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Cottage Grove trustees approve preliminary 2026 budget, set Nov. 17 public hearing
Summary
The Village Board approved a preliminary 2026 budget with targeted deletions and reductions and set a public hearing for Nov. 17. The budget review committee recommended a levy intended to raise roughly $6.51 million; the plan includes major capital investments, including a proposed $16.3 million police station.
COTTAGE GROVE, Wis. — The Village of Cottage Grove Board of Trustees on Oct. 27 reviewed and approved a preliminary 2026 budget and set a public hearing for Nov. 17, 2025.
Administration told trustees the village's recommended levy after the budget review committee's work is $6,512,005.26; staff said that figure follows a multi-stage process (a board-approved financial management plan, department requests, administration adjustments and the budget review committee recommendation). The board heard that the average home in Cottage Grove would see roughly a $110 increase under the committee's recommendation.
The board and staff emphasized the difference between operating and capital spending. Major operating increases were tied to public safety labor agreements: a police collective-bargaining agreement and a Deer Grove EMS union agreement. The fire department will have an extra $38,000 in the village portion of pay-per-call; Deer Grove EMS's village portion rose by about $25,000 to cover a support position and contract changes. Administration said there are no new general-village staff positions reflected in the current preliminary budget.
On capital, staff outlined a large police station project proposed at approximately $16,300,000 and the village's routine annual allocations for road, sidewalk and trail maintenance ($1,051,000) and vehicle and equipment replacement (roughly $840,000). Staff said they are pursuing grant funding for portions of the police station project (solar, geothermal and community-room grants) to reduce net borrowing needs.
Administration also described valuation changes affecting the levy. Staff said 2025 equalized value rose about 14% (about $188 million), with roughly 5% of that increase from new construction. Because the assessed-to-equalized ratio dipped to ~70%, the village will complete a revaluation to be implemented on Jan. 1, 2026 to move assessed values closer to market value.
After extended questions and line-by-line workshop discussion, trustees approved a motion to adopt the preliminary budget with specific modifications: removal of Community Park A&E (architectural and engineering) design funding for 2026, removal of pickleball windscreens, a reduction in the handheld-radio contingency to $5,000, a reduction of the emergency-entry tools/equipment request to $6,000, and removal of proposed traffic monitoring equipment from the police department capital list. That motion set the public hearing for Nov. 17, 2025, after which the board will consider formal adoption.
Trustees approved including the police station project as a separate motion earlier in the meeting. The motions passed by roll call vote. Trustee Stoa voted against including the police station in an earlier roll call but voted in favor of the overall preliminary budget with the amendments. The full roll-call tallies were read into the record.
