The proposed 2027 Racine County budget would spend $21.1 million to run the county jail. Property taxpayers would cover $17.2 million of that total, which is about 25% of the county's proposed $68.8 million property-tax levy — roughly $1 of every $4 collected.
That taxpayer share is $342,133, or 2%, higher than the amount budgeted for the jail in 2026. Measured against what the county now expects the jail to cost taxpayers this year, about $15.9 million, the 2027 figure is about $1.3 million, or 8.3%, higher. County budget records put the jail's taxpayer cost at $12.8 million in 2024.
Jail spending would rise $1.5 million over this year's budget. The largest pieces are wages at $9.28 million, up $489,678 and including five added corrections officer positions paid for with state revenue, medical services at $4.03 million, up $214,361, and a $500,000 pharmacy account that had no money budgeted this year.
The smaller taxpayer increase depends on state money. The budget expects $1.81 million from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections for housing state prisoners in 2027, more than double the $829,620 the county expects to collect this year.
District Attorney Tricia Hanson said people are staying in jail longer because they wait weeks or months for a defense lawyer. The Sheriff's Office's 2024 annual report listed an average length of stay of 96 days in 2024, up from 26 days in 2023, though the office has not explained how those figures were calculated.
The proposal is not final. The County Board, not the county executive, adopts the budget and can amend it before the vote.
