4 days ago
Money for Chaos Waterpark passes doesn't come from county's tax levy
EAU CLAIRE — Money spent by Eau Claire County at Chaos Waterpark and Action City was and is 100% reimbursed by the state through Children's Long-Term Support (CLTS) program.
This is the message Eau Claire County's CLTS Supervisor Amanda Gaetz stressed is one of the most important points she wants the public to understand about the money being spent not just for the waterpark passes but for the entire CLTS program.
'I just want to make sure that it's very clear,' Gaetz said. 'It's our expenses, [such as] the waterpark passes, [that] are fully reimbursed. They do not come out of Eau Claire County's tax levy budget.'
Concerns that the county had spent $68,000 between January and April had been expressed by County Board Supervisor Michele Skinner of District 11 at the last county board meeting. Eau Claire County Director of Human Services Angela Weideman sent out a memo clarifying why the funds could not be used for rent, utilities, groceries, and other basic household expenses, but further clarification of the memo specifies that these expenses are reimbursed by the state.
'Ultimately, the way that we set our rates with the state allows our full costs of the program to be reimbursed,' Behavioral Health Division Administrator at Eau Claire County Department of Human Services Luke Fedie said. 'Reimbursement means reimbursement. There is no fiscal benefit to the county based on provider or provider cost.'
He specified that the property tax levy — the portion of funds the county intends to raise from its portion of property taxes — is used to pay for what is called a 'maintenance of effort' or MOE, which the county pays the state.
'That's $359,970,' Fedie said. 'There are pushes from counties to eliminate the maintenance of effort because it is burdensome on the county to have that. Each county has a different maintenance of effort. That MOE stays consistent by the state regardless of program spending. So none of the CLTS program expenses contributed to the department's overage in 2024.'
Fedie stressed how important CLTS is to disabled children and their families.
'This is a really vital part of what we do at Human Services,' he said. 'This is really meant to make sure that every child has the opportunity to thrive, connect with others, reach their fullest potential, and ultimately remain in the community. One of the things that's important to consider with the CLTS program is that each of these children reach a level of care where they could potentially be placed outside of the home.'
He said that one of the goals of CLTS is to enable children to remain in the community, with their families.
When it comes to choosing between the YMCA passes or Chaos Waterpark, Weideman said 'that families have some choice in who they work with to try to meet the needs of their children. The YMCA is a wonderful place and often has swim lessons, lanes blocked off for lap swim. That can make the pool unavailable to children and families to use. Timing may matter for some families.'
To learn more about what CLTS one family in the region, see the article titled 'A mother talks about the value of CLTS for her disabled son' published in the June 6 edition of the Leader-Telegram.
