TEST TW WEATHER

October 26, 2009 Residents of Fond du Lac County should expect to see a modest increase in the county portion of their property tax bills .

Early projections are that residents with a home valued at $100,000
would see a $20 increase in the county portion of their bill over last
year.

Fond du Lac County Executive Allen Buechel continues to put finishing
touches on his 2010 budget presentation. He said the tax rate is
expected to increase by 20 cents — from $5.02 to $5.22 per $1,000 of
valuation.

He will address the budget when the Fond du Lac County Board of
Supervisors meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27. The meeting will take
place in Legislative Chambers of the City County Government Center,
160 S. Macy St. The public is welcome to attend. In addition, regular
meetings are televised live on Charter cable Channels 21/980.

Furloughs
Buechel said most county employees will be asked to take one to five
furlough days. The plan does not include those working 24-hour-staffed
positions, such as corrections officers or nurses at the Health Care
Center.

Clerical staff and managers would be among those affected.

Retirement incentive
Persons close to retirement age are being offered one year of paid
medical insurance as incentive for early retirement. The offer is for
those in positions that could remain vacant for 2010. It is estimated
2-4 employees may take advantage of the offer.

Sales tax
The half-cent county sales tax to be implemented in April will not
help balance the budget — though it's tempting, Buechel said. "The
funds will be used to make a first payment on the ($50 million)
Mercury loan and a half-million will go to the FCEDC (Fond du Lac
County Economic Development Corporation) for its revolving loan fund,"
he said.

Proceeds from the sales tax will continue to provide funds for the
Mercury loan to reduce the amount of borrowing needed.

"This is the toughest one I've done," Buechel said of his 17th
consecutive county budget. "The challenges are that costs keep going
up and the state is cutting our funding. They keep cranking out the
(unfunded) mandates and they're just using us as a cash machine."

Tuesday's agenda is jammed with presentations, reports and
resolutions, including a resolution awarding the sale of $20 million
in taxable general obligation promissory notes for Mercury Marine.