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It is 9 o' folks. We're going to call
the meeting to order.

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» All right. Madam clerk, would you uh
present us with a roll call?

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» Keith Carpensky
>> here.

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» Adam Jarko
>> here.

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» Jeremy Hall
>> here.

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» Duke
>> here.

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» And Russ Arcan
>> here. Everybody is here today.

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» All right. Before you is an agenda. Is
there any um questions, additions or or

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requests, sir?

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» Second. Motion's been made and second to
approve the agenda is written. Is there

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any discussion?

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» Any discussion? Hearing none. All in
favor signify by saying I. I.

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» Oppos? Nay. Motion passes.
Minutes of August 12th.

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» Motion to approve as presented.
>> Second.

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» Motion's been made. The second to
approve the minutes. Any discussion?

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» Hearing none. All in favor signify by
saying I.

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» Post. Nay. Motion passes. Public
comment. We're going to limit this to

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three uh minutes per person, not to
exceed 30 minutes. And um we're going to

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stick pretty close to that. So, anybody
for public comment?

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Good morning. Uh my name is Perry Lee,
spelled P A L I N St. Cy Falls or Rural

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St. Cy Falls. Um,
I'd like to speak briefly in favor of

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the 95% service rate for the library.
Um, my wife and I are

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we use the library. If if we reduce the
service rate, I think the service to the

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community would be less would have to be
less.

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Um, how much if we if we stay at 95%,
how much is what's the difference for me

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in my taxes? Is it $2? I don't know. My
wife and I get hundreds of dollars every

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year of service from the the library. We
just don't want to see it reduced.

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Um, when we go into the library, we see
people there that are using the

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computers to apply for work. We see uh
school students, public school students.

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we see homeschool students using the
library. It's an important resource for

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our community. We should be supporting
it at the highest level that that we

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can. Um that's really all I have this
morning. Uh thank you for listening. Uh

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let's vote for the um highest service
rate that that we can for the libraries.

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Thank you.

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» Anyone else?

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Good morning. My name is Kathy Hink. I
live in Oyola.

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I also want to support the libraries to
the best and maximum that we can. I want

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to also say thank you for your time and
work at that you do for our Pope County.

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It's important work. It requires
significant time and effort and I

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appreciate that. Thank you.
and the support of all our libraries. I

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want to say we could have a list longer
than my arm telling you all the things

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our libraries provide to our
communities. Thank you to our libraries.

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Thank you. I don't want to see it stop.
I use a library for several things. My

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husband uses the library. When my
grandchildren come to town, they ask to

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go to our library.
I'm aware of the many services it

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offers. Many groups use their library
for using different rooms there. We vote

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in the library.
I want to express that the library fund

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is a pass through tax that cannot be
used for any other purpose. Withholding

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money from the library does not benefit
any other Pulk County entity.

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Withholding the money handicaps the
libraries.

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When I check out a book at the library,
the due date paper tells me how much

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money I've saved by borrowing the book
instead of buying it.

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I have saved vastly more money by the
contribution I make to the library by

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checking the book out than the
contribution I make to the county pay

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for it. It's well worth my money. I urge
you to support the county libraries to

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the maximum allow. Thank you.

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» Good morning. My name is Josh Carlau. I
live in St. Croy Falls. I'm also

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president of the St. Croy Falls Library,
but I'd like to just say that it is a

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service that's provided then to the
public for the public. And at 95% which

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we have right now, if we can be 100%
that'd be great because

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that cost also includes keeping the
facility open for the people to use. And

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we have to have people there to maintain
the facility and that is part of the

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cost. And if we lose that percentage of
money, that means that's less staff,

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that means less hours for the building,
that means less public use. And that

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just is not good for public for our
county at all. And that's the main point

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of why we need to keep at least 95%
and if we could get to 100% that'd be

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great. Thank you.

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Anyone else?

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Anyone else?
Right. Um

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any other public comment at all
appear to be anyone. All right. So

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supervisor Naz committee members I see
France here.

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» Yes.

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» Morning everybody. I'm Fran Duncinson.
I'm the supervisor for district 12 which

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is the city of Amry and I also chaired
the county's library planning services

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committee on the last goaround. So I
don't know if any of you remember back

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in the day when Poke County had a county
library that the county managed the

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county ran and the county paid for as
part of the county tax levy.

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the decision was made to abolish that
and then at that time uh act 15 came

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into play because we do have to provide
services to everyone in the rural areas

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as well as cities and villages. So I
just wanted to stress that this isn't a

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burden on any county budget. The county
simply acts as a pass through, levies

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the required amounts on towns and
villages, collects it, and forwards it

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onto the library. The funds are not
discretionary, can't be used for any

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other purpose, and they don't affect the
county's own levy limits. Nobody makes

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money uh from Act 150. It's a fair and
balanced system. When you think about

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it, it's a pretty good deal for the
townships because

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I don't know that the townships would
want to build their own libraries, staff

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them, fund them, and go to all of that
expense. So, the the uh reimbursement is

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is actually a pretty good deal for him.
You know, too, I just want to recognize

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and I want to appreciate the value of
the rural residents that v that visit

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our villages and cities and visit our
libraries and patronize our businesses

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and visit our community.
But due to cities and villages own levy

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limits,
they can't be expected to subsidize the

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expanding services for the neighboring
towns.

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So um in conclusion I think you know if
we want thriving modern libraries that

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serve everybody including the real
residents we have to support the system

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fully and consistently.

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» Okay. Moving on to number seven
presentation regarding the 2025 audit.

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Morning.

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My name is Jonathan Sherwood. I'm a
principal with Clifton Larson Allen. Um

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I'm responsible for the uh completion of
the 2025 uh audit audit report for the

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county. Um I've summarized it down into
an executive audit summary. I know that

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that was previously provided to you all.
Hopefully, it's being able to be brought

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up here momentarily for us so we can
hopefully follow along and try to keep

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it as lively as possible. Um, if there's
any questions or uh comments for you uh

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from the committee members, I'm happy to
address them as we go along. Uh, if I

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don't know them off the top of my head,
we've got Sher and obviously Mo is here

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as well to help me out as well. Um, so I
just want to start off my presentation

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by again just thank you for having me
here this morning. Uh, giving me the

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opportunity to go into some of the
details. Um and also just extend a uh

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tremendous gratitude to the county staff
that we interact with in preparing your

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audited financial statements. Um there's
a tremendous amount of effort and work

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that goes into this, not just by your
finance team, but department heads

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throughout the county. There's a lot of
uh grant requests and uh reimbursements

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from state and federal agencies and
dealing with all of those individual

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programs uh that get quite technical. Um
so our auditor requests out to them are

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definitely not they don't go unnoticed
by your departments. um and they're not

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just brushed aside, you know, they're
readily uh responded back to. So that

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makes uh completing our audit uh that
much more efficient. So we very much

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appreciate those efforts. Uh before I
get into some of the numbers for you, um

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I will start with the audit report
summary which is on page one. Uh just to

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highlight some information for you of
your giant, you know, over 100page plus

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audit report. There's essentially only
about three or four total pages in this

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whole report that actually belongs to
CLA, your independent auditors. And

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that's what's known as our auditor's
opinion. So we issue what's known as a

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clean opinion or an unmodified opinion.
It's the highest level of assurance that

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an outside agency can place upon your
audited state your audited statements.

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Basically means that your financial
statements are free of material errors

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and can be readily used upon internally
externally to make some you know

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educated uh decision-making based on the
financial health of Poke County. Um,

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through our audit work, we also take a
look at and we evaluate the internal

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controls of the county. If there's any
any issues there that raise to a level

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significant enough to be brought up to
governance, we include those in our

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internal control communication. So, we
issue what's known as two material

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weaknesses. So, there are issues that we
have that that we'll discuss here for

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you briefly. Um, these items are um
they're same as last year. Their

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presence by themselves um are not
necessarily red flags saying you have

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major issues, you must do something.
Fire alarm ringing. Um there are just um

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significant enough for you to be aware
of so that you can have some

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compensating controls around them so
that you're aware of governance. You can

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ask appropriate questions and gain
additional clarity throughout the year.

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Uh the first is material audit
adjustments. basically means that

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through the course of our audit work, we
propose audit adjustments to your books

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that had they not been made, they would
materially impact a decision that could

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possibly be made um based on your audit
audited numbers. Um also more more of an

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important uh item from my perspective is
limited segregations of duties. So this

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is through all of the transaction cycles
through all of the departments of the

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county. at times you have limited staff
available that are they're functioning

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in more than just processing and
reconciling and doing kind of all of the

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control work of that specific item. You
think some of your smaller departments

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that do cash handling at times um
smaller um like county parks and that

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kind of stuff, they're doing all of the
cash receiping, they're doing the

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reconciling of those record of those
reports and then the reporting up to

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management at that point. So, or there
isn't proper checks and balances, you

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know, as a um as like a replacement type
situation where if they were gone on

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vacation, somebody else wouldn't be able
to step in and readily do that same

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activity. So, just know that that that
those situations are present throughout

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county departments. So, as a
compensating control, being very active

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as a committee member, uh as a board
member, asking for clarify clarifying

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questions as to what disp what uh
dispersements are, asking for support

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for those types of things is very
important. U from an external audit

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perspective, you're actively involved in
the internal control structure of the

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county. Um as also as part of our work,
uh we have to perform what's known as a

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single audit for federal purposes. So
the county obviously receives

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significant amount of federal funding
and as such we're required to do

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compliance audits over certain programs.
Uh for 2025, we actually took a look at

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three federal programs and then the
state has a subsection of additional

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state programs that we were required to
look at as well. We had to test five

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state programs through all of our
compliance testing and compliance work.

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There were no compliance issues that we
needed to report. Um there is an

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additional filing with the federal
government that we still are working on

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which is due uh September 30th which is
just to basically verify and and you

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know make that reporting back to the
federal government.

