Committee forwards $331,334 outside-agency funding recommendation to Polk County Board, reduces historical society allocation by $5,000

The Polk County Budget & Administration Committee voted to forward the administrator's recommended package of outside-agency operating grants totaling $331,334 to the full County Board, with a $5,000 reduction to the historical society's recommended amount.

Speaker 4 moved to send the recommendation to the board with the total figure and the $5,000 decrease; Speaker 5 seconded and the motion carried on a voice vote. The transcript records vocal assent but does not include a roll-call tally.

The presenter noted agency requests for 2025 were higher than last year, with roughly $43,000 more in total requests and administrator recommendations shown in the right-hand column of the presentation. The slide list included the Economic Development Corporation (EDC), the Historical Society, Kinship, Westcap, FAIR, the tourism council, the West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission and the Community Referral Agency (CRA), which did not submit a request this year.

Committee members pressed for clarity on several points. One member asked why the CRA line showed zero; the presenter responded that "they just chose not to present" and did not ask the county for money this year. A separate exchange clarified that library funding is handled separately and will remain at a 95% funding level, so library support was not part of this outside-agency package.

Members discussed an earlier reallocation of $10,000 from tourism to the EDC. "My recollection . . . is that we took $10,000 away from them and gave that $10,000 to the Economic Development Corporation," the presenter said, and noted tourism has since added digital marketing and new leadership. Committee members weighing economic return said tourism and economic development are likely to generate financial returns to the county and warrant consideration as investments rather than pure expenditures.

The committee also discussed whether to forward a recommended allocation breakdown to the board or only a total dollar figure. The presenter said his preference was to send both an amount and a proposed allocation for clarity; other members said the full budget process in September and October would allow further adjustment.

On the museum request, the presenter recounted a recommendation from Supervisor Rock to reduce the museum's operating support by $5,000 and raised the question of whether the county should fully fund an increase in the museum director's salary, noting that fundraising activity might be part of that position's role.

The committee's motion to forward the administrator's package with the $5,000 historical society reduction will bring the recommended total to the County Board for final consideration as part of broader budget hearings this fall. The committee did not adopt final allocations beyond the approved recommendation.

Next steps: the administrator will present the full budget at the September board meeting and committee members will have opportunities to revisit line items during the formal budget process.