Some excellent things happening in Washington County.
As presented at the May 13 meeting of the Washington County Board of Supervisors, Schoemann committed to reducing the County’s tax levy by one million dollars, or about three percent. Schoemann also aimed to discontinue the historic practice of “across the board” cuts by department, instead employing a measured approached based on needs and priorities. Schoemann then subscribed to the County Board’s initiative to invest in the employees of Washington County, seeking to work a modest cost of living adjustment into the 2015 budget.
When asked about what key factors led to this budget, Schoemann noted, “For starters, we were again fortunate to take advantage of savings related to the retirement of another $1.5 million of debt, which translates to roughly $550 thousand in annual debt payments. This savings, combined with various efficiencies across several departments helped make it possible to return one million dollars back to the taxpayers of Washington County, while also providing the ability to propose a two percent cost of living adjustment for our employees on March 01.”
The proposed 2015 County budget achieves a number of unique milestones, including the largest reduction in County tax levy, as a percentage, in over 30 years; the largest reduction in County tax rate, as a percentage, in over 30 years; the lowest County tax levy since 2005; the lowest County tax rate since 1985; and, the first cost of living adjustment since Act 10.
You need to take credit for some of this decreased levy and that of the West Bend schools.
If you hadn’t been keeping these folks accountable the past decade, it might have been business as usual.