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Um so now to turn the page here to item
number two. Uh diving into some of the

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actual financial results for you. Um
item number one is this is everything

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that's referred to as the general fund,
general operations of the county. So

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general operations included in here are
um public safety, uh culture, wreck,

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education, kind of all the nuts and
bolts, everything that's not required to

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be reported elsewhere is included in
your general fund. when we're looking at

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a general fund and we kind of, you know,
boil it down to what's the fiscal health

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of Poke County. Um, there's three
highlighted shades or highlighted rows

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up here. And I know it's a little
difficult for some people to probably

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follow along. Um, so to cut to the
chase, we basically take a look at the

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total number of total amount of
expenditures. What did it take to run

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Poke County operations for the year?
Compare that against what are the the

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true unassigned reserves that you have
at the end of the year, your fund

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balance that could be used to meet
future obligations. and we we compute a

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ratio and that ratio is 94.3% for fiscal
year 25 basically said otherwise you've

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got about 94% of total general fund
operations for one year is set aside in

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your reserves which from an outside
perspective I would consider that you

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know fiscally healthy for sure um you
have a an internal policy that your

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minimum fund balance policy is between
40 and 50% of total general fund

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expenditures so even that your minimum
fund balance policy for the you're

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actually meeting that and exceeding it.
So overall, again, that's strong

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financial results at the end of 2025.
Having such a robust unassigned fund

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balance will allow the county multiple
benefits for you. Number one is to

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completely eliminate any need for
short-term borrowing, which is apparent

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throughout governments of your size. So
you'd avoid any short-term interest

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expense out there. Uh number two would
be it's definitely favorable from a bond

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rating uh situation. If if the need
would arise to go to issue some some

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debt, you would get more favorable
repayment terms because you have you

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know liquidity available to meet future
debt service obligations. U and then

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third it does also offer kind of in
conjunction with that um capital project

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flexibility. So, if there's any major
pro uh capital projects on the horizon,

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such as a, you know, aging nursing home
or maybe some additional county roads

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that need to be uh replaced or county um
investment in infrastructure, you have

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some uh some reserves set aside to help
finance or help fund that upfront and

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then ultimately reduce the amount of
financing that you would need available.

209
00:16:24,399 --> 00:16:30,399
Um, also the last comment I wanted to
make for you on your general fund

210
00:16:27,839 --> 00:16:36,399
operations for 2025,
um, you have a total um, total budgeted

211
00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:41,440
expenditures for the year of just over
$34.1 million in total expenses that we

212
00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:45,279
basically came into the year, we being
the county came into the year saying

213
00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:49,920
that's what we intend to spend. Um,
actual results was just over $35

214
00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:54,240
million. Um, so it's a little bit hard,
you know, to wrap my head around at

215
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:57,440
times of such large dollar amounts. Um,
so you did technically have an

216
00:16:55,519 --> 00:17:00,560
unfavorable budget variance. We
basically spent, you know, more than

217
00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:05,600
what we said we were going to. But in
context, that's 2.6% to your budget. So,

218
00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:09,280
you know, from an individual standpoint,
I would think that we when you're trying

219
00:17:07,039 --> 00:17:14,640
to hit a target of trying to spend $34.1
million and you're within 2.6% of that,

220
00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:17,439
I consider that very strong budgeting
management. you know, you basically came

221
00:17:16,319 --> 00:17:21,760
into the year said we're going to spend
34.1 million and we came, you know, for

222
00:17:19,919 --> 00:17:25,120
all intents and purposes, very close to
what we said we were going to spend. So,

223
00:17:23,439 --> 00:17:31,120
overall, this very strong financial
results, strong budget acumen, uh, for

224
00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:34,480
the general fund of the county.
Before I switch gears on any special

225
00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:38,720
revenue funds, everybody still awake?
Any other questions I can answer for you

226
00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:42,480
right away? Um, if not, I can dive into
some. Item number two here on the very

227
00:17:40,559 --> 00:17:46,880
bottom of the page, these are all the
special revenue funds. So these are

228
00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:50,400
other activities that are tracked
specifically for these purposes. They're

229
00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:54,080
special revenue funds, meaning that the
revenue source that goes into them are

230
00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:58,000
restricted and must be used for those
specific purposes. They're either

231
00:17:55,760 --> 00:18:01,200
restricted by internal county policy,
meaning there's a separate tax levy

232
00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:05,039
that's set to support those or that
there's uh state grants or federal

233
00:18:03,120 --> 00:18:09,600
grants that are set aides that must be
used for these purposes. Uh the two that

234
00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:13,200
usually get the most interest at county
uh presentations such as this is

235
00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:17,520
children's and families and health
services fund. You see that there are

236
00:18:15,120 --> 00:18:21,039
some zero rows up there and it's zero
through the last four years that that

237
00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:24,799
I'm presenting here in this handout. And
that's by design. It's an internal

238
00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:29,520
county policy that at the end of every
year if there's a deficit or a surplus,

239
00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:34,720
those activities get transferred over to
the general fund. So, in 2025,

240
00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:38,320
Children's and Families had a transfer
back to the general fund, meaning it

241
00:18:36,559 --> 00:18:42,559
ended the year with a surplus of about
$137,000.

242
00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:48,160
And in health services, it was a
transfer of $1.2 million transfer back

243
00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:53,919
to the general fund for 2025.
Um, in 2024, it was a similar activity.

244
00:18:51,919 --> 00:18:58,080
So, just for some comparison, similar
activity for the the children's families

245
00:18:56,160 --> 00:19:03,200
fund. However, health services fund
actually required a transfer in of about

246
00:19:00,799 --> 00:19:07,360
173,000. So, just for context,
Children's and Family had very similar

247
00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:12,320
financial results for 2025 as compared
to prior year. And in 2024 for health

248
00:19:10,799 --> 00:19:17,200
services fund, it was actually running a
deficit and it had some very positive

249
00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:20,640
results in 2025 for health services
funds because again, it had about a $1.2

250
00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:24,480
million fund balance that was
transferred to the general fund. So the

251
00:19:22,799 --> 00:19:28,480
result of a health services fund, you
know, the kind of the reasons behind why

252
00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:33,039
that had such a vast improvement from 24
to 25. There's some intergovernmental

253
00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:37,520
revenues, so uh state and federal
programs, grant programs. Some of those

254
00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:41,760
additional funds came into uh health
services fund in 2025. So that kind of

255
00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:47,679
gives you some context of why those
operations uh were so much improved in

256
00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:51,840
25. Um, the other thing that's likes
that I like to point out for children's

257
00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:54,799
and families is essentially how much tax
levy because you do again you have some

258
00:19:53,360 --> 00:20:00,240
specific tax levy that goes in to
support these activities. Children's and

259
00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:04,960
families um had a tax levy support of
about $2.2 million and then health

260
00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:09,679
services fund has a tax levy of just
over $1.6 million in total tax levy

261
00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:14,480
going to support those those activities.
Uh those are slight increases for health

262
00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:20,240
services fund of about $100,000 that
went into from tax levy changes from 24

263
00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:24,640
to 25. Uh and the tax levy requirement
for children's and families actually

264
00:20:21,679 --> 00:20:28,559
decreased. Um it was at 2.3 million and
it it decreased to 2.2 million. So

265
00:20:27,039 --> 00:20:33,120
essentially between those two activities
it was tax levy neutral. One increased

266
00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:38,159
and one decre decreased by roughly the
same dollar amount.

267
00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:41,600
Um, other things to actually point out
here real quick before I move on is you

268
00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:45,280
do have some negative balances up here
up here. So, those are negative

269
00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:49,520
deficits. So, eventually you'll need
additional revenue sources to help cover

270
00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:55,200
those activities. Um, and the one that
really is standing out there the most is

271
00:20:51,679 --> 00:21:00,159
the dams fund which is at $2.6 million.
Uh, the reasoning for this is it purely

272
00:20:57,360 --> 00:21:05,600
is a timing situation. During 2024 and
2025, the county actually took ownership

273
00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:10,320
or took responsibility to maintain some
of these dams. Uh the work was then

274
00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:15,679
required to be done upfront with federal
and state funds now being received in

275
00:21:12,559 --> 00:21:20,640
2026. So it is a little bit of an of an
anomaly here for the report in 2025.

276
00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:23,600
You're sitting at a deficit of 2.6
million, but just know that there is

277
00:21:22,159 --> 00:21:29,200
additional funding that will be
recognized in 2026 to help uh alleviate

278
00:21:26,799 --> 00:21:33,760
that deficit. Um the other one of note
is the recycling center fund and that is

279
00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:37,120
the operations of the recycling center
not necessarily the construction that's

280
00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:40,799
a separate fund. Uh so this is just the
the pure operations. So you can see that

281
00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:46,559
that deficit has been out there for a
number of years and it did increase in

282
00:21:43,039 --> 00:21:52,720
2025 total deficit of about $600,000. Uh
but as you may be aware, the county did

283
00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:57,520
adopt a recycling um essentially
special, you know, a user charge or um

284
00:21:55,919 --> 00:22:02,080
charge for service that did get
implemented in 2026, which will also

285
00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:05,919
then be used to offset and then fully
fund those operations.

286
00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:10,480
I think that covers everything I have
for you on page two.

287
00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:15,280
So I can change gears a little bit here
for you. Um on page three, um item

288
00:22:13,679 --> 00:22:19,760
number three is your debt service fund.
This is just uh purely um all of your

289
00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:24,159
debt service obligations are required to
be reported separately standalone in its

290
00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:28,240
own fund. You do have some reserves at
the end of the year of about $176,000

291
00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:34,080
that will be used to meet future debt
service obligations. For context, the uh

292
00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:39,039
county did uh get its debt service
requirements for 25. You have principal

293
00:22:36,799 --> 00:22:44,159
uh principal payments of 1.9 million in
total interest of about 164,000. So just

294
00:22:41,919 --> 00:22:48,880
over $2 million in total debt service
obligations were paid in 2025. Got a

295
00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:52,880
couple more comments on debt. Uh one of
my very last points here for you. So

296
00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:56,799
I'll save some additional commentary for
that time.

297
00:22:55,039 --> 00:23:00,640
Item number four, your capital projects
funds. So again, these are separate

298
00:22:58,559 --> 00:23:05,200
capital projects. You know, typically
one one time not necessarily recurring

299
00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:09,360
projects over and over again. Um you do
have uh three separate capital projects

300
00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:14,480
funds that you report in your audited
statements. Um total reserves are about

301
00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:18,880
$1.1 million. So you do have, you know,
essentially set aside or committed

302
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:22,640
dollars for specific projects. One being
the grandstand project, the rebuilding

303
00:23:20,559 --> 00:23:26,640
of the grandstand project. Uh the other
is the there's some residual work that

304
00:23:24,559 --> 00:23:30,240
needs to be done u or some some cleanup
work, some finalizing work at the

305
00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:33,919
recycling center itself. Um and then
there's a very small dollar amount uh

306
00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:39,520
set aside for parks and recreation
purposes.

