Douglas County staff preview public works budget, CIP and major projects including Waukarusa Drive

Douglas County public works staff presented an informational update Wednesday that reviewed departmental staffing, 2024 expenditures, major maintenance commodities and a preview of the county’s draft five‑year capital improvement plan.

The briefing, given by Chad Voigt, public works staff, and Brooke (last name not specified), public works staff, outlined operations across road and bridge maintenance, fleet, parks and vegetation, and engineering; it emphasized that the work session was for information only and that no decisions were made. “We do a lot of fun stuff, and we’re all pretty proud of our work,” Voigt said during the presentation.

The nut graf: Staff summarized 2024 spending, current fund balances and planned projects, noting a capital improvement fund balance of roughly $15 million — about $10 million of which is allocated to the long‑planned Waukarusa Drive project — and previewed a five‑year CIP that staff estimates will program about $130 million in total capital spending through 2029, split mainly between facilities and road/bridge work.

Voigt said the public works department has 58 full‑time employees and budget authority for about seven seasonal temporary workers. He described major budget drivers for 2024: fuel purchases (about $110,000 in gasoline countywide and roughly 59,000 gallons of diesel used primarily by public works), 3,800 tons of salt for winter operations, and about 9,400 tons of asphalt for road…