County Administrator Krauss presented the Sheboygan County Board of Supervisors with a high-level overview of the proposed 2026 county budget on Oct. 28, saying the proposal preserves core programs while responding to increased demand and constrained revenue. "I will not be going into great detail or we'd be here all evening, but I'll be giving a high level overview of the budget and touching on a couple, key areas," Krauss said as he opened the presentation.

Krauss told the board the proposed total county budget for 2026 is just over $216 million (stated in presentation as about $216.1 million), an increase compared with 2025. He said the county’s total tax levy is projected to rise by about 1.72% (roughly $924,000), driven by net new construction revenue (~$643,000), closed tax-increment district revenues (~$270,000), debt service and targeted levies for library and bridge aid. "With all of those factors taken into consideration, our total levy will be increasing in 2026 by 1.72%, or about $924,000," Krauss said.

At the same time, Krauss said the county’s overall tax rate would fall by about 9.3%—a reduction he estimated at roughly 33 cents per $1,000 of equalized value—because the county’s equalized value rose sharply (reported as roughly $16.8 billion, up more than 12% from 2025). "So that means that for the county's portion of your tax bill, on a house that's valued at $100,000, your property taxes would decrease by $33," he said, adding that other taxing jurisdictions could offset that change.

Krauss broke out major budget areas: Health and Human Services is the largest department at roughly $57.8 million; the sheriff’s department budget was reported at about $26.6 million (noted as heavily levy-dependent); transportation was listed near $29.9 million and Rocky Knoll roughly $23.4 million. He identified notable levy shifts, including an approximate $725,000 reduction in highway levy support, a roughly $755,000 increase for the sheriff’s levy and a roughly $268,000 increase for Health and Human Services.

On non-levy revenue, Krauss said half-cent county sales-tax receipts were performing strongly and that the county plans conservatively. He described Wisconsin Act 12 (2023)—which redirects 1¢ of the state sales tax toward municipalities—as creating a supplemental shared revenue (SSR) stream limited to law enforcement, transportation and the judicial system; the county expects SSR to rise modestly and plans to use roughly half the 2026 SSR allocation for sheriff wages.

Krauss also noted budget priorities including implementing a new compensation program, a 1% increase in health insurance premiums, about $479,500 in levy-supported capital outlay purchases, and targeted staffing increases in Health and Human Services. He said 2026 is the final year for use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, and the county will backfill ongoing operational costs with other revenue sources as ARPA dollars sunset.

After concluding, the chair opened the statutorily noticed public hearing; no members of the public signed up to comment and the chair closed the hearing. The chair then referred the proposed 2026 budget back to the finance committee for a final recommendation at the next board meeting, citing the county code provision read during the meeting. The board moved to adjourn and approved the motion by voice/roll-call vote.