307
00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:43,760
Uh the next item I have for you here is
the business type activity uh that we

308
00:23:41,919 --> 00:23:48,159
report the for the nursing home or
golden age manner. So this is a

309
00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:51,520
standalone audit that we also perform
because there you know it's its own

310
00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:54,559
complex regulatory environment. We
complete that audit separately but

311
00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:58,400
obviously it is an entity of the county
and it gets rolled up into the full

312
00:23:56,240 --> 00:24:01,919
county statements as well. Um so this is
just a snapshot in time here for your

313
00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:05,760
balance sheet summary of your your
nursing home activities for context. If

314
00:24:04,799 --> 00:24:12,159
you're looking at, you know, what the
the overall um operational results were

315
00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:16,559
for 2025, it did have a positive net
income or change in net position. So, it

316
00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:21,520
added to its net position, it increased
by about $79,000.

317
00:24:19,039 --> 00:24:25,840
Um that did uh it does appear that it is
a decrease in overall because if you

318
00:24:23,279 --> 00:24:31,200
look at 2024 the last line up there uh
for the 2024 column was just over $1.1

319
00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:35,120
million and then the decrease now in in
operations it was quote unquote only a

320
00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:39,840
$79,000
increase. So it is a slight you know it

321
00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:42,960
appears just based on this commentary
that appears that the Golden Age Manor

322
00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:47,440
went quote unquote backwards from what
it was in 2024. Um, however, I do

323
00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:50,559
caution that because now we're looking
at what's known to without getting too

324
00:24:48,799 --> 00:24:54,960
far into the weeds. This is full acrruel
accounting. So, there's additional um

325
00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:59,600
expenditures that you're seeing in in
these operational results that aren't

326
00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:03,760
necessarily kept into, you know, when
you compare apples to apples for your

327
00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:07,919
your governmental activities. Uh, one of
the biggest issues is that that kind of

328
00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:11,679
throws some of this analysis off is the
county's involvement in the WRS

329
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:17,360
retirement system. So that necessarily
the the significant um expenditures that

330
00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:20,640
hit these these numbers because they are
allocated across I mean it is you know

331
00:25:19,039 --> 00:25:23,360
quoteunquote the true cost of doing
those but those are non-cash

332
00:25:22,159 --> 00:25:27,279
expenditures. It's not like you're going
to have to come up with and um you know

333
00:25:25,919 --> 00:25:32,400
come out of pocket in order to fully
fund that those liabilities. So that is

334
00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:38,000
in the $700,000 and it is also in that
$1.1 million. the amount of that that

335
00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:43,279
swing varies greatly based on the
financial results of the WRS system in

336
00:25:40,159 --> 00:25:47,120
total. So overall I kind of when I'm
looking at nursing homes I basically go

337
00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:51,840
right to what is the the things that the
county can control. So overall

338
00:25:49,279 --> 00:25:56,320
expenditures yes we did um we are facing
challenges in nursing homes in general

339
00:25:53,840 --> 00:26:00,159
with increased staff costs. So total
expenditures are increasing across the

340
00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:03,600
board in nursing homes. Uh but then on
the other side of it kind of it's a you

341
00:26:01,919 --> 00:26:07,360
know double-edged sword. The the good
news is the reason that you had to

342
00:26:05,279 --> 00:26:10,799
increase costs for nursing and salaries
is because you did have positive results

343
00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:13,919
operationally with an increase in
occupancy. So if you have an increase in

344
00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:18,000
occupancy, of course you're going to
have some increased costs, but you know

345
00:26:16,159 --> 00:26:23,120
when push comes to shove, you did have
positive results overall for your

346
00:26:19,919 --> 00:26:28,159
nursing home.
Um, moving on to page four. There's a

347
00:26:26,559 --> 00:26:31,919
couple other funds to get through and
then the long-term debt discussion and

348
00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:36,240
then I should have uh put a bowl on it
here for you for this morning. Um, the

349
00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:40,080
next fund that we have to quickly
discuss is your internal services fund

350
00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:43,279
of your highway department. So, this is
all of your, you know, the maintenance,

351
00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:47,919
the construction of all of the
internally serviced county highways.

352
00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:52,480
Yes, you do also provide some work to
outside um municipalities, but for the

353
00:26:50,559 --> 00:26:56,400
most part, the primary purpose of your
highway department is to service county

354
00:26:54,080 --> 00:27:00,320
roads in Poke County. Um you will see
that there was a negative change in fund

355
00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:04,880
balance, so it did decrease and it's
been a trend here since 2022 through

356
00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:08,480
2025. The highway department itself is
incurring more expenses that it's

357
00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:12,159
bringing in in terms of charges for
services in reimbursement from the

358
00:27:10,159 --> 00:27:18,400
state. So, a lot of that is, you know,
you can only charge the state back for

359
00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:22,159
reimbursement based on uh DOT formulas
and everything that goes into developing

360
00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:26,080
those rates that you can reimburse from.
Um, so, you know, it is something just

361
00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:30,000
to keep an eye on in terms of long-term
projections if you're going to have some

362
00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:33,039
major county highway needs and some
projects that need to be get done that

363
00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:36,480
need to get done. Um, I don't think
it's, you know, too out of line to say

364
00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:40,559
that, you know, your your money that you
used to be able to invest, you know, 10,

365
00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:44,480
15 years ago in order to pave roads
doesn't get you nearly as far. You know,

366
00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:49,440
all pun intended. You know, you're not
going to go as far. Your dollars simply

367
00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:53,600
don't go as far in terms of um battling
increased costs across the board for

368
00:27:51,279 --> 00:27:59,039
construction and highways. Um, total
revenues that came into the fund in 2025

369
00:27:55,760 --> 00:28:03,679
is about $9.2 million. Um, and again,
that's state aids, that's department,

370
00:28:01,360 --> 00:28:07,120
uh, DOT reimbursements from the state,
as well as charges for services for

371
00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:12,080
outside entities that you're doing work
for. Um, and then you compare that to

372
00:28:09,279 --> 00:28:15,679
11.5 million in total expenses, which
kind of, you know, whittleles your way

373
00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:20,559
down to about an $800,000 loss for the
year. Um, tax levy that went into

374
00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:27,440
support highway operations in 2025 was
just over $4 million as opposed to 3.9

375
00:28:23,919 --> 00:28:31,200
million the year prior.
Uh last but not least here is for your

376
00:28:29,279 --> 00:28:35,440
internal services fund for your self-
insuranceances fund. And you'll notice

377
00:28:33,120 --> 00:28:39,520
here that the change in net position
about you know halfway down the page

378
00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:46,159
here it's been a deliberate drawd down
of net position since 2021 2020 time

379
00:28:44,559 --> 00:28:51,039
frame where the health health
insurancees fund actually had a very

380
00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:54,960
robust significant uh surplus and it was
deliberately drawn down over a number of

381
00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:59,200
years. the last few years, however, it's
drawn down, I would say, at a rate

382
00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:03,600
higher than anticipated. You've had some
very high claims years. Um, and the

383
00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:09,279
change in net position in 2025, so it
reduced or it lost $1.6 million in fund

384
00:29:06,559 --> 00:29:15,360
balance. Um and if you consider that
that I know that in 2026 um you've got

385
00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:18,799
some additional um losses to incur but
then ultimately the decision going

386
00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:22,320
forward is to basically completely get
out of the self- insurance type

387
00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:26,240
situation and go move to a full insured
plan u through another health insurance

388
00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:30,799
provider. So, just know that there's,
you know, it it has been maintained. It

389
00:29:28,559 --> 00:29:36,159
has been watched vigilantly um by
management um in finance to make the

390
00:29:33,679 --> 00:29:39,600
proper decisions there and and ensure
that you're still able to uh offer

391
00:29:38,159 --> 00:29:43,760
health insurance benefits to county
employees, which is obviously very uh

392
00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:49,360
very important.
Last but not least are your total

393
00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:55,120
long-term obligations. Um so, in 2025,
you have just over $9 million in total

394
00:29:52,159 --> 00:29:59,200
general obligation notes. So general
obligation notes are backed by the full

395
00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:04,320
faith and credit of taxpayers. So it's
completely allowed by state levy to

396
00:30:02,159 --> 00:30:09,120
include whatever the annual requirement
is for principal and interest payments

397
00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:13,440
by state levy uh limits. You're allowed
to include those and in you know

398
00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:18,960
basically make sure that you're able to
meet your debt service obligations. for

399
00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:22,720
a county um of your size, you are uh
limited by state statute of how much

400
00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:28,159
total geo debt you're allowed by state
statute to issue. So, it's about 5% of

401
00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:34,240
total equalized value of all equalized
value in the county. Um from a county

402
00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:38,559
standpoint for you ever to to bump up
against the total legal statutory limit,

403
00:30:37,039 --> 00:30:42,240
um it's, you know, basically not very
feasible. You know, if you get to 90%,

404
00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:46,559
you'd be very very unpopular politicians
overall. um you're carrying about 2 and

405
00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:50,559
a.5% of what your total outstanding
obligations are. Um from my perspective,

406
00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:56,000
counties of your size and counties in
this area, um that's an extremely low or

407
00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:59,520
light uh debt capacity. Um some of the
other counties in the area are carrying

408
00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:03,279
which I would consider more towards, you
know, as soon as you start getting to

409
00:31:00,559 --> 00:31:09,520
about 25 35, you know, some of them will
brush up against 40% of total um geo

410
00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:13,279
debt capacity. Um, I would consider
those communities more highly leveraged

411
00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:16,720
or they have quite a substantial debt
burden. And typically counties get to

412
00:31:15,279 --> 00:31:19,760
that situation when they have major
projects. So, if you look around some

413
00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:23,919
neighboring counties, you know, they've
got brand new general uh government

414
00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:27,200
county buildings, brand new jails, such
as that. If you look at their financial

415
00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:32,240
statements, they're going to look at
your 2 and a half% and compare it to

416
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:36,720
their 30 35% and you're in a much more
favorable position overall. Um, long

417
00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:41,039
story short, so if you have the need to
go to, you know, issue debt, um, you

418
00:31:39,519 --> 00:31:44,799
know, you're you're in in an
advantageous position. Um, the other

419
00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:50,559
side of things that's a little
counterintuitive at times is because of

420
00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:55,919
that whole intricacies of being able to
use the general obligation debt in order

421
00:31:53,919 --> 00:32:01,600
to build that into your levy. It also
allows you when it comes to budget time

422
00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:06,320
to make sure that tax levies don't vary
uh vary um widely from one year to the

423
00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:10,960
next. So essentially it is a budgeting
tool to help smooth transitions of tax

424
00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:14,240
levies. So if one year you you've got a
lot of debt and then all of a sudden

425
00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:18,080
your debt capacity falls off, well now
by statute you're not able to include

426
00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:21,600
that in your levy. So tax levies would
decrease significantly. The next year

427
00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:25,840
you would issue more debt for whatever
reason and then it would spike wildly.

