Dane County would use more than $23 million in reserve funds to balance its proposed 2027 budget, under a plan County Executive Melissa Agard presented Oct. 1 at the City-County Building in Madison. The proposal would reduce spending by $10 million, eliminate 34 vacant positions — mostly in public safety departments — and seek $5 million in health insurance savings. It would preserve filled county jobs and end a 1% wage reduction imposed in the current budget. Agard said the proposed draw from reserves would be lower than in recent years, but that the county still needs to bring ongoing spending closer to its revenues. When she took office in 2024, the county was facing a projected $32 million deficit for 2026. The current budget used more than $27 million in reserves after cuts to vacant jobs, wages and service contracts. A better-than-expected 2025 budget reduced the projected 2027 gap to about $15 million, according to the county’s earlier estimates. The proposed budget would use reserves to cover the remaining shortfall, continuing a pattern in which county spending has exceeded anticipated revenue. Health care costs are a major pressure on county finances, which cover benefits for more than 2,800 employees. Agard asked the employee insurance committee to identify $5 million in savings. The committee proposed changes projected to save $1.3 million, with another $3.7 million expected from a more limited preferred-provider network and payments to employees who voluntarily leave the county insurance plan. The county’s combined operating and capital budget is nearly $1 billion and would be about $30 million larger than the budget approved last year. It funds more than 30 departments, including the Sheriff’s Office, courts, housing programs, parks and the Henry Vilas Zoo. The plan would lower the county’s net property tax rate by five cents, to $2.43 per $1,000 of equalized value. But the total county property tax levy would still rise about 2%, or roughly $21 for the average Madison home. Among the proposed investments are $3 million for sheriff’s office body cameras, $17 million for road and bridge projects, $20 million for affordable housing development and $2.1 million for the Salvation Army’s women and family shelter. The proposal now goes to the Dane County Board for weeks of hearings and debate. Supervisors can amend the budget before a planned vote later this fall; Agard can then sign or veto the board-approved plan.