JANESVILLE — A half million dollars has been proposed to support construction of Janesville’s ice arena and convention center project in the newly released 2024 Rock County budget.
The money would come from the county’s share of the sales tax, according to a summary from Rock County Administrator Josh Smith.
The budget ultimately must be passed by the full county board, which could decide to add or delete from this initial proposal.
The budget also includes more the $6 million in federal American Recovery Plan Act funding from projects that include:
- $4.5 million to be allocated through the Rock County Housing Authority for specific
projects identified by the County Board to assist private developers in obtaining
sufficient capital to build affordable housing. This is consistent with the strategic
objective to advance efforts to increase access to affordable housing and to enhance
collaboration efforts with municipal government. - $750,000 to support the construction and development of Community Action’s new
shelter serving Rock and Walworth counties. Supporting a project that is already in the development phase with other dedicated sources of funding and an operational plan by
an experienced community organization is the quickest and most effective way to
expand emergency housing resources for Rock County residents. This project is also
financially supported by Walworth County and meets the strategic objective to enhance
collaboration efforts with municipal government. - $375,000 for resources to provide stability and help prevent negative outcomes for
families, including to reduce the likelihood of becoming more involved with Child
Protective Services. This is consistent with the County’s strategic objective to improve
substance abuse prevention and treatment service offerings. - $303,373 for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Rock County to expand
services at its new Enrichment Center drop-in site. This is consistent with the County’s
strategic objective to broaden mental health awareness and education efforts. - $150,000 for the Rock County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force to expand services to
clients. Specific needs of these individuals include housing and related costs, education
and job training, health services (substance use treatment, mental health counseling,
and medical and dental services), transportation, and assistance with basic needs. This is
consistent with the County’s strategic objective to broaden mental health awareness
and education efforts and to improve substance abuse prevention and treatment service
offerings. - $120,000 to support operations of domestic violence shelters in Beloit and Janesville.
Among other important goals, these funds would help meet the County’s strategic
objective to broaden mental health awareness and education efforts by supporting the
mental health recovery of survivors receiving services. - $60,000 to support the operational costs of the CARE House. This is consistent with the
County’s strategic objective to sustain the overall effort to reduce the crime rate and to
broaden mental health awareness and education efforts.
Total spending in the budget is up about $11 million, but the tax rate actually is down 3.24 percent, according to the county.
However taxpayers could very well see a jump in their tax payments because of the revaluation that happened over the summer.
A public hearing on the 2024 budget is slated for November 2nd, and the county hopes to adopt the budget at their November 14th meeting.