428
00:32:23,919 --> 00:32:30,480
So I know that it's usually a very
unpopular uh method to go where you know

429
00:32:29,039 --> 00:32:35,039
you want to avoid those swings is
basically what I'm getting to. Uh

430
00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:39,440
outside of that
um I think that that checking my notes

431
00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:44,399
that does uh cover all the talking
points I wanted to to give you uh pages

432
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:48,799
four and five for those visual learners
in the room and these are bar graphs um

433
00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:51,600
which basically can show the the first
page here on page five is the total

434
00:32:50,399 --> 00:32:56,240
revenues that are coming into the
county. Um it is kind of interesting to

435
00:32:54,000 --> 00:33:01,200
see that you can see your tax growth.
How much has been uh levied from 2019

436
00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:06,080
all the way to 2025. And then you can
see the uh the interest interesting line

437
00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:09,039
to me as an auditor might be of interest
to folks in the room. Uh the

438
00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:12,480
intergovernmental line up there that's
all the state and federal dollars that

439
00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:15,919
are coming into to governments. So this
is just kind of more or less interesting

440
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:21,679
again where you can see in 2020, you
know, as a result of 2020 um with COVID

441
00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:24,960
2021 2022, it has a significant spike in
total revenues essentially coming from

442
00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:31,279
the federal government. Um that's really
what's causing those spikes. Um and then

443
00:33:27,279 --> 00:33:35,360
in um uh page number six here, which is
all of the expenses, uh this is

444
00:33:33,279 --> 00:33:39,519
essentially, you know, where all of your
expenses ended up um as a result of, you

445
00:33:37,919 --> 00:33:43,360
know, the revenue sources coming in.
Again, there's usually a fairly decent

446
00:33:41,679 --> 00:33:47,039
spike when you're looking at health and
human services. Uh that's all public

447
00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:52,080
health response to COVID and that kind
of stuff for those interesting years

448
00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:56,960
later as well. Um any questions,
comments, concerns that I could address

449
00:33:53,600 --> 00:33:59,600
for our committee members?
>> Yes, sir.

450
00:33:57,679 --> 00:34:02,720
» Um you quickly covered the recycling
center.

451
00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:07,840
» Um I think I heard you say there's a
$600,000 deficit without the third the

452
00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:12,800
recycling fee. So, if that's not
reapproved this budget year, there's a

453
00:34:10,079 --> 00:34:16,639
$600,000 deficit in 2027. Did I
understand that correctly?

454
00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:21,760
» The $600,000 that you're referring to is
a cumulative deficit. So, it's not an

455
00:34:19,599 --> 00:34:27,520
annual deficit. That's, you know, from
inception to current where you're at in

456
00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:32,079
2025. So, the 2026
uh recycling charge that's that's out

457
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:36,560
there that will help start whittling
that down. Uh to get the exact annual

458
00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:40,639
deficit that you're referring to, like,
okay, what would 2027 look like if we

459
00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:43,919
removed that? I'd have to do a little
bit more analysis. Maybe Sherry and Mo

460
00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:46,960
have something a little bit off the top
of your head that you could speak to it

461
00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:55,440
better. Yeah, the recycling fee right
now is in place for um 26 27 28 and then

462
00:34:51,599 --> 00:34:59,240
it gets readressed um for 2029 um on the
program to see where it lands.

463
00:35:02,720 --> 00:35:11,119
You mentioned that uh I believe you
mentioned that we're at the for 2025 we

464
00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:16,160
carried a reserve of about 94% of the
total budget. How does that compare to

465
00:35:13,839 --> 00:35:22,640
prior years?
>> If we back up to page two,

466
00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:27,280
um the high water mark in that I'm
showing here in 20 for the four years

467
00:35:24,240 --> 00:35:31,599
that I present, um in 2022, you carried
101.8%.

468
00:35:29,119 --> 00:35:36,960
So, you're actually 100% fully funded
for one year. Um and then it, you know,

469
00:35:34,079 --> 00:35:40,960
decreased slightly in 2023, 2024 with
some intentional spend down, additional

470
00:35:39,040 --> 00:35:46,800
projects and whatnot there. And now in
2025, you bumped back up to about 94.3

471
00:35:43,839 --> 00:35:50,040
million or 94.3%,
excuse me.

472
00:35:52,000 --> 00:36:01,200
Any other questions? Anybody?
All right. Well, thank you. No problem.

473
00:35:58,079 --> 00:36:06,240
Appreciate it.
>> Moving on to number eight presentation

474
00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:10,240
by library planning committee um
services committee for 2027

475
00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:14,560
reimbursement rates. who is presenting
that

476
00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:19,200
» from the library. Um there we've done
this in past years um with the library

477
00:36:16,480 --> 00:36:25,000
fees and stuff. So the opportunity and a
little bit of history of um how we got

478
00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:25,000
where it was.

479
00:36:26,720 --> 00:36:34,640
» Good morning. Um I'm John Thompson. I'm
the director of the library system. We

480
00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:39,440
are headquartered in Oaklair. One of my
primary responsibilities is library

481
00:36:36,720 --> 00:36:45,200
administration consulting and as part of
that um I assist the county library

482
00:36:42,560 --> 00:36:50,079
planning committees with their county
library planning efforts and so I'm here

483
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:54,640
to help answer some of the questions
give an overview of county library

484
00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:58,640
funding from a historical perspective
I've worked on

485
00:36:56,880 --> 00:37:05,119
at least the last three county library
plans um so I do have a little bit of

486
00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:10,960
background of how we got to where we are
today and then um also answer any

487
00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:16,800
questions that you might have related to
the statute that underlies county

488
00:37:13,200 --> 00:37:21,040
library planning funding. And Heather is
here as well from Amory.

489
00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:25,520
» Hi. Good morning. Uh my name is Heather
Warda and I'm the director at the Amory

490
00:37:23,119 --> 00:37:28,960
Public Library. Uh my husband Brandon
works across the way at the USDA and I

491
00:37:27,599 --> 00:37:34,079
have a daughter in the Amory Middle
School. We live in Lincoln Township and

492
00:37:31,839 --> 00:37:38,320
we have a small farm where we grow
garlic of all things, large amounts of

493
00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:41,200
garlic for wholesale. I just wanted to
thank you for the chance to stand here

494
00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:46,560
and answer any questions that you might
have and thank you for your service to

495
00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:56,000
PT County.
Does this work or you are you

496
00:37:50,640 --> 00:38:01,520
okay? So, we did that slide. Okay. Um so
as part of the uh county library

497
00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:08,400
planning process, the county board of
supervisors when they approved the plan

498
00:38:04,880 --> 00:38:12,960
um a few years ago determined how
library service is provided to the

499
00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:19,760
county residents that live in
municipalities without libraries. So

500
00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:24,560
that responsibility is given to the
libraries that are within Pulk County um

501
00:38:22,720 --> 00:38:29,200
which are all listed here as well.
Turtle Lake is a little unique in that

502
00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:37,119
they rest both in Baron County and Pole
County. So they serve um both libraries

503
00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:42,560
and are considered um libraries um for
reimbursement by each of the counties

504
00:38:38,720 --> 00:38:51,200
where the library service resides.
So to take a look at the county library

505
00:38:46,400 --> 00:38:57,520
service as a whole, most of
county is rural in nature. Um there are

506
00:38:55,040 --> 00:39:04,000
approximately 15,000 folks that live in
the municipalities with libraries.

507
00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:08,640
Of that um there are 30,000 of the folks
that live in areas outside of P County

508
00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:15,119
with the library. So the vast majority
of the population is served from or the

509
00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:21,200
service comes from folks that live
outside of municipal limits. So when we

510
00:39:19,119 --> 00:39:27,760
look at the circulation from the
libraries, I'm the chart's a little hard

511
00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:33,119
to read, but of of the total circulation
for the libraries, there's 280,000 items

512
00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:38,960
checked out.
About 84,000 of those items were checked

513
00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:44,320
out by residents of the municipalities
and then 146,000 items were checked out

514
00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:50,800
by rural Pulk County folks living in
areas without a library. And that is

515
00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:56,880
just within um Pulk County. Those
residents could also go to St. county,

516
00:39:53,599 --> 00:40:03,760
um, Bernett County, uh, Dun County,
wherever they the the dollars from

517
00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:09,520
county funding follows the folks where
they go to the library. So, that's where

518
00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:14,880
the adjacent county funding is is put in
place. We're really here looking at the

519
00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:21,520
dollars that are going to the individual
Poke County libraries.

520
00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:26,960
So libraries typically are funded by
their municipalities as well as the

521
00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:33,280
counties. So uh act 150 which was
established in 1999

522
00:40:30,240 --> 00:40:38,359
provided a mechanism for the counties to
fund

523
00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:38,359
library service.

524
00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:47,119
We we then received additional revenue
from adjacent counties with act 420

525
00:40:45,359 --> 00:40:55,440
which followed about five six years
later. So act um 420 is established in

526
00:40:51,839 --> 00:41:02,800
4312 of Wisconsin state statute and what
it did was set a rate of funding for the

527
00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:08,640
libraries based on a common
way we track library use which is

528
00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:13,760
circulation of materials. What it
determines is a cost per circulation.

529
00:41:11,200 --> 00:41:19,040
What that represents is the entire use
of the library by the public. So it

530
00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:24,960
includes library programming,
um, internet access, um, whether they

531
00:41:22,960 --> 00:41:29,520
sit and read a magazine, look at a
newspaper,

532
00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:33,760
um, come to the, you know, a program out
in the rural areas, whatever

533
00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:37,839
partnerships the libraries may have, it
funds the entire operation of the

534
00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:45,200
library. And, and notice I said
operation, it does not fund capital

535
00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:50,560
expenses for the municipality. So
when Oyola built their brand new

536
00:41:46,880 --> 00:41:55,280
building, when Amry moved, those funds
for those capital expenses were borne by

537
00:41:53,119 --> 00:42:00,640
the municipalities and donations that
were given to the project. The county is

538
00:41:58,240 --> 00:42:06,000
not um
funding those capital expenses.

539
00:42:04,160 --> 00:42:14,319
Um
statute requires a minimum of 70%.

540
00:42:09,839 --> 00:42:19,520
Um what the last three the last two
prior county library plans had a goal of

541
00:42:16,560 --> 00:42:24,240
funding at 100%. The current current
plan removed that percentage.

542
00:42:22,160 --> 00:42:32,319
The goal of the county library planning
committees for those years was to move

543
00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:39,440
from that 70% to the 100%. Currently the
county has been at 95%

544
00:42:34,880 --> 00:42:46,000
which is where um it rests now. pending
whatever resolution you make today.

