Budget Supports Community

By Tina Tryggestad, La Crosse County Board Chair

Consider a typical workday for La Crosse County’s government workforce, spread across 27 departments delivering vital public services.

Nurses care for older adults at long-term campuses in West Salem and La Crosse. Downtown, 911 dispatchers answer emergency calls around the clock, while social workers assist individuals dealing with mental health and addiction issues. Libraries in Bangor, Campbell, Holmen, Onalaska, and West Salem offer spaces for learning, connection, and relaxation.

Economic Support staff help residents navigate programs like FoodShare and BadgerCare, our Land Conservation team partners with farmers to protect soil and water, and Highway Department crews maintain roads vital to our economy. County parks staff work to provide recreation opportunities that draw tourism dollars while preserving green spaces. Meanwhile, our Solid Waste Department’s cutting-edge recycling operations work with residents, businesses, and neighboring counties to reduce waste.

This is just a glimpse of the essential services provided by your county government’s 1,100 employees. Their efforts may often go unnoticed, but the services they provide are the building blocks of community.

On Nov. 12, the county board approved a $206 million budget for 2025, ensuring these services continue while also addressing key community priorities. The budget includes a 3% raise for county workers, supporting family-sustaining jobs that contribute to our local economy. It also allocates a record $14.1 million for highway construction, funding 11.1 miles of projects that will continue the improvement in the condition of county roads.

Addressing homelessness is another top priority. The Pathways Home initiative, a joint city-county effort, will ramp up significantly in 2025. Our ambitious goal is to end unsheltered homelessness by year’s end. This will be achieved by expanding shelter space, increasing specialized housing, and creating three new peer specialist positions to support those transitioning into stable living situations. In just six months, Pathways Home has already housed 80 people, and we’re just getting started.

We also anticipate the opening of the county’s new Intergenerational Center at Hillview in late 2025—a first-of-its-kind facility in our region. This innovative space will integrate childcare provided by the YWCA of La Crosse with programming for older adults experiencing mild to moderate dementia. The Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) will lead the older adult programming as part of a two-year pilot project. Designed to support families and caregivers, this center is part of the $19.6 million Hillview renovation and reflects the county’s commitment to creative solutions to community needs.

It’s also worth noting that La Crosse County’s 2025 budget is balanced, and our property tax levy will decline slightly. The county’s outstanding debt will also fall next year, and we expect to begin seeing savings from the installation of about $1.5 million worth of solar panels. The panels are installed on multiple properties, with two locations still to come. They hit the sweet spot of lowering our electricity bills, while also reducing our carbon footprint. It’s another example of how county staff balance community needs with fiscal responsibility – no small feat.  Watch for new initiatives around sustainability and improving the local economy that will be launched in 2025.

The 2025 La Crosse County budget is much more than numbers—it’s an investment in the well-being and future of our community. County staff, and your county board, will continue to work hard to make that future brighter.