GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Brown County executive Troy Streckenbach says his proposed 2024 budget focuses on roads.
Streckenbach presented the budget proposal to department heads and county supervisors in Green Bay on Friday.
Streckenbach says property owners would see a tax rate of $3.04 per $1,000 of property value. That would be down 27 cents from 2023 and would be the third-lowest it has ever been on record.
The overall debt will drop nearly $8 million, leaving about $42 million of outstanding debt.
“It’s all working the way we envisioned, and at the same time we’re making great investments in our roads, our infrastructure, our quality of life, institutions, as you saw the story around the Ashwaubenon Library Branch and the partnership with Woodside Manor, this is a great project that we’re hoping will break ground soon and be completed in a timely manner,” Streckenbach said.
Back in 2017, the county board approved the debt reduction infrastructure tax relief plan, which included a half-percent sales tax, and Streckenbach says it’s that which is ultimately allowing the county to eliminate its debt long-term, allowing the county for a tax rate reduction and ultimately debt levy reduction.
“We’re investing more money today than we ever have on roads and it’s because of this plan,” he said.
This includes the two-year Lineville Road project in Howard-Suamico and the southern bridge in De Pere.
The proposed southern bridge over the Fox River will relieve traffic congestion and create easier travel paths from eastern Brown County to Interstate 41.
“Those projects will be underway timed up to meet up around ’27, but all that is starting to take place now and so the public will start to see dirt moved and engineering to take place and so this is an exciting time, I mean a project like the southern bridge has been talked about a long time and we’re going to start seeing that happening in this upcoming budget so it’s great,” Streckenbach said.
The entire southern bridge project is scheduled to be done by 2030.
The county board is scheduled to begin discussing the budget at 9 a.m. Oct. 25.