545
00:42:43,280 --> 00:42:50,319
As a library system, we are comprised of
10

546
00:42:47,520 --> 00:42:57,359
individual counties. Of those counties,
there are only two that fund at 70%. One

547
00:42:54,880 --> 00:43:02,400
is Russ County and they are unique in
that they fund a city county library in

548
00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:06,640
Lady Smith. So their funding for
libraries is different than the state

549
00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:11,680
formula. The other one is Pepin which
consists of two public libraries. On

550
00:43:09,520 --> 00:43:18,400
paper they're at 70% but their county
has a hold harmless so they are actually

551
00:43:14,720 --> 00:43:24,480
at an amount higher than 70%. But for
example Dun County, Oakclair County and

552
00:43:21,280 --> 00:43:28,800
St. Croy County are all at 100%. Um
other counties are moving forward

553
00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:35,000
increasing from the 70%. Some of them
are 80, some are at 90. And like I said

554
00:43:31,200 --> 00:43:35,000
Pulk County is at 95.

555
00:43:36,800 --> 00:43:46,560
One of the um
unique pieces of this funding is that

556
00:43:43,839 --> 00:43:51,839
it's basically being paid two years
after the fact. So the data that you're

557
00:43:49,680 --> 00:43:58,720
going to be using to pay for the 27
expenditure is based on 2025 data. So,

558
00:43:56,160 --> 00:44:04,240
we're we're taking the data that the
libraries filled out on their annual

559
00:44:00,240 --> 00:44:10,240
reports for 25, making a request for
payment in 2027. The chart here gives

560
00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:17,520
you a rough idea of what that looks like
at either 100% or 95%.

561
00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:23,440
Um the cost per circulation does vary
amongst libraries based on

562
00:44:20,800 --> 00:44:30,160
total circulation expenditures for like
staffing um what other types of programs

563
00:44:27,599 --> 00:44:35,040
they're offering. So every library is
unique and what how they serve their

564
00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:40,880
communities. Some smaller communities
they may have a higher cost per circ but

565
00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:45,520
that's there's an infrastructure that
every library has to have. They have to

566
00:44:42,720 --> 00:44:50,880
have a director that's certified. They
have to pay for the utilities. They have

567
00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:56,079
to pay for building um expenses. They
have to pay for

568
00:44:52,800 --> 00:45:01,760
their participation in in more our
shared catalog. So there is a a set

569
00:44:59,520 --> 00:45:07,599
amount of money that every library
basically needs to operate and then

570
00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:12,319
library boards that are appointed by the
local municipalities

571
00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:15,760
approve policies and budgets moving
forward for the services that they

572
00:45:14,160 --> 00:45:22,480
provide.
And then um

573
00:45:18,400 --> 00:45:30,079
when we look at again those two sources
of funding, the municipalities

574
00:45:26,160 --> 00:45:33,079
um are funding about 1
one,79,621

575
00:45:34,319 --> 00:45:42,680
in 2025 and the county funded 1,00 1
million excuse me1,55,122.

576
00:45:43,359 --> 00:45:50,880
So that's a
slightly under what the municipalities

577
00:45:47,280 --> 00:45:55,760
are paying, but the usage from
the rural residents outstrips what the

578
00:45:53,440 --> 00:46:00,800
municipal residents are using their
libraries for. If we were to look at it

579
00:45:58,480 --> 00:46:05,920
from a per capita funding basis, P
County is at about $34.54.

580
00:46:03,760 --> 00:46:14,000
The minimum a municipality is paying per
capita is about $53. So, um it as Fran

581
00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:18,960
mentioned, it is a bargain for rural
residents.

582
00:46:16,800 --> 00:46:26,400
And then this is just a sample of um
Amry's budget to give you a sense of how

583
00:46:22,560 --> 00:46:31,119
what makes up um a budget. Obviously,
Emry's budget is significantly larger

584
00:46:28,480 --> 00:46:36,960
and different than maybe the library and
century or dresser. Um but they all have

585
00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:42,640
the same basic
um components. the the amounts the

586
00:46:40,400 --> 00:46:46,480
amounts are just different. And then the
next slide just to give you a quick

587
00:46:44,240 --> 00:46:52,880
overview of kind of what libraries do.
Libraries are just not books. They're

588
00:46:48,560 --> 00:46:57,760
programs services helping uh with
filling out applications. Ego government

589
00:46:54,960 --> 00:47:01,119
types of things. Um some folks don't
have an email address. They don't know

590
00:46:59,119 --> 00:47:08,560
how to set one up. Libraries are there
to help them do that. Um they also

591
00:47:05,520 --> 00:47:12,160
are wayfinders. Um, there are places
people know they can come get

592
00:47:10,319 --> 00:47:17,200
information, point them in the right
direction. There's been many times I've

593
00:47:15,680 --> 00:47:21,440
been sitting in the library in Boston
Lake where they've pointed

594
00:47:19,760 --> 00:47:25,680
residents to where the county buildings
are. They're not sure where the county

595
00:47:23,119 --> 00:47:30,599
places are. That's the people know they
can get valid information at the

596
00:47:27,599 --> 00:47:30,599
library.

597
00:47:31,280 --> 00:47:38,640
And then we also have a variety of
partnerships that the libraries do with

598
00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:44,800
not only governmental agencies, other
businesses um and the schools within the

599
00:47:41,920 --> 00:47:49,440
area.
And

600
00:47:46,880 --> 00:47:53,280
Brandon touched upon this too. Um county
library payments are outside of the levy

601
00:47:51,520 --> 00:48:00,560
limit. So they do not have an impact on
any other the county departmental

602
00:47:55,760 --> 00:48:04,560
budgets. Um and the funds go directly to
the libraries and those funds fall under

603
00:48:03,280 --> 00:48:10,680
the control of the library board.
Municipalities cannot use those for any

604
00:48:07,440 --> 00:48:10,680
other purpose

605
00:48:11,040 --> 00:48:14,040
questions.

606
00:48:17,200 --> 00:48:22,640
Um thank you very much.
>> You're really great information. I don't

607
00:48:21,359 --> 00:48:24,240
think I have the same stuff that you
have.

608
00:48:22,960 --> 00:48:31,119
» I think you have the county plan that
was passed. Yes. So I have 208 and 2024

609
00:48:28,319 --> 00:48:36,000
and I think you presented 2025.
So I just want to make sure I kind of

610
00:48:33,839 --> 00:48:38,480
understand the numbers right and I'll
take the blame for having this

611
00:48:37,200 --> 00:48:42,880
discussion today for raising the
question at the last meeting.

612
00:48:40,079 --> 00:48:49,119
» Uh I represent all rural residents in my
district. So just kind of want to make

613
00:48:45,359 --> 00:48:54,960
sure if I'm I'm on page 10 of the
library plan which is the 2024 numbers.

614
00:48:51,839 --> 00:48:59,960
I don't know if you
haven't.

615
00:48:55,760 --> 00:48:59,960
» I've got the 24. Yep.

616
00:49:05,440 --> 00:49:13,599
» Number differently. Okay. Um, which
number? So, at the this at the top it

617
00:49:10,960 --> 00:49:15,680
says 2024 municipal per capita support.
>> Yep.

618
00:49:15,040 --> 00:49:20,640
» Okay. Yep.
>> So, and then that's $1,49,96,

619
00:49:19,760 --> 00:49:23,760
right? You see that number?
>> Yep. So that if I'm and I'm just asking

620
00:49:22,640 --> 00:49:28,640
the questions I'm trying to understand
how this works. So that is how much

621
00:49:26,559 --> 00:49:31,280
these communities that are listed put
into the libraries.

622
00:49:30,640 --> 00:49:35,040
» Correct.
>> And then if you go to the bottom

623
00:49:33,200 --> 00:49:40,640
1,78,000
is what the county the non

624
00:49:38,720 --> 00:49:43,920
village city residents of the county put
in. So it's about half 50/50, right? Is

625
00:49:42,960 --> 00:49:48,640
that fair?
>> Right. and and the the note with the

626
00:49:46,800 --> 00:49:52,880
amount for the county that also includes
payments that Pulk County is making to

627
00:49:50,640 --> 00:49:57,599
the adjacent county. So, it might be
money going to Deer Park. It might be

628
00:49:55,359 --> 00:50:03,359
money going to
um Webster or whoever else is in

629
00:50:01,599 --> 00:50:09,280
adjacent county. That's okay. That's
helpful. So the the 31,000

630
00:50:06,720 --> 00:50:15,200
non what you guys call non-resident Pulk
County residents are are paying about

631
00:50:12,160 --> 00:50:21,839
half for the libraries. And then if you
go to that next one

632
00:50:18,800 --> 00:50:25,680
um the circulation
it looks like and I think you said in

633
00:50:23,920 --> 00:50:31,200
your presentation that circulation is
kind of how you base this.

634
00:50:28,160 --> 00:50:37,040
» So um I'm just back to page nine one
page ahead.

635
00:50:33,520 --> 00:50:43,599
159,000 circulation to the non-residents
and total circulation of 309.

636
00:50:40,640 --> 00:50:50,240
So again, roughly half of the
circulation is to non residents. Is that

637
00:50:46,800 --> 00:50:53,359
roughly close? Yep. Um and then the last
question that I have and it gets to the

638
00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:57,920
circulation is you got to go all the way
back to 2018.

639
00:50:55,359 --> 00:51:02,640
The the cir total circulation then was
419,000.

640
00:50:59,839 --> 00:51:08,079
In 2024, the total circulation was
309,000.

641
00:51:04,559 --> 00:51:14,880
And in your your presentation, the 2025
was 280,000. So from 2018

642
00:51:12,079 --> 00:51:21,680
to 2025, we've had a reduction in
circulation library systemwide in Pulk

643
00:51:18,880 --> 00:51:26,400
County of about a third.
And then if you look at the the

644
00:51:23,920 --> 00:51:35,200
electronic stuff, it appears that that
has increased by maybe 50% or more even.

645
00:51:31,920 --> 00:51:38,319
» Um, so tell me what is circulation what
I think about it is when I was a kid I

646
00:51:36,800 --> 00:51:42,880
went to the Amry Library and checked out
a book that's circulation. What is the

647
00:51:40,640 --> 00:51:49,280
what is the other what's the electronic?
What does that involve? So that would be

648
00:51:45,440 --> 00:51:56,640
using um the Libby app to download a an
ebook or an e audio material so that

649
00:51:51,920 --> 00:52:02,319
they're using a device to listen to that
material versus coming in physically

650
00:52:00,160 --> 00:52:07,200
into the library and grabbing a book or
a DVD or an audio.

