October Update: County Newsletter

Written By Stephanie Knezz

Hello everyone; we have reached October. I hope that means everyone is having a happy and festive spooky harvest season; around the county board, October means budget season. We have been busy working on reviewing and giving feedback on the County Executive’s budget for 2026. Next week, the finance committee will hold hearings where they will review every department’s proposed budget compared to prior years and make sure the spending reflects the priorities of the board and our constituents. The final budget will be presented on November 4th and finalized on November 5th. The schedule of hearings based on department can be found linked in the text here and in the list of links below. All are open to the public and streamed live on the county website (I will provide a link at the end for this as well for those interested).

At the October 7th county board meeting, the County Executive Kerkman presented the major overview of Kenosha County in 2025 and future commitments for 2026 through the proposed budget, and I’ll provide an overview here. The recording starting with her presentation can be found here.

  • Financial Success:

    • For the 5th consecutive year, Kenosha county has received a AAA bond rating from the S&P Global Ratings. This is the highest possible rating and reflects the county’s strong fiscal health and outlook. Kenosha is one of just seven counties in Wisconsin to receive this status and will facilitate future economic development to come. This reflects well on our budget process in the past several years and has saved the county $1.2 million since 2021 in interest. 

    • Kenosha County was number 1 in new net construction in 2024 at 2.73%

    • The 2026 budget has a 2.98% levy increase, far less than our percent change in equalized value

    • Eli Lilly Pharmaceutical company announced a $3 billion investment in Bristol, supported by $100 million in state tax credits—one of the largest investments in Kenosha County’s history

  • Public Safety, Human Services, and Mental Health

    • There have been various investments in public safety infrastructure, including a software improvement at the District Attorney’s office that will make it easier to view body camera footage

    • The budget includes commitment to mental health for deputies

    • It expands the embedded social worker program with the Pleasant Prairie Police Department supported by grant funding

    • Brookside Care Center is now operating in the black, back to pre-COVID Census levels. The budget adds a Compliance and Education Nurse to continue to improve the care at the award-winning facility

  • Infrastructure and Housing

    • Upcoming infrastructure projects include:

      • Human Services building 

      • Pike River South Branch

      • Kemper Center shoreline work

    • Kenosha County Housing Task Force, a collaboration with KABA, realtors, developers, financial institutions, large employers, non-profits, and municipalities–is continuing to advance increased housing opportunities

      • To date, more than 2,500 housing units are in the planning or development phase throughout Kenosha county

      • As someone deeply concerned about the housing crisis in Kenosha, I am planning to keep an eye on this effort to make sure that this investment in housing includes affordable housing for the growing population of Kenosha residents getting priced out of their homes and becoming unhoused. The task force is working with the Shalom Center and KHDS to make sure this is a holistic effort. 

I think that covers the updates provided, prompted by projects outlined in the budget. One small PSA that I thought I’d share is that the Register of Deeds Jennifer Mack has shared that there is a new alert system in place to help property owners protect themselves against deed fraud, a new and growing problem. I have included a link to the county press release that provides details if this is something that you’re interested in. 

Thank you again for all your feedback. I had some great discussions after last month’s newsletter, and hearing from you helps direct my attention and care toward the issues that the community cares about. Have a great fall, and let me know if you have any questions. 

Links:

Stephanie Knezz
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