County Executive Parisi is proposing $5 million for construction of a new Dane County Emergency Operations Center and home for the county’s Department of Emergency Management. Emergency Management is currently located in the Public Safety Building and will need to move as a result of the jail consolidation project. These funds will help secure a new long term home for one of Dane County’s most critical county assets.
The budget has $3.5 million at the request of the Sheriff for renovation work needed to establish a new southeast precinct in Stoughton and around $700,000 for the acquisition of 13 new SUVs for patrol deputies. County dollars are being added to the 911 Center budget to replace lost state revenue that supported a shift supervisor position. 911 pre-hire positions will also be reclassified to full time new communicators to help with scheduling flexibility and reduce overtime.
The growth of the community has resulted in more multi-lane highways. The pending completion of the Verona Road expansion project, ongoing work to widen the interstate, and potential use of shoulders on the Beltline during peak travel times adds to the complexity of keeping roads safe in ice and snow.
The 2020 budget adds $2 million to purchase four “tow plows” and heavy duty quad-axle trucks to pull them. Tow plows are a relatively new line of equipment that allows a single truck to clear two lanes of highway at the same time with a single pass. This will help Dane County’s ability to keep traffic moving on the Beltline and Interstate. Given more lane miles are added to the county system with projects like Highway M on the west side of Madison and Verona, $1.4 million is being included to buy 4 more tri-axle highway trucks (plows).