651
00:52:05,440 --> 00:52:10,720
So I'm a member of the Amry Public
Library. Probably am not anymore, but I

652
00:52:08,800 --> 00:52:16,000
I have been for a long time over the
years. Um, I can go somewhere and

653
00:52:13,440 --> 00:52:18,960
download an ebook onto something onto my
phone and listen to it. That's what

654
00:52:17,359 --> 00:52:23,359
that's what that's talking about.
>> Correct.

655
00:52:19,839 --> 00:52:28,319
» Yeah. And so how does how do I I
couldn't figure out how that compares

656
00:52:26,559 --> 00:52:29,359
resident to non-resident. Do you guys
have that

657
00:52:28,880 --> 00:52:37,599
» great
>> information? it. We don't really have

658
00:52:33,920 --> 00:52:43,119
that specific of information because the
vendors that supply those materials

659
00:52:39,680 --> 00:52:49,839
don't get it down to the detail of what
township a person lives in when they

660
00:52:45,760 --> 00:52:55,200
check that or borrow that item. So, we
have raw numbers. We could extrapolate

661
00:52:52,400 --> 00:53:02,319
based on physical circulation and guess
what that might be. Um, but areas that

662
00:52:59,760 --> 00:53:07,680
don't have a high-speed internet that's
reliable, they're less apt to download

663
00:53:04,880 --> 00:53:13,359
those materials. So, it it it may not be
a true um one for one comparison based

664
00:53:11,200 --> 00:53:20,079
on physical circulation.
So, and and to that usage,

665
00:53:17,920 --> 00:53:24,000
the expenses that the libraries pay for
those materials, that's part of their

666
00:53:22,240 --> 00:53:28,079
operational budget. So, it's kind of
figured into that cost per circulation.

667
00:53:27,040 --> 00:53:33,839
» That's what I was going to ask. So,
there's some I assume sub subscription

668
00:53:30,720 --> 00:53:37,760
that the Amry Library or the Pulk County
Libraries or someone has with these

669
00:53:35,440 --> 00:53:45,760
services that then allow me as a member
to download the books. Yep. So, it it is

670
00:53:41,680 --> 00:53:50,960
a statewide overdrive collection. The
libraries and library systems within the

671
00:53:47,839 --> 00:53:55,839
state of Wisconsin pay for those
materials. So there is a giant

672
00:53:53,280 --> 00:54:02,240
collection on Libby app for those items
and then individual libraries and

673
00:53:58,319 --> 00:54:06,720
systems pay for additional um licensed
copies of those items so people can

674
00:54:04,880 --> 00:54:11,680
check them out. So let's say it's a
super popular um item

675
00:54:10,000 --> 00:54:17,440
and there's a lot of people waiting for
it um the library system or an

676
00:54:14,000 --> 00:54:24,359
individual library may purchase or lease
additional copies. So that reduces the

677
00:54:20,720 --> 00:54:24,359
wait time for folks.

678
00:54:25,200 --> 00:54:28,200
» Thanks.

679
00:54:29,280 --> 00:54:35,599
» Any other questions? Anyone?
>> All right. Thank you.

680
00:54:34,559 --> 00:54:39,400
» Thank you.
>> Appreciate all your support.

681
00:54:40,000 --> 00:54:49,920
See, we went on to um
Number nine, discussion and possible

682
00:54:46,160 --> 00:54:53,880
action regarding resolution 3826
setting the rates for library

683
00:54:58,079 --> 00:55:04,920
» wants to start the discussion I guess.
Well,

684
00:55:05,760 --> 00:55:12,640
I don't know what there's left to
discuss.

685
00:55:09,680 --> 00:55:15,040
» Well, I think did we got to move this
on?

686
00:55:13,040 --> 00:55:20,160
» If I remember how we left it last month,
we we were going to send it to the board

687
00:55:17,359 --> 00:55:25,200
without a without a percentage
recommended.

688
00:55:21,680 --> 00:55:31,920
Um, I kind of think we should probably
that this committee should probably

689
00:55:26,880 --> 00:55:37,440
recommend it at percentage. Okay. And um
that can be that can be amended at the

690
00:55:34,480 --> 00:55:42,000
board level or or whatever. But I think
we should send this forward with a

691
00:55:39,599 --> 00:55:44,000
recommendation. Would that that be
appropriate?

692
00:55:43,119 --> 00:55:50,400
» Yes.
>> So the resolution needs to get passed so

693
00:55:46,640 --> 00:55:55,839
that be included in the budget. But um
whether this committee assigns a

694
00:55:52,960 --> 00:56:01,280
percentage today and then sends it with
a recommendation or sends it neutral

695
00:55:58,880 --> 00:56:07,119
with no numbers in there so that the
board can amend it um at the at the full

696
00:56:05,200 --> 00:56:11,200
county board.
That sort of discussion potentially may

697
00:56:09,440 --> 00:56:14,960
require going into committee as a whole,
but all of that's for the board to

698
00:56:12,799 --> 00:56:18,000
decide. You can do either thing. You
could send it with a neutral

699
00:56:16,559 --> 00:56:24,799
recommendation since there is no
percentage in there and say board you

700
00:56:21,839 --> 00:56:29,280
contemplate what to do with this or if
you all decide uh on a percentage you

701
00:56:27,200 --> 00:56:35,200
could put it in there and then send it
with recommendation. If you do that the

702
00:56:32,400 --> 00:56:41,119
board can still amend at the full board
to a different percentage uh at that

703
00:56:37,680 --> 00:56:42,880
time and that's resolution 3826 that you
have in our packet. Is that right?

704
00:56:42,480 --> 00:56:48,400
» Correct.
>> Correct. Well, I' I'd move to approve

705
00:56:45,040 --> 00:56:52,480
resolution 3826 at and then fill in your
blanks at 95%.

706
00:56:51,119 --> 00:56:58,480
» I'd second that.
>> All right. So, we've got a motion.

707
00:56:54,720 --> 00:57:02,960
» Just for point of clarity, it would be
move to approve with an amendment. So,

708
00:57:01,680 --> 00:57:06,720
» you want me to take the amendment?
>> I think the cleanest way would be move

709
00:57:04,559 --> 00:57:10,240
to approve and then get a second and
then during discussion move to amend.

710
00:57:09,119 --> 00:57:13,680
Get the change.
>> That's my motion then.

711
00:57:11,280 --> 00:57:18,640
» Okay. So, we've got a motion to a motion
and a second to approve the resolution.

712
00:57:16,720 --> 00:57:23,000
Send it to the board with recommendation
>> with a recommendation of 95%.

713
00:57:23,200 --> 00:57:29,680
» You want me to make a motion to amend?
>> So, on the floor it would be motion to

714
00:57:27,520 --> 00:57:35,680
send to the board
uh with recommendation and then you all

715
00:57:32,319 --> 00:57:41,599
have to vote or you go get seconded. So
for discussion and then we would need a

716
00:57:38,079 --> 00:57:47,119
motion to amend to replace the X's the
>> So currently we've got the motion and a

717
00:57:43,920 --> 00:57:51,680
second to move the to move the
resolution forward

718
00:57:49,839 --> 00:57:55,119
» and I'll make the motion to amend to
95%.

719
00:57:52,319 --> 00:57:57,839
» So first of all any discussion on that
moving it forward

720
00:57:56,640 --> 00:58:02,480
» but you don't want to you don't want to
vote on that until

721
00:57:59,599 --> 00:58:06,480
» right. So now the amendments he's made a
motion to amend it to add the 95%. Is

722
00:58:05,200 --> 00:58:09,440
there a second on that?
>> Yes.

723
00:58:07,680 --> 00:58:12,240
» Right. So that's been properly moved and
seconded.

724
00:58:10,480 --> 00:58:17,680
» That's leaving it as is
>> with 95%. Yeah.

725
00:58:15,359 --> 00:58:21,599
Uh any further discussion on that?
>> I just want to say one quick thing.

726
00:58:20,000 --> 00:58:28,079
Thank you so much for the presentation.
Very helpful information. It appears to

727
00:58:24,160 --> 00:58:30,960
me that from the circulation, if that's
the right number to use, and I'm not

728
00:58:29,359 --> 00:58:34,000
sure it is after after what we've seen
today, maybe we need to move away from

729
00:58:32,640 --> 00:58:38,559
we're doing electronic more than
circulation now. Um that the the rural

730
00:58:37,200 --> 00:58:44,160
residents, and that's what I've been
concerned about, are actually using a

731
00:58:42,000 --> 00:58:48,960
little bit more than 50% and they're
funding it at

732
00:58:46,480 --> 00:58:53,760
essentially half. So, it seems to me
that my question of is this fair to the

733
00:58:51,520 --> 00:58:58,960
rural residents has been answered and it
is. It does seem that it it's fair. The

734
00:58:57,040 --> 00:59:02,319
one long-term concern I would have our
circulation is plummeting the way that

735
00:59:00,720 --> 00:59:10,000
it has over the last seven or eight
years. Maybe there needs to be a look

736
00:59:05,839 --> 00:59:12,799
long term at a how the how this model is
set up because it seems like people

737
00:59:11,520 --> 00:59:18,000
aren't checking out books, they're doing
other things. But I guess that's for

738
00:59:15,119 --> 00:59:24,559
another day. I would assume that other
counties are experiencing similar things

739
00:59:20,880 --> 00:59:30,280
especially the rural county.
So we'll we'll be getting that

740
00:59:26,319 --> 00:59:30,280
information over the years

741
00:59:30,559 --> 00:59:35,599
» discussion
and I someone from the library could

742
00:59:34,240 --> 00:59:39,359
correct me but I believe that
calculation is determined by the

743
00:59:37,440 --> 00:59:44,559
statute. So it would be the legislature
that has to take a look at it and and

744
00:59:41,760 --> 00:59:49,440
» yeah I my point was more how we operate
as libraries then you know if we're not

745
00:59:47,280 --> 00:59:55,599
checking out books but we're doing
downloads maybe there's a more efficient

746
00:59:51,520 --> 01:00:02,000
way to do that.
>> All right we'll be voting now then on on

747
00:59:58,480 --> 01:00:06,960
moving this to the board with a with
recommendation I believe is how is is

748
01:00:04,799 --> 01:00:10,160
how you um worded that.
>> Yes. and adding the 95%. Is that

749
01:00:09,599 --> 01:00:12,240
correct?
>> Yes.

750
01:00:10,640 --> 01:00:12,960
» Did we vote on the amendment yet?
>> No.

