11/16/22 Hometown Broadcasting News Wednesday
16 November 2022 News
Dodge County Board Approves 2023 County Budget
The Dodge County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved the 2023 County Budget. The nearly $150 million budget includes a $36 million tax levy which is up about $300,000 from the past year. Multiple board members and the public spoke out against a proposal to include a $1.9 million debt tax levy, but the board passed an amendment to use sales tax funds to eliminate the debt service levy. For taxpayers there will be a mill rate of $3.96 down 82-cents from the current budget year. County property values were up 15 percent this year to $8.6 billion.
Oshkosh Corporation Purchases Italian Manufacturing Company
The Oshkosh Corporation is purchasing an Italian-based manufacturing company. Hinowa manufactures track-based aerial work platforms, mini dumpers, lift trucks and undercarriages. Once the transaction is complete Hinowa will join the Oshkosh Access Equipment segment. Oshkosh Corporation President and CEO John Pfeiffer says, “This acquisition will accelerate our electrification capabilities and provide growth opportunities across core and adjacent markets.” Hinowa’s headquarters are located in Verona. They have been a part of a 12-year partnership with JLG-an Oshkosh Corporation company. The transaction is expected to close within 90-days.
Scam Advice
Green Lake County Chief Deputy Matt Vande Kolk suggests trusting your instincts when you think a phone call or email is a scam. He says if it feels suspicious it probably is. He has some simple rules of thumb for instance if you’re on the phone with someone who says they are with a law enforcement agency and a relative is in trouble and needs to be bailed out tell them you want to verify it by talking to a relative who is a police officer. Vande Kolk says if someone is urging you to purchase gift cards for some purpose and give them the card numbers don’t fall for it. He says they want you to use gift cards because it is harder for law enforcement to trace. Finally, he says if you get a call or email saying there is a warrant out for your arrest, don’t believe it. He says in the case of the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office if they had a warrant out for your arrest, they would show up at your door to arrest you.
Winter Weather Awareness Week
With fresh snow over the last few days Governor Tony Evers timing for the declaration of this week as Winter Weather Awareness Week couldn’t have been much better. According to the National Weather Service, Wisconsin experiences an average of three to six winter storms during the season. Last winter, the highest one-day snowfall total was 20 inches reported on Madeline Island in Ashland County on February 20th. Bayfield in Bayfield County had the highest seasonal total with 145.9 inches of snow and the city of Merrill in Lincoln County had the coldest temperature 34 degrees below zero on January 26th. Meanwhile Wisconsin Emergency Management Administrator Greg Engle reminds residents to have their vehicle ready for winter weather, to schedule a furnace tune-up and make sure their home emergency kit is fully stocked with essential supplies. More information about Winter Weather Awareness is available at the Wisconsin Emergency Management website.
November 14-18 is Winter Weather Awareness Week in Wisconsin – Wisconsin Emergency Management
Oracle Accounting System Working Out
Fond du Lac County Executive Sam Kaufman says he has faith in the county’s new centralized accounting program Oracle. He points out there have been a few hiccups with the program because the old programs they used were so antiquated that they have had some issues integrating them with Oracle. Kaufman says Oracle will improve on what they have been working with. He says for example when they put together the 2023 County Budget they had to have department heads prepare each of their budgets and then hand-deliver them to the County Board’s Finance Committee. With Oracle they will be able to enter the data directly into the system which he and the committee will be able to access. The County Board unanimously approved the 2023 County Budget and tax levy last week.
OASD District Report Card
The Oshkosh Area School District earned an overall accountability score of “Meets Expectations” for the 2021-22 school year. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction released School and District Reports Cards Tuesday. The Oshkosh North High School and Oshkosh West High School “Exceed Expectations.” The District received an overall score of 68.7, which is a slight decrease from the 2020-2021 school year when it received a 69.9. The District continued to make strong gains in the area of “District Growth,” where it scored 73.6 out of a possible 100 points, compared to the state average of 66 points.
Mercury Marine Introduces The V10 Outboard
Mercury Marine in Fond du Lac introduced the industry’s first ever V10 outboard Tuesday with the launch of its all-new 5.7Liter 350 and 400 horsepower Verado® outboard engines. Mercury Marine President Chris Drees says the V10 Verado outboards are powerful, smooth and quiet. He says they have many of the same fuel efficiency features that are synonymous with Mercury’s high-horsepower lineup. The V10 weighs 695 pounds and features the same 26-inch mount spacing as the V8 outboards. To keep up with robust customer demand since 2008 the company has invested $2 billion in its manufacturing footprint and has expanded to more than 3 million square feet.
FDL and Green Lake County Offices Closed For Thanksgiving
Fond du Lac County offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 24th and 25th for the Thanksgiving holiday. County offices in the City-County Government Center in Fond du Lac, the Sheriff’s Office lobby window, the Portland Street Annex including the Veteran Services Office, Highway Department, Social Services Department and the Department of Community Programs will all be closed those two days. The Moraine Lakes Consortium Call Center will also be closed on those days. The Green Lake County Government Center, Green Lake County Highway Department, and Fox River Industries will also be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 24th and 25th. Normal hours will resume on Monday, November 28th.
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