Manitowoc County Board overrides five executive vetoes, restores sheriff funding and borrowing

Manitowoc County Board of Supervisors members voted on Veterans Day to override five partial vetoes the county executive had issued to the proposed 2026 county budget, restoring funding for employee pay increases, sheriff equipment and a highway borrowing line.

County Executive Schigabauer opened the meeting and defended his actions, saying, "I believe the 5 partial vetoes improved the 2026 Manitowoc County budget for the good of Manitowoc County and not with limited special interest," and invited supervisors to work with him going forward.

The board then considered five separate vetoes. On item 1a — the executive's veto of borrowing $370,000 intended to fund a 1% salary increase — Supervisor Banky framed the question as "whether you want to give our employees a 1% increase or not," citing wage compression and recent departures from the highway department. Supervisor Klein said he opposed both proposed tax increases and argued the supervisors had already…