Manitowoc County is beginning the process of creating its 2027 budget, but this year, things are different.
County Executive Tyler Martell appeared on WOMT’s Be My Guest program recently, where he noted that the county doesn’t have a finance director after former JJ Gutman resigned for personal reasons.
Martell said he’s been filling the role and meeting with all department heads.
“We’ve gone through line by line what the request is,” he explained. “So, we’ll be ready to present the budget on October 6th.”
However, Martell explained that because employee compensation is increasing, the county would start with about a $4 million deficit.
And like everywhere else, the price of products for county departments keeps going up.
For example Martell pointed to the sheriff’s department budget.
“It’s an increase of a couple hundred thousand dollars,” he revealed. “It’s not because the sheriff has asked for anything new; it’s because medication for the people in the jail has gone up. It’s because the cost of food has gone up and we have to feed people in the jail.”
Martell credits those still in the county’s finance department for making the process more seamless.
He expects the county to hire a firm to help find their next finance director.
