by Emmitt B. Feldner
For The Beacon

SHEBOYGAN – The half-percent county sales tax will finance even more local street and road work next year.

The County Board Tuesday approved the 2020 revenue sharing intergovernmental agreement for the county sales tax.

County Board Chair Thomas Wegner said the county would increase the total amount it sends to towns, village and cities from the current $1.5 million to $1.6 million next year.

The intergovernmental agreement is the same as the last three years the county sales tax has been in place, according to Wegner.

It requires that towns, villages and cities use the shared revenue for road work and street projects, above and beyond their normally budgeted amount.

Wegner noted that the county had expressed its intent to increase the amount of the shared tax revenue after several years as the county’s revenue from the tax increased.

“Our numbers went up, so they get a little bit bigger share of the pie,” Wegner said of the increased payments to local municipalities.

The county utilizes the sales tax revenue for highway and transportation projects.