Rock County board approves $20 court surcharge and creates Crime Prevention Funding Board

The Rock County Board of Supervisors voted to add a $20 surcharge on qualifying criminal convictions and to create a seven-member Crime Prevention Funding Board that will recommend how the money is spent.

The ordinance creating Rock County Ordinance 3.221 and the companion resolution establishing the Crime Prevention Funding Board passed after debate and a roll-call vote on the ordinance (14–10) and a subsequent voice vote creating the board.

Supporters said the surcharge will generate money that would otherwise flow to state accounts and instead be reinvested locally. District Attorney Rich Sanders told supervisors a statutory split requires 50% of collected funds each year be given to nonprofit organizations with stated crime-prevention missions and said the board would be able to respond to community requests for small grants. “If, for example, the Beloit Police Department wants a thousand dollars to help a human-trafficking task force then I’m assuming that would be a yes,” Sanders said.

Opponents and several supervisors questioned whether the surcharge would disproportionately affect low-income people and whether collection and administration costs could outweigh revenues. Supervisor Schwartz said the charge is an additional user fee that can follow people into the collection system: “Once they get into the collection system now it’s on their record and it follows them forward.” Several supervisors pressed that judges may waive court costs for indigent defendants; Sanders and county staff confirmed judges can waive the surcharge and that the treasurer cannot distribute funds until they are collected and deposited.

Board members also debated operational details the draft ordinance does not specify: whether the county would hold the funds as a fiduciary or a special revenue fund, whether board-approved grants would require a separate County Board budget amendment, and the composition and grant application process the new board would use. County staff said they would consult auditors to determine fund classification and confirm whether additional budget authority would be required.

The board considered, and rejected, a procedural motion to postpone the ordinance (motion to postpone failed for lack of majority). After further discussion the ordinance establishing the surcharge passed on a roll-call vote, 14–10. A separate motion to create the Crime Prevention Funding Board passed by voice vote.

The ordinance and board now create a local mechanism for judges to include a $20 surcharge per conviction (recorded as per conviction; judges sometimes apply costs per case or waive costs). County officials estimated, in a best-case scenario if ordered and collected on every conviction, the surcharge could yield roughly $50,000 annually; the district attorney’s letter had modeled a more conservative estimate of $15,000–$25,000, and staff said actual receipts will depend on how often judges order the surcharge and on collection rates.

Supervisors who opposed the measure said they wanted more comparative data from counties that have created similar funds—how much those counties collected, how the funds were used, and any downstream impacts on people assessed the surcharge. Sanders said the draft language was modeled on ordinances used by several other Wisconsin counties including Brown, Chippewa, Dodge, Iowa and Oconto, and that outcomes depend heavily on local court practice regarding waivers and collections.

Votes at a glance

- Ordinance 3.221 (Crime prevention funding board surcharge): Motion by Supervisor Knudson; second by Supervisor Tillman. Roll-call vote: 14 yes, 10 no. Outcome: approved. - Creation of the Crime Prevention Funding Board (companion action): Motion by Supervisor Knudson; second by Supervisor Wilson. Voice vote: approved.

What happens next

County staff and counsel will review outstanding procedural questions raised during debate, including fund classification (fiduciary vs. special revenue), reporting and whether additional budget approval is needed before expenditures. The ordinance directs the county treasurer to receive and deposit collected surcharges; funds must be collected and deposited before they may be distributed. The newly created board will follow the statutory membership and meet to consider grant applications and distribute funds according to statute and board policy.