YWCA and public commenters press Rock County to keep funding nonprofits amid budget scrutiny

Sheila Williams, a Janesville resident, submitted a written public comment read into the record calling on supervisors to curb what she described as unsustainable spending. Williams wrote that the county administrator "spend[s] the maximum" and criticized teleworking, high human services staffing and county grants to nonprofits. "If you are that incompetent, then your name should not appear on the 2026 April ballot," the submission said.

Heidi Dyneger, representing YWCA Rock County, addressed the board in person and described services the YWCA provides. "The YWCA Rock County carehouse served 131 children in 2024 who had either witnessed a domestic violence crime or children who had experienced a crime committed against them," Dyneger said. She detailed program staffing and cost: "The entire cost for staff and other expenses are about $100,000" for the carehouse positions cited; the YWCA also operates a domestic violence shelter with an "annual expense budget of ... almost $400,000" that provides nine rooms and 33 beds and additional counseling and advocacy hours.

Why it matters: The comments came as supervisors reviewed the administrator-recommended 2026 budget, which maintained community-initiative funding at prior-year levels. Supervisors asked about application procedures, accountability and whether the 2026 community-initiative awards were subject to the revised policy.

County response and process notes - Administrator's office staff said the community-initiatives policy was revised in August. Because the county's budget calendar required submissions by Aug. 1, the process for 2026 primarily followed the prior policy: existing, previously funded agencies were asked to submit budget materials and no widespread new solicitation had taken place under the revised policy. - Staff said that memoranda of understanding (MOU) with funded agencies will be developed after budget adoption to clarify reporting and accountability and that MOUs will be brought back to the board following budget approval.

Details cited by presenters - YWCA carehouse: 131 children served in 2024; YWCA staff cited a per-child cost estimate and compared it with a National Children's Alliance cost figure to show local program savings. - YWCA shelter: listed operating budget near $400,000, 2,639 shelter stays in 2024, 1,785 case-management hours and 751 legal advocacy hours; speakers said eight deaths related to domestic violence had occurred in Rock County in 2024 and 2025 and urged continued county support.

Supervisor questions Supervisors asked staff to provide details about application timelines and to circulate the revised community-initiatives policy and a schedule for MOUs. Supervisor Stevens and others requested a transparent accounting of total county EDIB/DEI expenditures and a breakdown of training spending.

Ending: Administration said it will circulate the revised policy, the MOU framework and the list of agencies that submitted budget requests to all supervisors for review.