Now is the time to weigh in! Sending a loud and clear message now can shape future discussions, to the extent the county has public discussions on the budget.
STOLEN FROM SOMEONE WHO PROBABLY DOESN’T WANT IT ATTRIBUTED TO THEM AS IS
Sorry, no time to check on the attribution, but it was more helpful than the press release below! Running out the door as soon as this posts!
Register by 5:30PM Today: Ask the County Board to Divest from Jail and Incarceration, Invest in Alternatives!!
Tonight there is a public hearing on the County Capital and Operating Budget for all departments other than Human Services. (Human Services is on 9/16 and there will be another opportunity on that day, as well). The hearing is at 6 PM on Zoom. In order to get access to the zoom link and to testify at the committee meeting, you need to register in advance
and no later than 5:30 PM at https://countyofdane.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PQWN1GNfQHWczj-5uvNXRA . The link to the agenda is
here.
No votes or action will be taken at this meeting. However it is a critical opportunity for the public to express their Budget priorities– while Res 145 (“Doyle Resolution”) is going through the committee process– to the County Board and the County Executive before the County Executive makes his Executive Budget proposal to the County Board by October 1. In October and early November, County Board committees will consider budget amendments and vote on the final budget. If you oppose the 922-bed jail project and support investments in alternatives to incarceration, like community based crisis and mental health centers and affordable and supportive housing, please register and comment tonight. All supervisors can be emailed at
county_board_recipients@countyofdane.com and the County Executive at
parisi@countyofdane.comAll of the department budget requests are
here, including the
Sheriff’s and the
District Attorney’s . The Sheriff’s Capital Budget request includes $132,088,208 in “carry forward” appropriations for the jail project. During COVID we have dramatically reduced the jail population. We don’t need to build a shiny new 922 bed jail to make the current jail conditions safer. We need to fix what’s dangerous and focus on keeping people out of jail. The Sheriff’s operating budget request includes 586.5 FTE (full time equivalent) staff positions, which includes, but is not limited to 274 FTEs for security services (jail) and 151.5 field services (patrol). If Dane County is serious about “reimagining criminal justice”, we need to be funding more services to support people in the community and less money on locking people up. We would be moving our Huber (work release) program from the Sheriff’s Department to the Human Services Department, like they have in La Crosse County. We would be funding hundreds of peer support specialists, community organizers, and therapists, not hundreds of jail and patrol staff. If Dane County is serious about eliminating racial disparities, we would be sending tens of millions of dollars to plan and build new affordable housing, not a new jail.
It’s time to divest from the jail plan and invest in the community. Come out tonight to oppose funding for jails and incarceration and support alternatives to incarceration. And, then come out next week to support increases to community based services at the Human Services Department budget hearing. Let’s not just delay the jail, let’s derail it for good!
DANE COUNTY PRESS RELEASE
COUNTY BOARD TO HOLD VIRTUAL PUBLIC HEARINGS ON 2021 DEPARTMENT BUDGET REQUESTS
As previously announced, the Dane County Board of Supervisors will hold a virtual public hearing this week on Thursday (9/10) at 6:00pm to hear a summary of budget requests from all departments except the Human Services Department, which will have its hearing next Wednesday (9/16) at 6:00pm.
Members of the public can participate in this week’s meeting by following the connection information found at the top of the agenda at this link: https://dane.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=734269&GUID=47AF1300-D1D8-4F97-983C-71971D06D887
Additionally, members of the public can email the full County Board at county_board_recipients@countyofdane.com or contact the supervisor that represents their area, which can be found here: https://dcimapapps.countyofdane.com/supervisors/
Next week’s Human Services department hearing will follow a similar format. The agenda will be posted on Friday (9/11) with information for the public on how to connect.
