Kenosha County committee reallocates surplus capital to replace Fleet Services car‑wash station

The Kenosha County Joint Services Committee unanimously approved a resolution to repurpose surplus capital funds from several projects to pay up to $100,000 of the county’s portion for a new car‑washing station at Fleet Services.

Barna Bench, identified as the county budget director, told the committee that several capital projects came in materially under budget, producing surplus funds. Bench described one pressing need: the Fleet Services car‑washing station. He said the existing station is “obsolete — literally on its last leg,” and parts are difficult to source.

Bench reviewed the sources of surplus funds in a spreadsheet attached to the resolution. He said an ERP project had approximately $100,000 in unspent county budgeted funds; a data center hardware line had a roughly $10,000 surplus; and a 9‑1‑1 refresh project came in under budget, with the county’s expenditures at about $106,800 and the potential for up to $70,000 in reimbursement. Bench summarized those surpluses as roughly $320,000 available, “plus another $70,000 potentially.” From that pool, the resolution authorizes using up to $100,000 for the county’s share of the car‑wash replacement.

Bench said vendors’ quotes for the replacement “range from $1.65 to $1.70 something,” and that the county purchasing director advised a bid process for the equipment purchase. The county and the city will split the project cost; Bench said the city would pay about 45 percent of the car‑wash cost.

The resolution also asks that, in similar future circumstances, the Joint Services Board be permitted to repurpose modest leftover CIP funds to address capital needs and report such actions to the committee and the finance committee. Committee members discussed possible risks of allowing repurposing of leftover CIP funds; one member said there was “potential of abusing some leftover CIP funds” if broad authority were granted. Despite that caution, the committee voted to approve the resolution unanimously.

The committee recorded that an incorrect version of the resolution had been submitted earlier; members confirmed they were referencing the corrected version at the meeting. Procurement and final vendor selection will proceed through the county’s planned bid process.