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Regional planner urges counties to rethink non‑mandated services; Richland board weighs nursing home and jail tradeoffs
Summary
Troy, executive director of the Southwest Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, told the Richland County Board that counties should reassess non‑mandated enterprises — such as nursing homes and some capital projects — asking whether the county would start them today given current costs and staffing challenges.
Troy, executive director of the Southwest Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, told the Richland County Board on June 9 that rural counties should regularly question whether non‑mandated services still make sense. "If we weren't already doing this enterprise, would we start it today?" he asked, pressing the board to consider both shedding some functions and investing in others.
Troy framed the issue around scarce resources and staff capacity in small counties. He said the commission serves Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette and Richland counties and described examples where local governments stepped away from operating enterprises that were not statutorily required — including a business incubator that the University of Platville took over and an Iowa County nursing home that closed after high capital and contract‑nursing costs. Troy said those decisions often free fiscal capacity and "mental bandwidth" for other priorities.
Supervisor Shirley Welty asked whether counties should shed activities or double‑down to grow them. Troy replied that economic development often occurs at the municipal level because cities can use tools such as tax increment financing; counties more frequently play a partner or staffing role. He cited Green County's economic development model, where a nonprofit board and private financing contribute to a county employee position.
The board pressed Troy on nursing homes and jails specifically. Troy said nursing homes are not a state‑mandated county function and urged the board to ask whether the county would build and operate a nursing home today. He acknowledged the emotional and community stakes — "I'm 99.9% sure that somebody in this room has somebody in their family at Pine Valley" — and suggested that selling or transferring the facility, creating a foundation for fundraising, or placing services off the county levy via referendum are all options communities have used.
On jails, Troy cautioned against large long‑term capital commitments without careful workforce analysis. He described recent builds in the region (one cited at roughly $22 million, another at $80 million) and warned that many facilities add more beds than local demand or staff can sustain. Troy and board members discussed options such as smaller holding facilities, transporting inmates to neighboring counties, and the operational tradeoffs of staff time and transport costs.
The presentation closed with board members saying they found the perspective useful as Richland prepares for a constrained 2027 budget season and possible decisions about county assets.
The board did not vote on policy during Troy's briefing; members asked staff to continue exploring options and to bring follow‑up information to a later meeting.
