In an effort to save Marquette County taxpayers money, the County Board of Supervisors is looking to cut the number of times it meets next year.

As part of Marquette's 2010 proposed budget, the executive and finance committee approved a proposal by Finance Director Brent Miller to reduce the County Board's meetings by two. The proposal is contingent on the approval of the county budget by the board next month. The reduction would result in a savings of $2,000 a year.

"It will save a little bit of money, but every bit helps," said Howard Zellmer, County Board chairman. Zellmer also is a member of the Executive and Finance Committee.

The county board meets the third Tuesday of every month. If the 2010 budget is approved, the Executive and Finance Committee has given Zellmer the authority to choose which two board meetings would be cut next year.

Zellmer said he is looking at cutting the February meeting because there is typically a light agenda. However, if an agenda item comes up during any month that is cut, the board can be called into session, Zellmer said.

A 10-month meeting schedule next year would be similar to that of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, which typically meets every month expect February and August.

County Board meetings would be the only meetings cut next year in Marquette. All county committees will continue to meet regularly and will not be affected by the budget cuts.

"The committees will meet as long as there is stuff to talk about," Zellmer said.

Zellmer said that several county zoning committee meetings were cut this year because there simply wasn't anything to talk about.

The entire county budget includes similar spending in 2010 (about $16.99 million) compared to what was budgeted for this year (about $17.07 million).

There are no employee furloughs proposed for 2010. All salary and non-salary employees - 154 full-time employees - of the county's 22 departments have taken three furlough days this year and are scheduled to take one more - Nov. 25 - before the end of 2009. Full-time employees of the county's highway department already have taken their four required days of furlough this year.

This savings in employee wages has been put into a separate account and will be used to help offset expected budget shortfalls in 2010, Miller said. This amount, which also includes a 1 percent mandatory cut of the sheriff's office's budget because those employees did not take furloughs, is about $96,000, and is included in next year's prospective budget as a separate line item.

The biggest proposed change in expenditures in 2010 compared comes in the health and human services department. An extra $142,000 will be spent. Miller said this money is needed because of a reduction in state funding for some of the department's programs and services.

The supervisors will decide Nov. 10 whether to adopt the budget. Copies are available for viewing in room 101 of the Marquette County Courthouse, 77 W. Park St., from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.

A public hearing on the proposed budget will be held at 7 p.m. Nov. 10, prior to the County Board meeting. Both the public hearing and the County Board meeting will be held at the Public Safety Room inside the courthouse.

Miller said the hearing is the time taxpayers of Marquette County have an opportunity to be heard. Written comments also are welcome and should be addressed to: Marquette County Clerk, P.O. Box 186, Montello, WI 53949. All written comments must be received prior to the hearing.

By the numbers

• Total amount of money that the county plans to spend in 2010: A little more than $16.99 million.

• Amount of the county's money expected to come from property taxes: A little more than $9.33 million.

• Percentage of the county's money that comes from property taxes: About 55 percent.

• Other sources of Marquette County revenue, after property taxes: intergovernmental grants (mainly from the state and federal government) account for about $4.02 million of the county's revenue. Public fees for services also account for about $1.52 million.

• Largest expenditure: health and human services, about $4.79 million, or 28 percent of the budget.

• Second largest expenditure: Public safety, about $4.48 million, or 26 percent of the budget.

Source: Proposed Marquette County 2010 budget

kkirkpatrick@capitalnewspapers.com

745-3509