By BRIAN LEAHY
of The Gazette
As the Legislature and governor struggle with a $1.3 billion budget deficit, Portage County officials await word on how the state of Wisconsin's problems will impact the county's budget.
"We know something is going to hit us. We're just not exactly sure what it will be," said Bo DeDeker, county finance director.
So far the county hasn't received any information from the state on any pending cuts.
Portage County is slated to receive about $2.8 million in 2002 from the state in shared revenues, which will fund less than 5 percent of the county's $62 million operating budget for the year.
State shared revenues haven't grown at the same pace as local budgets.
"Thirteen, 14 years ago, shared revenues were $2.7 million, so we haven't seen much of an increase," DeDeker said. Much of the growth in state spending has gone to schools and corrections.
The state pays about $1 billion in shared revenues to state municipalities, so even if it took all the shared revenues away, it still couldn't balance the budget, DeDeker said.
McCallum had floated the idea of eliminating state aids to local governments and then allowing county sales taxes to increase. The idea could have seen state and local sales taxes to increase as high as 7.1 percent, opponents said.
Portage County now has a one-half percent sales tax tacked onto the 5 percent state sales tax.
Despite concerns of a weakening economy, county sales tax revenues grew 3 percent in 2001 with $4.12 million going into the county's coffers, DeDeker said. Another way to look at it is the state of Wisconsin received more than $40 million in sales tax revenues from Portage County businesses.
In another effort to reduce the state budget deficit, the governor recently ordered state agencies to reduce their budgets by another 5 percent, he said. That could have an impact on the county's budget, for example the county Highway Department could receive less money from the state Department of Transportation. If any cuts happen, the county will do its best not to cut services.
Other options for Wisconsin to tackle its budget woes are to reduce the two-thirds state funding of local schools or take additional money from the state's tobacco settlement.
Just because Portage County has already adopted its 2002 budget doesn't mean the state can't change the amount of money set aside for the county.
The county Health and Human Services Department was threatened with losing state funds for 2001 as late as November of that year, DeDeker said.
"They can change the game at anytime like that," DeDeker said.