger Prairie Health Care Center was one such project, as were plans for a manure digester and county land purchases.
Earlier committee action cut $1 million from the manure digester project proposed by County Executive Kathleen Falk, leaving it with $1.4 million. Committee action also cut $250,000 from a land purchase budget item, but efforts to completely eliminate those projects failed Monday.
The capital budget passed on a vote of 27 to 9.
The night's deliberations will be good news to some. The budget is easy on the wallet, adding only $2.13 in additional property tax on an average $248,000 Madison home. It includes $451.1 million in operating expenses and $41.9 million in borrowing for capital projects.
The budget will also increase funding for more child protective services officers and add dispatchers at the troubled 911 center. Three new sheriff's deputies will be added in 2010 pending the results of a study.
"Holding down property tax increases while making critical investments to basic public services is even more important given these challenging economic times," Falk said in a prepared statement.
Wisconsin State Journal file photo
The Dane County Board approved a $451 million operating budget Monday night.
