After public hearings, La Crosse city, county 2024 budgets passed on same night

Monday was budget night for both La Crosse County and the City of La Crosse, with public hearings scheduled an hour apart for each.

While both budgets passed, the city’s meeting took less than an hour, while the county’s session was about four hours.

One person from the public spoke at the city session, before the council passed the $69 million budget plan.

The citizen was seeking dredging waterways near the 7th Street boat landing.

Supervisors at the county debated several proposed changes in the spending plan.

The final budget came in at $204 million, which is a $4 million reduction from 2023. The tax levy will go up $500,000 to $38 million.

A dozen members of the public commented on the spending with a few expressing support for bluffland preservation funding.

The board did increase funding for bluffland programs by $200,000.

The city of Onalaska requested a $350,000 increase in money allocated for a new community center but was voted down. A move to make the county road fund $500,000 larger failed on a tie vote.

Other suggestions from the public called for increased funding to help veterans and reduce county debt.