Manitowoc County executive outlines conservative 2026 budget, proposes modest levy increase and new sales-tax fund

The County Executive presented Manitowoc County’s draft 2026 budget to the County Board on a motion night, proposing a tax levy for operations of $34,145,237 to support total spending of $98,219,616 and recommending policy changes intended to restrain long-term tax growth.

The County Executive said the county’s long-term financial goals remain “holding the line on property taxes while delivering high quality services,” noting the county’s debt is below 7% of the statutory maximum and that a local-option sales tax of 0.5% will begin to generate revenue in 2025. “Our financial plan is working well,” the County Executive said.

The proposal digs into three stated priorities for 2026: invest in employees, address law enforcement modernization and human services needs (including opioid response), and maintain an aggressive highway and capital improvement program. The County Executive recommended increasing nonbargaining pay scales by 1% and suspending merit bonus payouts for one year while continuing performance reviews. He also proposed raising health insurance premiums 20% on both the employer and employee shares and transferring $683,000 from the general fund to the county’s health insurance reserve to help cover increased costs.

On sales tax, the County Executive said Manitowoc County will collect local-option sales tax revenue (0.5%) starting in 2025 and conservatively estimated…