2025 Waukesha County budget approved; tax rate cut among highlights
WAUKESHA, Wis. - Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow on Thursday signed off on the nearly $400 million county budget for 2025. The county board unanimously passed the budget with two amendments on Tuesday.
Earlier this year, the county executive floated the possibility of instituting a county sales tax to address potential budget shortfalls. That decision was put on hold last month, and the approved budget cuts funding by $2.9 million compared to last year.
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"Residents expect a secure community, one marked by low crime rates and high-quality services. They count on us to meet this standard. We are managing, but only through significant cuts to the non-state mandated portion of our budget," Farrow said in a statement.
The full 2025 budget can be found on Waukesha County's website. Here are some highlights.
Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow signs the 2025 budget
Taxes
The budget cut the county tax rate for the 11th consecutive year, the county said – a 3% decrease that brings the county to its lowest tax rate in more than three decades.
FOX6 News first reported on the possibility of a Waukesha County sales tax in August to address potential budget cuts. Farrow introduced an ordinance to authorize a 0.5% county sales tax that would be added to the existing state sales tax in 2025, but he withdrew it from consideration hours before it was scheduled for a vote at a county board meeting.
Public safety
The 2025 budget allocates its greatest portion of new county tax levy and shared revenue dollars, totaling more than $5.5 million, to law enforcement efforts. That includes funding for jail operations and covers a more than $1 million increase in inmate medical services – but cut two positions.
"In our 2025 budget, we were forced to cut two sheriff deputy positions and make additional reductions that will impact the level of service our county provides," Farrow said in a statement. "Despite already having the lowest per capita spending of any county in Wisconsin, we cannot continue to cut our way out of this fiscal situation without putting public safety at serious risk. We’re urging state lawmakers to address the shortfall of funding to local government."
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Emergency dispatch operations for the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department and 34 municipalities also received funding, as did the circuit courts, district attorney's office and medical examiner's office. Those expenses totaled more than $700,000, according to the county.
The budget also invests nearly $100,000 in Health and Human Services, which the county said provides mental health services, protects at-risk people, ensures veterans receive benefits and combats the opioid criss.
Infrastructure
In 2025, the capital budget calls for $43.7 million – a more than $9 million decrease in capital expenditure compared to the 2024 budget.
- $20.4 million: Courthouse Project Step II, which will renovate the 1959 courthouse to enhance security and refurbish areas of the building, including the county board space
- $5 million: Rehabilitation of Moorland Road in New Berlin, between National and Cleveland Avenue – part of a multi-year effort
- $1.5 million: Replace a collapsed salt dome
The county said it will continue to evaluate the future sale of two county-owned properties – the Huber Facility on Northview Road, which the sheriff announced would close earlier this year, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha campus.