Oct. 6, 2020 9:10p
(WGTD)---Kenosha County Executive Jim Kreuser has come up with a plan that’s designed to help put the uptown neighborhood back on its feet. In his proposed budget for next year, Kreuser is suggesting that the county take a hard look at relocating the Kenosha County Job Center to the uptown, an area that was hit by Jacob Blake protest-related arson fires and one accidental blaze.
In addition to stimulating development, the Center would bring various social services closer to the center of the city. “With the unfortunate circumstances that occurred there, it becomes an opportunity for vision and a long-term view of what can happen there,” Kreuser said in his video-taped budget address to the Kenosha County Board Tuesday night. “But we can’t wait long-term to get it done. We need to get moving quick.”
The Job Center is currently housed in an aging building on south Sheridan Rd. that was once a mall. The structure is nearing the end of its life, Kreuser said, and decisions have to be made about its future.
Kreuser also supports a study currently underway to figure out how to bring a grocery store to the uptown area. The neighborhood lost a Pick ‘n’ Save three years ago.
Planning funds for a potential Job Center relocation are included in Kreuser’s budget plan.
His budget calls for a nearly 3% increase in the county’s tax levy, although the tax rate is expected to remain virtually flat.
Meanwhile Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave unveiled his budget last night. It calls for a 3.7% increase in expenses with a tax rate that’s anticipated to drop.
Delagrave’s spending plan includes several recreation-related improvements. A new pavilion at Quarry Lake Park is on tap, along with a new campground at Case Eagle Park in Rochester. Plans are also in the works to complete a bike trail connecting Sturtevant, Mt. Pleasant, Yorkville, Union Grove and Dover.
Calls for racial justice and equality in the wake of the George Floyd and Jacob Blake protests have not gone unnoticed at the county level in either county. Various initiatives are included in the both budget proposals.
Delagrave’s budget includes $100,000 in race and equity training for key county staff, and $53,000 for a youth summer jobs program. He also wants to spend $225,000 on new software to better train sheriff’s deputies in best practices.
Meanwhile, Kenosha County Executive Kreuser is proposing racial equity training for all county government employees next year. He says Kenosha County will also undergo an internal examination of systemic inequities within county government. And Kreuser is including in his budget body cams for deputies.
-0-