Construction spike gives county more to spend

Ozaukee County’s net new construction, a figure the state uses to calculate how much local municipalities can increase their tax levies, is jumping from 1.5% to 2.3% for 2027 fueled by development in  the cities of Mequon and Port Washington, the Village of Grafton and the Vantage Data Centers Lighthouse Campus, county supervisors were told recently.

That translates to more than $500,000 in potential new spending for the county government, Ozaukee County Administrator Jason Dzwinel told the County Board earlier this month in his initial 2027 budget preview.

“It’s one of the largest increases in recent history,” which Dzwinel called “an encouraging development.”

Net new construction percentage is the value of newly built and altered taxable property minus the value of any demolished property, divided by the total equalized value of all taxable property in a local municipality or county from the prior year.

The state limits local governments in how much they can increase their tax levy to the value of net new construction.

For 2026, the county’s net new construction value was $363,000 based on an increase of 1.73%, which was revised upward following a 1.5% initial figure when the 2026 budget was passed.

A 2.3% increase would be worth about $530,000 in new spending, Dzwinel said.

Local municipalities aren’t required to spend the net new construction value, but the county did for 2026, applying it to general operations following a challenging 2025 budget season.

The state allows counties and municipalities to carry forward any unused net new construction for the previous five years.

Dzwinel declined to comment on whether supervisors might vote to spend the money or what he will recommend.

Almost 80% of the increase is due to new construction in Mequon, Port Washington and Grafton, he said.

The county also benefited from Port Washington holding the first year of the data center’s value outside the tax incremental financing district, he said.

TIF districts are geographic areas, in this case the Vantage Data Centers campus, where local governments use future gains in property tax revenues to fund current public and private infrastructure improvements.

Any increase in the equalized values attributed to the TIF district will not be included in the net new construction formula.

The rest of the budget, Dzwinel said, includes the “normal challenges with salaries and benefits being the primary drivers. Nothing unusual or unexpected.

“Several of our key budget assumptions are still pending,” he said.

Dzwinel said the county budget makers are assuming a 10% increase in health insurance premiums, which he said “reflects our experience in the last three to five years.”

That’s in spite, he said, of health claims exceeding premium contributions by more than 100%.

“Normally, you want those about 85%,” he said.

Salaries and benefits are expected to rise 3%.

The county has benefited from a robust economy, with sales tax receipts expected to top $13 million for the year.

With all the development, the Register of Deeds Office is busy. It generated a “profit” in 2025 of $583,244, 11% more than its projected budget for the year and the best showing since 2021, officials said.

Those funds are generated by real estate transfer fees, a $30 per document recording fee, charges for copies of recorded documents and vital records, charges for certifying recorded documents, deeds, mortgages and satisfactions.

A significant share of those fees — $88,300 — were generated from the 70 deeds involving VDC Wisco Realty, representing the data center development, Register of Deeds Jennifer Laurin said earlier this year.

This year, through June, Laurin’s office recorded 1,255 documents, almost 7% more than those recorded during the same period in 2025, Laurin said earlier this month

In addition, the newly formed office of land information had a profit of $11,701 for June and a year-to-date profit of $12,237.

Other revenue-generating areas of county government include the county golf courses and the Lasata Senior Living Campus in Cedarburg, each of which contributed $100,000 to government operations the last couple years.

Officials recently reported that the Hawthorne Hills and Mee-Kwon golf courses are on track to enjoy another record year in golfers and revenue.

The 2026 tax levy totaled $23.18 million, up 1.59% from 2025.

The Sheriff’s Office makes up the largest share of the budget, with $16.7 million in levy for operations this year, up $592,000, 3.7% higher than in 2025.

Dzwinel said he expects to present a proposed budget to supervisors in mid-September.

The Executive Committee, made up of the chairmen of the five standing committees and County Board Chairman Lee Schlenvogt, is scheduled to have a budget ready for the County Board to review in mid-October.

The board will vote on it in November.

The budget must be finalized by December.