The Manitowoc County Board of Supervisors has adopted its 2026 budget, but not without criticism.
Board members voted 14-10 to get the county funded next year. Before the official vote, 3rd District Representative Rita Metzger asked to reduce the highway incentive pay from 4% to 2% and to reduce borrowing for the highway department’s capital projects.
Several board members, including 13th District Representative Jonathan Neils, spoke against the pay reduction, saying the department has five openings and it’s a way to attract and keep future employees.
He also doesn’t want to see what could happen this winter without highway workers.
“We’re talking about county roads not getting plowed until the middle of the day, that would potentially shut down out county,” he stated. “So, as I said, I will be voting against this amendment. We need to be reactionary. Unfortunately, that’s the state we’re in.”
“And it’s hard to say that I don’t want to vote for this budget when I see things that are needed that are in there, but it’s getting a little bit frustrating,” he stated. “There’s things we need, but we really need to get this box open earlier, shake it a little harder, discuss with our division heads, and work with the county board and everybody long in advance than the one month we get to look at it, because this isn’t a working system.”
But, they did vote 20-3 in favor of removing some language from their nepotism policy that was put in the 2026 budget when Metzger asked about family members working together in departments.
Following that vote, there was some criticism of how the budget process worked.
14th District Supervisor Larry Bonde stated he felt the budget came through at the last minute, that money had to be borrowed for some projects, and that the sales tax the county approved in July last year is not helping cover the budget.
“We haven’t increased our population,” he said. “We haven’t brought in young families, young people, young workers. So, until we provide an environment where people are going to want to come and start moving here, we’re going to struggle with that.”
However, while Bonde and other board members were frustrated with the budgeting by County Executive Bob Zieglbauer, they were happy that the body camera and taser proposal through Axon was kept in the sheriff’s office budget.
6th District Supervisor “Biff” Hansen said there are things that he’s not happy with in the budget, but sometimes you have to vote on what you’re given.
The county is also dealing with population loss to this day.
“We haven’t increased our population,” he said. “We haven’t brought in young families, young people, young workers. So, until we provide an environment where people are going to want to come and start moving here, we’re going to struggle with that.”
He also said that while property taxes would go up about 2.6% this year, that’s not as bad compared to what other municipalities and taxing bodies might propose.
County Board Chairman Tyler Martell told the board of supervisors that he couldn’t fault them for which side they fall on.
He also said that while he was impressed with some improvement working with department heads, this budget just “puts lipstick on a pig.”
“So, I’m frustrated, I hear you’re all frustrated,” he illustrated, “I think our frustration is leaving us to maybe vote different ways tonight. But I think the message is pretty clear from this county board, that we know it can be better, it has to be better, and hopefully we can make those changes that way next year when we’re in the same position, it is better.”
According to the 2026 proposal, the board voted to appropriate about $4 million for about 16 miles of road resurfacing, as well as to use about $950,000 in opioid settlement funds and some sales tax revenue to address a deficit in the Human Services Department.
Ziegelbauer will get a chance to review the board-approved budget, but it may include vetoes, as he did last year.
