Hometown Broadcasting News Thursday 10/21/21
21 October 2021 News
Ripon School Board Approves Budget And Tax Levy
The Ripon School Board this week unanimously approved changes to the budget for the 2021-22 school year and approved a tax levy to go along with it. The Board approved a $5.9 million tax levy, which is nearly $470,000 less that the past school year’s levy. Much of the decrease in the school tax levy is due to an increase in state equalization aid of $480,089 or a 4 percent increase. As for the mill rate it will decrease by 68 cents to $8.27 per thousand dollars of value on a property. That is the lowest mill rate for the school district in the past 8 years since a high of $12.43 for the 2014-15 school year.
FDL County Budget Address
Fond du Lac County Executive Allen Buechel delivered his 29th annual budget message to the County Board Tuesday night. He is proposing a 1 percent increase in wages for county workers for the second year in a row. He noted some of the more expensive items in the budget include reconstruction of Pioneer Road in the West Johnson Street area of Fond du Lac and $3 million to replace the county’s financial software. As for the $20 million the county will receive in American Rescue Plan Act funds the county still has to decide how to use that, but has until the end of 2024 to spend the money. The overall tax levy will be $49.4 million compared to $47.6 million in the past year an increase of $1.8 million. The proposed tax rate of $5.72 is lower than this past year’s rate of $5.81 or a decrease of 9 cents. The 2022 Fond du Lac County Budget has been turned over to the Board’s Finance Committee, which begins work on it next week. The County Board will approve the budget and tax levy next month.
FDL County Board Approves Bonuses
The Fond du Lac County Board this week approved $1,000 quarterly bonus payments for dispatchers in its 911 Communications Center and for correctional officers in the Sheriff’s Department. They also approved premium pay increases of $2 an hour for staff sergeants and $1 an hour for staff lieutenants in the Sheriff’s Department. The money for the quarterly payments and premium pay increases will be funded through American Rescue Plan Act funds the county is receiving. The pay increases were proposed in two resolutions the board approved on Tuesday night. Some board members had reservations about approving the pay increases when other employees for the county were not receiving the bonuses.
Buckle Up Phone Down
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation recently launched the new Buckle Up Phone Down campaign asking everyone to show support for two simple measures; use a seat belt every time you get in the car and stay off your phone while driving. Cell phone use is one of the biggest distractions while driving. Distracted driving was a factor in almost 9,000 crashes in the state last year, including 31 deaths. The DOT reports 11 percent of drivers in Wisconsin did not buckle up in 2020. Unbuckled drivers and passengers made up 44 percent of all fatalities last year. The Buckle Up Phone Down initiative originated in Missouri in 2017 where in the first two years seat belt use increased by 6.3 percent. Now, the initiative is underway in six other states, including Wisconsin, with 12 more considering campaigns.
Thanksgiving Gatherings Safe For Fully Vaccinated Families
Those who are fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus can be fairly confident if they gather for Thanksgiving with other family members who have had their shots that they won’t contract the coronavirus. Jeff Puhlmann-Becker of the Ripon Community COVID-19 Task Force says that’s according to the Chief Medical Advisor for the President Dr. Anthony Fauci. Puhlmann-Becker says positivity rates for new cases and hospitalizations have been trending downward, but the coronavirus has run in two-month cycles of peaks followed by downward trends. He says we are still too far away from Christmas and New Year’s to know if Dr. Fauci’s advice for families will hold up for those holidays as well.
Worker Shortage Affecting Production And Service
The President and CEO of Envision Greater Fond du Lac says some businesses in the county are coming off record years and if not for a worker shortage would be having another record year. Sadie Parafiniuk says those businesses would be going through more growth if not for the lack of workers. She says some jobs you just can’t do from home or a remote location like making a laundry machine or serving a cup of coffee. Parafinkiuk says restaurants are struggling because of a shortage in wait staff and are getting around it by having people make reservations to ensure they have adequate wait staff. She asks people to have patience if they have longer waits for service because a business might not have adequate staff to handle the demand.
Ditching IDs At The US Border
Congressman Glenn Grothman says one of the things he’s seen on his visits to the United States’ southern borders is the practice by illegal immigrants of ditching their IDs before they come across the border. He says you will see a lot of discarded identifications on dessert grounds near the borders. The federal lawmaker says with the current administration’s open border policies those immigrants will be allowed to come in any way. He says those immigrants may have a good reason to ditch their ID if they have a criminal record, but also might just want a fresh start with a new identity when they enter the U.S.
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