Menomonee Falls board approves $28.6 million 2026 capital budget to fund public safety training center and infrastructure projects

The Menomonee Falls Village Board unanimously approved the village’s proposed 2026 capital budget at a special meeting on Jan. 19, authorizing about $28.6 million in borrowing to fund a slate of infrastructure and public-safety projects.

Tom Hoffman, the village’s director of public works, presented the budget and a five-year capital plan to trustees, outlining project phasing, grant opportunities and recommended funding sources. "This project is crucial to the operation," Hoffman said while summarizing the packet and the capital-at-a-glance sheet. Hoffman walked trustees through priority projects including repairs to the Mill Pond (Lehi) dam, the Campbell Drive bridge reconstruction and several water-system improvements.

Hoffman told the board the Mill Pond dam will require a drawdown beginning in October and remaining in place through June during preparatory work and dredging, with permanent reconstruction planned for 2027; he said the village expects to mix general-obligation debt with SAFER grant funds to pay for construction. "We need to draw the dam down again in October," Hoffman said, "and then it'll be down till June... the construction will start in January," describing the timing for design, bidding and the later build.

The capital plan also includes a $1.7 million booster station at Bella Vista and Fairview drives. Hoffman said approximately $1.2 million would come from water impact fees, with roughly $514,000 from Tax Increment District 15. He described the permanent station as similar in size and layout to an existing Taylors Woods booster station and said the project will include a properly sized permanent generator and building.

Hoffman reviewed a larger water-supply initiative to build redundancy on the village’s west side, proposing two deep wells and new reservoirs. He described blending deep and shallow wells to manage radium levels and estimated a reservoir at the Aero Park/Arrow Park site in the range of 750,000 to 1,000,000 gallons.

Val Emmerich, director of finance, presented the proposed funding plan and said the village expects to borrow roughly $28.6 million to cover capital borrowing and large equipment needs. Emmerich identified major financing goals and sources: a $14.9 million public safety training facility to be funded by future impact fees and a projected levy increase, $1 million added for street resurfacing in 2026, and transfers including $300,000 from the library levy to fund two additional police officers. "Our total anticipated borrowing will be $28,600,000," Emmerich said, and officials have scheduled Ehlers to present detailed sale parameters on March 2 with a tentative bond sale the week of March 18.

Village Manager Mark Fitzgerald noted that while the village may consider pursuing a Moody’s rating change in the future, 2026 would not be the appropriate year given the planned large issuance. He said Moody’s would view the diversity of funding sources favorably but cautioned that the scale of borrowing is significant for a community Menomonee Falls’ size.

After brief trustee discussion and questions on specific line items and scheduling, a trustee moved to approve the 2026 capital budget and related financing authorizations. The board voted "aye" with no opposition; the chair declared the motion passed unanimously. Trustees then moved to adjourn.

The next financing steps include the Ehlers presentation on March 2 and the tentative bond sale in mid-March; officials said detailed repayment parameters and any levy implications will be returned to the board for final action.