751
01:00:12,640 --> 01:00:15,760
» No.
>> So, vote on the amendment first and then

752
01:00:14,559 --> 01:00:19,119
» So, we'll vote on the amendments. Hey,
add the 95% in. All in favor signify by

753
01:00:18,319 --> 01:00:23,520
saying I
>> I

754
01:00:21,680 --> 01:00:27,839
remember.
>> Sorry, Jeremy. Was that was that an I or

755
01:00:26,000 --> 01:00:32,720
an A?
>> I

756
01:00:29,520 --> 01:00:38,880
so it passes unanimously.
Now to move the entire the entire

757
01:00:36,000 --> 01:00:42,960
resolution forward as amended.
All in favor signify by saying I

758
01:00:40,640 --> 01:00:49,480
» I
post nay and that passes too. All right.

759
01:00:50,960 --> 01:00:57,280
» Uh number 10 update in remote work
professional services and independent

760
01:00:56,079 --> 01:01:02,559
contractors.
>> Yes, Mr. Chair. Um that was a request by

761
01:01:00,240 --> 01:01:07,280
Hall for an update on remote work. um
from HR HR professional Stephanie um is

762
01:01:05,920 --> 01:01:10,280
going to update you on our latest
numbers.

763
01:01:11,280 --> 01:01:15,799
Bring that up. Thank
>> you.

764
01:01:16,960 --> 01:01:24,079
You should have brought dropped that in
your box. It's along with the it's on

765
01:01:20,559 --> 01:01:29,640
the end of the budget one
halfway through

766
01:01:26,640 --> 01:01:29,640
» slide

767
01:01:30,079 --> 01:01:32,880
nine.

768
01:01:35,440 --> 01:01:38,440
Yes.

769
01:01:55,680 --> 01:02:02,640
» All right. just really Hi, I'm Stephanie
Lauder and I'm the senior affair

770
01:01:59,920 --> 01:02:10,000
generalist county. I've been with the
county since December.

771
01:02:04,960 --> 01:02:15,680
Um and really quickly um we do offer our
employees, you know, the opportunity to

772
01:02:14,079 --> 01:02:21,520
um
remote work. So we have occasional which

773
01:02:19,359 --> 01:02:27,760
employee requests from a supervisor as
needed. So kind of like on a ho ad hoc

774
01:02:24,160 --> 01:02:32,640
basis whether they live far away and you
know are going to a doctor's appointment

775
01:02:30,079 --> 01:02:39,200
so that they can still be productive and
be working in a you know a high capacity

776
01:02:36,480 --> 01:02:46,400
of their time. Uh we have hybrid and
field office work. So if somebody were

777
01:02:43,520 --> 01:02:53,920
to be on the field um let's say a social
worker and uh they were working in the

778
01:02:50,400 --> 01:03:00,160
field and hybrid so that they wouldn't
spend a majority of their time driving

779
01:02:56,960 --> 01:03:06,559
um they could be productive you know
working and then uh right now we

780
01:03:02,960 --> 01:03:13,119
currently actually have 65 employees on
approved telecommuting agreements. Um,

781
01:03:10,240 --> 01:03:16,839
and the next slide breaks it down by
division and department.

782
01:03:19,200 --> 01:03:28,440
So, it's a total of 65 and out of um the
county's regular employees about 17%.

783
01:03:28,480 --> 01:03:35,079
Have this
agreement in place.

784
01:03:35,920 --> 01:03:38,920
Any

785
01:03:47,119 --> 01:03:50,119
questions?

786
01:03:52,559 --> 01:03:58,480
» Do you want me to do the next slide?
>> Yeah.

787
01:03:55,119 --> 01:04:04,240
» The other the other thing I hall asked
on was uh contracted services,

788
01:04:00,799 --> 01:04:08,640
professional services. Um, with that in
your slide, if you go to the next slide,

789
01:04:06,079 --> 01:04:13,200
Claire, please.
We have different types of of contracts

790
01:04:10,559 --> 01:04:19,359
we work up naturally um with our
contractors. Um, we utilize them for

791
01:04:16,720 --> 01:04:26,799
employment law, bonding, uh, government
with the uh, HR management, IT, security

792
01:04:24,559 --> 01:04:30,960
among other ones. Um, some of the other
smaller contractor firms we deal with

793
01:04:28,559 --> 01:04:35,520
are individuals. Our deer removal
contract on our on our county highways.

794
01:04:33,440 --> 01:04:41,200
Uh, the state has a separate one. We do
squad outfitting uh with Anderson Tech.

795
01:04:38,559 --> 01:04:47,599
He does the decals on our squads. Foster
care HR. Um, Scott Good for IT um is one

796
01:04:45,839 --> 01:04:51,920
that we used when he left the the
organization. We had him sign a contract

797
01:04:50,000 --> 01:04:55,760
with us to bridge that gap before we
hired a new IT director to keep our

798
01:04:53,680 --> 01:05:02,640
cyber security going for forward with
that. Um other things we do with that um

799
01:04:58,720 --> 01:05:06,160
we contract out line striping um paving.
We don't own our own paver. It's more

800
01:05:04,079 --> 01:05:13,200
efficient for monarch to layer mix and
we just haul it. Um so of that currently

801
01:05:09,440 --> 01:05:19,839
in 2026 we have 170 uh 1099s we're
doing. Um and of that we um 2.2 2

802
01:05:17,520 --> 01:05:23,520
million in 2026 for current payment of
those contracted services and that's

803
01:05:21,359 --> 01:05:29,839
throughout the entire organization. We
contract out our janitorial services. Um

804
01:05:27,520 --> 01:05:34,559
along with um we used to do security in
the justice center and now we brought

805
01:05:31,119 --> 01:05:38,400
that in house using jailers. But um it's
something we can provide contract

806
01:05:36,160 --> 01:05:42,799
services more efficiently and cheaper
for our residents uh than doing it in

807
01:05:40,559 --> 01:05:48,000
house. So that's kind of a snapshot of
what uh professional services and

808
01:05:45,039 --> 01:05:52,319
contracts we have with um general
speaking without uh bringing the entire

809
01:05:50,160 --> 01:05:58,079
list.
Not sure if there's any questions on

810
01:05:53,760 --> 01:06:05,520
that slide or one question they I didn't
realize the dead deer removal were or we

811
01:06:01,760 --> 01:06:11,520
pay per animal or is it a contract that
uh you know is an annual fee or how do

812
01:06:08,160 --> 01:06:15,440
we do that? Uh they bid it. It goes in
per animal and on a monthly charge. Uh

813
01:06:13,920 --> 01:06:20,960
and there's a time frame depending on
the time of year of whether it's um 72

814
01:06:18,799 --> 01:06:25,920
hours in the
in the winter, 24 hours in the

815
01:06:22,880 --> 01:06:29,359
summertime. There's an they expediate
that. If you get call in and say it's in

816
01:06:27,760 --> 01:06:33,760
front of someone's front yard, they'll
come get it. But remember, that's only

817
01:06:31,200 --> 01:06:39,440
on county highways. Um the state
utilizes the same contractor um on state

818
01:06:36,319 --> 01:06:43,680
highways. uh depending there is some
kind of delays on some of those

819
01:06:40,960 --> 01:06:49,760
» the towns work with the same contractor.
>> Uh I I don't know if they've reached out

820
01:06:46,240 --> 01:06:55,839
to this contractor for town work.
>> Um one more question and then I guess do

821
01:06:52,960 --> 01:07:00,640
they so do we pay per incident then or
or how does that work?

822
01:06:57,440 --> 01:07:05,359
» It's kind of like a an overall bundle
contract for the year. Um, I forgot what

823
01:07:03,039 --> 01:07:10,319
the last numbers were, right around 12
grand or 10 grand. Ran the numbers of

824
01:07:08,640 --> 01:07:14,319
what it cost to have two employees going
out hooking up a deer and where to

825
01:07:12,079 --> 01:07:20,000
dispose them at Waste Management or some
other facility. Um, was much more than

826
01:07:17,680 --> 01:07:24,240
that. The critical thing is is the
timing of the call. Um, we have a system

827
01:07:22,720 --> 01:07:31,039
where we fill out a sheet and it gets
faxed and emailed right to the vendor so

828
01:07:26,880 --> 01:07:36,480
that he knows exact location by um
what segment and uh address where to

829
01:07:34,319 --> 01:07:39,920
move that deer. There is a stipulation
in the DNR contract that they can move

830
01:07:38,319 --> 01:07:43,520
them off and pull them off right away
depending on where they are located. So,

831
01:07:42,000 --> 01:07:46,760
not all of them just get picked up and
shipped off

832
01:07:47,200 --> 01:07:54,319
and sometimes it's easier for highway
staff just to pull them off right away

833
01:07:50,720 --> 01:07:57,200
and depending where they're at more so
or a resident that's in the yard or

834
01:07:56,160 --> 01:08:01,119
something in the sheriff's department
use that too. So, if you see one

835
01:07:59,200 --> 01:08:04,119
underneath a mailbox that's high
priority.

836
01:08:06,160 --> 01:08:13,359
» See if Jeremy's got anything.
>> Yeah, I just have a couple questions.

837
01:08:10,240 --> 01:08:17,600
Um, I'm wondering uh when the HR
contract will term out and the IT

838
01:08:15,119 --> 01:08:21,839
contract and what our processes will be
to hire those positions and what's the

839
01:08:19,920 --> 01:08:26,400
timeline on those?
>> The IT director has already started. So,

840
01:08:24,719 --> 01:08:31,440
Scott Good's contract will phase out
here shortly.

841
01:08:27,839 --> 01:08:36,560
um the IT or the excuse me the HR um
contract um those hours now have been

842
01:08:34,159 --> 01:08:42,199
reduced to 20 hours a week and we'll
phase out as we go into the process of

843
01:08:38,319 --> 01:08:42,199
hiring an HR manager

844
01:08:42,319 --> 01:08:51,120
» and then do we have any um
changes coming from working remote

845
01:08:48,159 --> 01:08:55,839
policies as far as the number of people
and how often

846
01:08:53,520 --> 01:08:59,199
» um this is con this is looked at uh
continually with the directors and the

847
01:08:57,520 --> 01:09:04,480
managers to see if it's efficient and
they're getting their work done. If not,

848
01:09:01,440 --> 01:09:08,080
those um remote agreements are pulled
and they're brought back in house

849
01:09:06,000 --> 01:09:11,279
depending on what that is.
>> Has there been any pulled in the last

850
01:09:09,839 --> 01:09:15,120
two years?
>> Yes.

851
01:09:12,880 --> 01:09:19,400
» Do you know how many?
>> Not off hand. No.

852
01:09:16,400 --> 01:09:19,400
» Okay.

