Washington Co. Exec Committee to discuss spending $50K on honorary Charlie Kirk Highway sign

UNITED STATES, March 19 — March 17, 2026 – Washington Co., Wi – During the upcoming Wednesday, March 18, 2026, meeting of the Washington County executive committee, there is a discussion / possible action item regarding a resolution to consider spending $50,000 from the general fund to add “Charlie J. Kirk Way” as the road name overlay to a portion of County Trunk Highway K (CTH K). See agenda below.

County CK sign_20260316190536457 Click the arrow in lower left corner to advance the page.

According to Wikipedia , “Charlie Kirk… was an American right-wing political activist, entrepreneur, and media personality. He co‑founded the conservative student organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA) in 2012 and served as its executive director until his assassination in 2025.”

Information provided in the agenda packet does not specifically indicate who selected Charlie Kirk as the person to be honored by the highway sign. The packet simply said, “Introduced by members of the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE as filed with the County Clerk.”

The information provided also does not indicate how Charlie Kirk was selected, since he hails from a suburb of Illinois and live in Arizona.

One committee member said they initially thought the honorary road proposal was to name a highway after local Olympian Jordan Stolz, who won 2 gold medals and a silver during the recent 2026 Winter Olympics.

The agenda item indicates a cost of $50,000 from the General Fund, however at the bottom of the resolution is a note, (No direct fiscal impact; however, there are related costs associated with road signage. Those fiscal impacts are included in the separate general fund transfer request.)

Interesting to note, it was just last Wednesday, March 11, 2026 during the meeting of the Washington County Board when supervisors voted on “An ordinance to create 157-10, relating to: Honorary Naming of County Trunk Highways.” Then, within less than a week, a proposal is made before the executive committee regarding the honorary naming of country trunk highways.

Wash Co HWY signs 518Packet_20260310173225508 Click the arrow in the lower left corner to advance the page.

In order for the item to move forward the agenda reads: VOTE REQUIREMENT FOR PASSAGE: 2/3 of members elect.

The elected members of the executive committee includes supervisors: Denis Kelling, Jeffrey Schleif, John Schodron, Mike Schwab, and Jodi Schulteis.

Click HERE to find contact information for Washington County Supervisors

If the item moves forward it still has to be approved by the County Board.

As of Monday evening, there was no information about a possible grant or private funding to cover the cost. The packet information indicated the $50,000 would come from the General Fund.

The executive committee meets Wednesday, March 18, 2026 – 4 p.m. in the Herbert J. Tennies Government Center – Room 1019 432 E. Washington Street, West Bend, WI 53095. The meeting is open to the public.

On a side note: During the March 11, 2026 meeting, the County Board approved salary increases for elected officials including the sheriff and the clerk of courts.

Wash Co salaries sheriff_20260310173225508 (1) Click the arrow in the lower left corner to advance the page.

On a history note: Remember the $3.6 million Washington County Anti-Crime Plan referendum that was on the November 8, 2022 ballot? The proposal left it up to the voter to determine whether to raise their own property taxes by about 10% each year moving forward. Those voting in favor of placing the referendum on the ballot include Joseph R. Vespalec, Marietta Bailey, Denis Kelling, Christopher Bossert, Linda Gurath, Doug Neumann, James Burg, Jodi Schulteis, Jeffrey Millikin, Carroll Merry, Jeffrey Schleif, Tony Thoma, and Michael Schwab.

Supervisors voting against: John Schodron, Brian Krebs, Kenneth Mikulec, Brian Gallitz, Pamela Konrath, and Lois Krueger-Gundrum.

That referendum failed 56% to 43%.