Consultants unveiled an $88.5 million courthouse construction project for Shawano County supervisors Feb. 25.
An additional $32.5 million was proposed for a 150-bed housing pod for the jail, which would be used in conjunction with 108 beds at the current jail while closing the work release center on Engel Drive.
Kurt Berner, of The Samuels Group, said the base project and the housing pod alternate would result in an increased mill rate of 11 cents per $1,000 of equalized value in 2028 but would decrease after that.
“Using equalized value keeps things consistent countywide, since assessed values can vary from one municipality to another,” said Nichole Zuehl, county finance director. “However, when your actual property tax bill is calculated, the county mill rate is applied to your taxable assessed value.”
The courthouse is at 311 N. Main St., and the jail is at 405 N. Main St.
Letters were sent to all taxpayers at the end of February with information on a new website about the proposal as well as an invitation to community informational meetings.
Meetings will be March 12 at Shawano Community High School, March 16 at Bonduel High School and March 17 at Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School. All meetings will begin at 6 p.m. in the school auditorium.
The website – www.shawanocountymasterplanning.com – provides information about the proposed building project.
It includes the history of the courthouse, sheriff’s department, jail and work release center, as well as the current condition of all the buildings. There will also be information on a facility assessment, alternatives considered, current and future space needs, operational efficiencies, phases of construction, costs and tax rates.
The informational meetings will begin with a presentation of 45-60 minutes, followed by time for questions from the audience.
“We’ll talk about some of the needs that are in there,” Berner said. “Obviously, the mechanical and electrical infrastructure needs replacement. You’ve got many security issues here. Obviously, there is no secure main entrance. We’ve got no secure connection between the courts and jail housing, and we also have no security measures in regards to the inter-departments that are here.”
Shawano County is on track to have a third circuit court judge in 2027, so the plans includes space for a third courtroom and accompanying space needs.
Tax impact
Borrowing for the project would occur in three phases, from 2027 to 2029.
“The projections assume three separate borrowing phases, each structured over 20 years at an assumed 4.25% interest rate,” Zuehl said. “Those are planning assumptions, and we are being conservative with them. The actual rate and structure would depend on market conditions at the time of issuance.”
Berner said that as the county’s equalized value increase, the operating mill rate decreases, which is why the 2026 tax rate of $3.76 per $1,000 of value would drop to $3.74 in 2027 even if the county borrows for the first phase of the $88.5 million project.
For the $121 million project, the $3.76 would increase to $3.81 in 2027 and peak at $3.87 in 2028.
“It’s going to peak at an 11-cent increase,” Berner said. “On a $100,000 property, it would be $11 on their tax bill, and that would happen in 2028. After that, you’re going to see it start to decline again, because you’re paying off debt, and you’ve got your equalized value factored into those components.”
“The projections show a decrease in the operating mill rate due to valuation growth and levy limits constraints, while at the same time, debt service increases as new borrowing is added,” Zuehl added. “The 11 cents reflects the combined effect of those two moving in opposite directions. So at the peak, the impact would be approximately $27.50 per year on the county portion of the tax bill for a $250,000 home.”
Berner said there is also a potential savings of $500,000 in the operational costs of the new buildings and additional revenue of $600,000 per year if the county houses inmates from other counties.
Berner said he felt good about the projections.
“I’m confident that those numbers are what you would hit if you started right away,” he said. “If you guys waited two or three years, I’m not as confident.”
Build new or renovate?
The jail was built in 1956, followed by the courthouse in 1958. The work release center was built in 1999.
“Classifications are a big thing,” Berner said about the jail’s space needs. “That’s why you guys have to utilize the work release center as much as you do.”
GPS monitoring means fewer Huber inmates, so the county uses the space for low security risk classifications. However, the dorm style housing can limit usable space.
The jail kitchen and laundry are undersized and would be rebuilt. The linear part of the jail, in the oldest part of the building, would be closed.
The county’s heating plant, adjacent to the courthouse, is from the early 1900s.
“You’ve got old, antiquated mechanical and electrical components,” Berner said. “You’ve got fire alarm systems that have lived well beyond their days.”
Berner noted that the cost to renovate the existing courthouse instead of building a new one would actually be higher – $93.5 million.
Crews would need to gut the entire building while it would remain in use. Berner said once a certain point is crossed in remodeling, all infrastructure must be brought up to current code requirements.
“Right now, you have many areas that are grandfathered into the code,” he said. “That will not be the case, because you would have such a significant renovation that would need to be done to this building.”
That renovation would also have to include an addition to meet space needs for jail kitchen, laundry, sally port, pre-booking and booking areas at the jail. It would also result in the court system spread across two floors.
The first phase of a new building project would be $5 million less than the remodeling.
“That’s replacing every department that’s in the courthouse in that new space, and that is replacing your entire jail intake,” Berner said. “That means your sally port, your pre-booking, your booking, receiving cells. It would also be jail support – it would kitchen and laundry. There’s also medical space that’s in there. There’s a secure corridor … that would tie you into your existing jail.”
The alternate 150-bed housing pod would include multiple cell blocks and be built for higher staffing efficiencies.
By closing the work release center, staffing could be reduced by one. However, that would not means anyone losing their job, as staff is always short now and hours are filled by overtime work.
Plans show the building project would take three years to complete.
Borrowing limits
Counties have a statutory debt limit under Wisconsin law, but voter approval is not required as it is for school districts.
The maximum amount of general obligation debt a county can incur is 5% of its equalized value, Zuehl said. That limit is recalculated each year based on updated valuation.
“For 2026, our legal debt limit is $290,460,675,” she said. “Based on our current outstanding general obligation debt, we are utilizing approximately 5.79% of that limit. This means we remain well within our statutory borrowing capacity, have significant room to bond, and are in a strong financial position from a debt capacity standpoint.”
Counties do not need voter approval for general obligation borrowing, as long as the borrowing stays within the statutory debt limit and is properly authorized by the county board.
School districts operate under different rules and often need to go to referendum, but counties can approve bonding by board resolution.
