What Can We Do?

[Published Nov. 1, 2025]

Life as a conservative or moderate in Dane County can often be frustrating and downright discouraging at times. Year after year we see woke, liberal policies fail our community. Taxes, homelessness, crime and the cost of living are all high and the liberal majority that control the Dane County Board are proposing policies that will inevitably make these problems worse. So what can we do? Do we sit back and just complain? Do we rant as keyboard warriors on social media? Or are there other more productive ways to make our voices heard?

Here is one way you can make your voice heard. Register to speak on Dane County’s proposed 2026 budget on Monday November 3rd at 6pm. Here is the agenda and instructions on how to attend and register to speak. After hearing form the public one last time, the County Board will vote on the final budget on November 5th and 6th so this is your last chance to let them know how you feel.

Here are some highlights (or lowlights) on the proposed budget. The proposed 2026 budget:

• Raises property taxes by $11,600,690

• Raises the vehicle registration fee by 30%

• Raises parking fees at the Alliant Energy Center by 20%

• Raises garbage fees at the landfill by various amounts

• Raises parking fees at the Dane County Regional Airport by various amounts

• Raises cremation permit fees

• Implements a hiring freeze with some exceptions

• Reduces county employee wages by 1% and gives all employees 21 more vacation hours

• Cuts 28 sheriff’s deputies from the sheriff’s office and uses the savings to fund homeless shelters and other welfare programs in Madison — While this proposal did pass out of committee, I’m told there is a “compromise” in the works that would still spend the money on homeless shelters but also give the Sheriff the ability to hire the positions if needed. I haven’t seen any actual language and this sounds like we are creating a structural deficit, but I will reserve judgement until I see the actual language.

There are all kinds of other bad ideas that we continue to fund as the process in Dane County is to automatically bake last year’s budget into this year’s budget. We automatically assume all prior spending is wise spending without holding county departments accountable for measuring spending outcomes. You can read the entire budget here if you want.

Thanks for reading and I hope you were able to attend the public hearing on Monday [and future such opportunities].

Jeff Weigand currently serves as a Dane County Board Supervisor representing the 20th District. First elected in a special election in 2021, Jeff was re-elected to a full two-year term in 2022 and 2024. He currently serves on the Public Protection Judiciary Committee. Jeff and his wife Melissa live with their six children in Marshall.