County levy set to increase 5.41 percent. raises approved

Rock County Commissioners approved a $6.1 million levy for taxes payable in 2020. That’s a 5.41 percent increase ($317,577) over the current levy with some budget unknowns.
The county will have a total budget of $12.5 million in 2020 including $562,319 in state aid, an increase of $45,279 from the previous year.
Commissioners approved the 2020 levy at their final meeting of the year Dec. 23 to include the following budget items:
•2-percent wage increase for non-union county employees.
•Health and human services, $82,612 (5.96 percent increase).
•Highway department $100,000 (10.53 percent increase) for additional gravel.
•Sheriff’s department $85,540 (9.13 percent increase) for employee wages.
 •Library, $26,612 (8.36 percent increase) to continue a full-time children’s librarian position.
•Reserves, $79,000, same amount allocated in 2019.
“We think the 5.41 percent meets our goals and the direction we want to go with the gravel and the reserves,” said Commissioner Jody Reisch.
Other non-union salary increases approved included:
•Sheriff Evan Verbrugge, 5 percent, $96,959.
•Commissioners, 2 percent increase, to $19,415.
The county’s three employee unions — highway department, dispatchers and deputy sheriffs — are currently negotiating contracts with the county that expired Jan. 1.
The negotiations with the deputy sheriffs’ union is currently headed for mediation, according to County Administrator Kyle Oldre.
Local property tax makes up 48 percent of the county’s $12.5 million budget.