Skip to content

An Overview of the Eau Claire County Budget

November 16, 2025

A County Budget in Focus:

Priorities in community services, addressing growing debt, and expenditure shifts.

On November 12th, 2025, the County Budget passed with twenty-seven for and only two votes against. The Committee of Finance and Budget worked with the county administrator (and all county departments) to put together the finalized budget, and with the passed budget, there were only two amendments attached to the resolution.
 
With expected expenditures being around $166 million, and a proposed 2025 Tax Levy of $41 million dollars, the budget remained largely the same as the recommended budget.
 
 
By delivering quality services and pursuing new revenue opportunities, a county budget attempts to maintain long-term financial stability. Passing a balanced budget is not without its challenges, as administrators and council members reflect on the previous year's expenses, cost-of-living increases, county projects, and addressing debt service. The money a county receives (from taxes, fines, grants, service fees, etc.) is called revenue. For example, in the County of Eau Claire, intergovernmental grants & aid could make up 29 percent of funding sources in the 2026 budget (Administrator's Recommended Budget). An expenditure is what the county spends its revenue on. For example, the 2026 budget includes expenditures for transportation and public works, public safety, and culture and recreation; however, health and human services are expected to be the largest expenditure (including programming for child support, veteran services, public health, and human services). Collected revenue and expenditure can provide a look into the values and needs of a community, making them paramount to any budget. The Eau Claire County 2026 budget consists of several parts, a majority of which break down how revenue is collected and what programs are supported. Another significant portion of the budget addresses debt service, helping us understand how the county plans to manage future debt in relation to what it has already borrowed. For example, "as of December 31, 2025, Eau Claire County ended the year with outstanding debt totaling $64.4 million," the County has plans to implement a debt service level for 2026 of $12.8 million, but more on that later. (Administrator's Recommended Budget). As the season began to get colder, the Eau Claire County Board met and held public hearings in October, allowing the community to provide input and be part of shaping public services. As the budget moved into November, the County Board moved to adopt the budget after amendments and the Administrator's recommended budget had been made (Budget Timeline). With all that said, the Eau Claire County budget included notable changes to department funding, several of which were asked to reduce their budgets by up to 5%.
 

Rising costs due to inflation, overspending, and other service expenditures left a $3.9 million deficit in 2024. This is reflected in the 2026 budget, which faces a $1.8 million budget deficit (which was reported in August). One way to tackle the debt is by implementing a debt levy (or using a portion of collected property tax to pay for principal and interest on existing debt). As highlighted in the Capital Improvement Plan, the recommendation for the 2026 budget is "$7.3 million, including $1.7 million of short-term debt. The goal of structuring debt in this manner is to maintain a flat debt levy while using short-term debt to minimize interest costs." (Administrator's Recommended Budget). The recommended budget provides an overview of expenditures that are funded by debt, showing how important using debt can be to fund roads, public safety, and transportation.

 

 

Although the recommended 2026 budget saw a 6 percent increase from the previous (totaling $165.9 million), several departments were asked to develop reduction plans of up to 5 percent to balance the budget. One such department was Human Services. The Department of Human Services saw a 5 percent reduction in funding, which may impact social services (including child welfare), highlighting the challenging nature of creating a budget with limited revenue and rising expenditures.

Any successful budget is developed with the future in mind, and Eau Claire County is no different. To maintain a sustainable budget and to ensure services remain in the short and long term, a County will look towards the many communities it serves. From business owners to interested community members, it is important to understand how your budget process functions. Administrators and officials working on the budget named a few key purposes when writing a budget, namely that it reflects “the type and level of services desired by our community while recognizing the unique character of Eau Claire County” and that it “aligns with the County’s mission, vision, and goals” while providing transparency for the public. (Administrator's Recommended Budget). So, while the County may play an important role in delivering services desired by its populace, it is up to the public to advocate for their needs and understand how the budget works while living in the realities of limited revenue and growing expenditures.

 

Sources:
Budget Timeline, Eau Claire County
2026 Administrator's Recommended Budget, Eau Claire County
County 2026 Budget page, Eau Claire County
Business Advocate, Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce

Posted by Brennen Bolopue, Governmental Affairs Intern
bolopue@eauclairechamber.org

Categories

Archives

Scroll To Top