The Manitowoc County Board of Supervisors has overridden all 2026 budget vetoes.
County Executive Bob Ziegelbauer vetoed borrowing $370,000 for a 1% employee pay raise, two proposals for getting body cameras and new tasers for the sheriff’s office and undoing some funding for highway and road projects.
23rd District Supervisor Douglas Klein commented on the budget, saying it doesn’t “hold the line” on property taxes because there will be an increase.
“Had the original budget that was proposed been thorough and held the line, I’m sure it would have been passed without amendments,” he stated. “And now that the supervisor amendments were passed, these vetoes are simply not necessary and not supportable.”
12th District Supervisor Kevin Behnke said he was disappointed by Ziegelbauer’s comments to the board about why he’s vetoed the items and said the 1% salary increase is needed.
After the board overrode that veto, they discussed keeping the AXON body camera proposal with an Artificial Intelligence (AI) component included in next year’s budget.
According to 10th District Supervisor Don Zimmer, law enforcement is under attack, adding, “Let us now give unstinting support for our county sheriff’s by fully funding the AXON body camera proposal.”
1st District Supervisor Mickey Lillibridge says the AI component, which he learned about through discussions with the Appleton Police Department, will also help deputies complete their reports more quickly.
“Essentially, a court recorder going through, listening to the tape, from the camera and generating a written report that I then as the officer would have to thoroughly review,” he explained. “And then it gets reviewed as one goes up the chain. So, great piece of software.”
Both vetoes were overturned by a 21-1 vote of the supervisors.
The board also approved taking out $200,000 for highway roads and bridge projects.
Supervisor Behnke says the highway department needs funding because winter can be expensive.
“$40,000 for what you would call a major snowstorm. That’s a lot of money,” he elaborated. “And to make sure that we have a cushion there for that, I agree with Supervisor Hammel that this is just a talking point (made by Ziegelbauer). That’s all this is.”
The 2026 county budget also includes about $16.6 million for road projects, as well as opioid settlement funds to help address a deficit in the Human Services Department.
