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Trempealeau County officials describe two decades of stagnant shared revenue and rising costs
Summary
County leaders told legislators that stagnant shared revenue, levy limits and slow net-new-construction growth leave rural counties with little capacity to cover rising costs for roads, courts and social services.
Trempealeau County leaders explained to visiting state legislators how shared revenue stagnation and low local growth have strained county budgets and service delivery.
"When you look at the whole piece of the picture here... shared revenue funding stream for a county is quite small," said Rebecca, a county presentation lead, describing a slide that showed shared revenue as a small slice of statewide funding. She said Trempealeau County averaged about 1.21% growth for three prior years and that levy limits and low net-new-construction revenue have limited counties' ability to respond to rising costs.
Officials listed specific cost pressures: higher wages and union costs, software and subscription fees, insurance and liability, jail food costs and ballooning road construction and maintenance expenses. They urged creative local partnerships and predictable state funding models for some programs to improve planning.
Several speakers, including Jay Hein and longtime county board members, asked legislators to avoid passing unfunded mandates and to favor appropriations that accompany new program requirements. Officials asked lawmakers to preserve shared-revenue increases from 2024 and to consider broader adjustments to state funding formulas that affect counties.
While no formal legislative motion was made during the briefing, county leaders asked legislators to keep county funding needs in mind as the budget proceeds and encouraged constituents to contact members of the Joint Finance Committee ahead of decisions.