853
01:09:20,239 --> 01:09:28,080
» And I can Jeremy. So if you look at the
telecommuting by division and

854
01:09:24,880 --> 01:09:34,880
department, this is Joe Lo corporation
council. So you'll see

855
01:09:31,839 --> 01:09:42,640
my office under general government makes
up the lion share of the 11 people that

856
01:09:37,759 --> 01:09:47,359
are working remotely. Um that includes
myself

857
01:09:44,560 --> 01:09:52,640
one day a week maybe uh attorney
Schiffer one maybe two days a week on

858
01:09:50,799 --> 01:09:59,840
the occasion when he doesn't have court
which is rare um

859
01:09:56,400 --> 01:10:05,600
him Mortonson also similarly if she has
court and is needs to be in the office

860
01:10:02,880 --> 01:10:12,080
is in the office for the three of us in
corporation council it's up.

861
01:10:09,600 --> 01:10:16,560
For example, Pierce County is trying to
hire a corporation or assistant

862
01:10:14,080 --> 01:10:22,880
corporation council. The person that
they wanted to hire was requesting full

863
01:10:19,920 --> 01:10:28,960
remote work. Um, one of the district
attorneys in uh Pierce County was full

864
01:10:27,280 --> 01:10:37,199
remote work.
We at least in my office are at a

865
01:10:32,320 --> 01:10:44,480
professional level in this um
geographic area don't have the level of

866
01:10:40,640 --> 01:10:49,280
professionals that want to necessarily
come into this field. So, at least for

867
01:10:47,280 --> 01:10:55,360
my office, which is the only one I can
really speak for, there's a need to

868
01:10:52,960 --> 01:11:01,679
extend that benefit so that it attracts
the type of people that want to be

869
01:10:57,280 --> 01:11:10,560
working for the county. Uh, the other
five in my office are all child support

870
01:11:05,199 --> 01:11:15,199
specialists. Most other counties, sorry,
some other counties have full remote

871
01:11:12,560 --> 01:11:21,280
work for their specialists to where they
don't come into the office ever. Um,

872
01:11:19,120 --> 01:11:25,840
they work fully remote. That is not how
our office operates. Uh, our office

873
01:11:23,760 --> 01:11:29,920
requires our specialists to be in the
office again if they have court, which

874
01:11:28,159 --> 01:11:35,679
is probably two to three days of the
week. Um, I think we at most allow

875
01:11:33,440 --> 01:11:42,159
people to work from from home two days a
week. So that those employees all fall

876
01:11:39,040 --> 01:11:47,440
under that hybrid kind of scheduling.
Um, so all eight of the employees in my

877
01:11:45,600 --> 01:11:52,960
department fall under that type of
schedule. And it's a determination that

878
01:11:50,640 --> 01:11:58,239
I have made and that Malia made before
me that in order to get the type of

879
01:11:55,280 --> 01:12:04,480
people that we want to work in our
field, that's a benefit that we need to

880
01:12:01,040 --> 01:12:11,040
extend. Um
what my job is as the manager is to make

881
01:12:07,760 --> 01:12:15,920
sure uh at least for
child support, it's relatively easy,

882
01:12:12,800 --> 01:12:22,400
right? We have five or six KPIs that the
state dictates to us. We can look at

883
01:12:20,000 --> 01:12:29,440
those KPIs not just by our office but by
each individual worker and we the state

884
01:12:26,320 --> 01:12:34,000
has a process by which they uh send
random notifications to your computer

885
01:12:31,280 --> 01:12:39,520
and you have five or 10 minutes or
something like that to reply and put in

886
01:12:36,560 --> 01:12:45,120
a case note and do something. So there
are mechanisms that are built into at

887
01:12:41,920 --> 01:12:51,760
least my systems that require a person
to be at their computer and actively

888
01:12:47,920 --> 01:12:58,880
attentive and working. Um, similarly, if
there was any problem with

889
01:12:55,360 --> 01:13:03,920
Attorney Schaefer or Miss Mortonson,
I would see those pretty quickly in a

890
01:13:01,840 --> 01:13:08,800
failure to file something on time or a
failure to reply to an email that I send

891
01:13:05,840 --> 01:13:12,719
or a failure of either of them to reply
to an outside attorney or something like

892
01:13:10,960 --> 01:13:18,159
that. And I'll hear about it relatively
quickly. I can only really speak for my

893
01:13:15,360 --> 01:13:21,920
department, but I can only imagine that
the department heads of other

894
01:13:19,360 --> 01:13:29,040
departments are in similar situations.
Um, but again, I can't speak for them,

895
01:13:25,120 --> 01:13:32,880
but that that's kind of a snapshot of
what that looks like. Uh, and I would

896
01:13:31,280 --> 01:13:38,960
assume that that's across the the
government. And I I know that community

897
01:13:34,960 --> 01:13:45,280
services has KPIs that they have uh for
their employees. Um but again I can only

898
01:13:42,400 --> 01:13:49,120
speak to to my particular department
>> and one of the other being a border

899
01:13:47,120 --> 01:13:53,280
county also next to Minnesota one of the
other things that we have to be very be

900
01:13:50,560 --> 01:13:58,080
conscious of is their family their FLMA
that's paid. So if you reside in

901
01:13:55,679 --> 01:14:03,920
Minnesota and you work here in P County
you have to be in office 51% of the

902
01:14:01,360 --> 01:14:08,239
time. You know that being said if you
took two days vacation a week you you

903
01:14:06,560 --> 01:14:12,640
can't you can't be remote the rest of
the week. you have to be in office so we

904
01:14:10,400 --> 01:14:17,280
don't get caught up in paying for paid
family medical leave.

905
01:14:14,080 --> 01:14:22,320
» So I guess that is to to your question
Supervisor Hall the somewhat an answer.

906
01:14:20,719 --> 01:14:27,760
There has been a development in the
policy for work from home but it it is

907
01:14:25,040 --> 01:14:31,880
related to the the change of the law in
the state of Minnesota. Correct.

908
01:14:35,440 --> 01:14:43,040
» Anyone else?
All right. Thank you.

909
01:14:38,880 --> 01:14:46,239
» You bet. Stay up here update.
>> Yes.

910
01:14:44,960 --> 01:14:51,280
All right. Well, that's one of the
things we have to do naturally is is a

911
01:14:48,320 --> 01:14:57,840
structurally balanced budget every year.
And um this is your first look at that.

912
01:14:54,239 --> 01:15:03,120
So, um we can go with that and see how
important that is. Uh next slide. So,

913
01:15:00,880 --> 01:15:07,840
the slide you saw last month at general
government. Um this is the outside

914
01:15:04,880 --> 01:15:12,320
agencies. You can see the the second
column is their request for 2027

915
01:15:10,800 --> 01:15:16,560
and the last one is going to be my
recommendation for each outside agency

916
01:15:15,120 --> 01:15:21,679
with that and that's what we put in the
budget. Um

917
01:15:19,280 --> 01:15:25,239
that are in there the historical society
asked for 67,165

918
01:15:25,360 --> 01:15:34,239
a $7,000 increase. I kept them at last
year's level. the same with uh tourism

919
01:15:32,159 --> 01:15:38,080
and the other ones are the same with
except for West Central Wisconsin

920
01:15:36,719 --> 01:15:43,880
Planning Commission. That's a formula
done by statute with that one. Next

921
01:15:40,880 --> 01:15:43,880
slide.

922
01:15:45,040 --> 01:15:54,239
These are uh all the AFRs now have been
through committees. These are the public

923
01:15:51,600 --> 01:15:59,760
work capital AFRs.
That's $2.4 million worth. Um of that

924
01:15:57,360 --> 01:16:04,880
2.2 two is part of debt service. Keeping
our levy flat, keeping our levy the same

925
01:16:02,080 --> 01:16:10,239
with that debt payment um allows us to
do these projects. We got two highway

926
01:16:06,880 --> 01:16:15,199
projects, seven squads, m uh windows for
the museum, uh lighting controls for the

927
01:16:12,800 --> 01:16:20,480
justice center, remote controls for the
Clam Falls Dam, again, replacing carpet

928
01:16:17,920 --> 01:16:26,880
in the Justice Center, part of it,
control boat that's paid for um over

929
01:16:23,280 --> 01:16:30,640
four years from uh the DNR through a
grant. the same with their players

930
01:16:28,400 --> 01:16:34,560
expedition UTV.
We got fluorescent lights in the CISA

931
01:16:32,640 --> 01:16:41,360
building,
uh the sheriff's office, cubicle

932
01:16:37,760 --> 01:16:45,520
remodel, uh mixing valves in the jail,
and then for parks, snowblower, and a

933
01:16:43,920 --> 01:16:51,280
zeroturn lawn mower that's paid through
the one tenn fund. So 2.2 of that is

934
01:16:48,640 --> 01:16:56,080
debt financing to keep our levy the same
as last year.

935
01:16:53,840 --> 01:17:03,440
Next slide.
uh public safety, public works operating

936
01:16:58,000 --> 01:17:07,679
AFRs. Um these are um staff driven. Uh
most of them are staff. The first one

937
01:17:04,800 --> 01:17:12,480
though is the one uh 150,000 for the
ster litigation. We add that line item.

938
01:17:10,480 --> 01:17:18,159
Uh we have increased costs for uh
medical costs for the jail.

939
01:17:14,960 --> 01:17:23,280
Um adding the AD the DA to the Axon
contract. Those are for the body cams.

940
01:17:20,960 --> 01:17:26,960
Um how they go through their process.
And then these are employee ones. an X

941
01:17:25,280 --> 01:17:30,960
once for a highway taking a maintenance
worker to a maintenance techni or a

942
01:17:29,120 --> 01:17:35,360
highway technician
uh increasing a parks maintenance worker

943
01:17:33,120 --> 01:17:39,920
to a park uh parks uh maintenance
technician due to certifications and

944
01:17:38,080 --> 01:17:44,400
licensing.
Next one's from the CJCC

945
01:17:42,320 --> 01:17:49,920
uh coordinator of diversion going to the
full CJC coordinator position and then

946
01:17:47,280 --> 01:17:54,719
the other two are from the courts um two
legal assistants going to parillegal due

947
01:17:51,840 --> 01:18:00,719
to more duties they are doing. Um, next
slide. ES committee only had two FR

948
01:17:57,840 --> 01:18:04,000
AFRs. That was an increase from
administrative assistant to

949
01:18:02,000 --> 01:18:08,080
administrative specialist due to duties
again. And then for the register of

950
01:18:06,400 --> 01:18:14,480
deeds was an optical character
recognition software for $5,000 to help

951
01:18:11,520 --> 01:18:20,560
um searching documents.
Uh there was no AFRS for health and

952
01:18:17,040 --> 01:18:26,719
human services which was nice. Um and
then the next one is general government.

953
01:18:23,360 --> 01:18:32,560
Uh these ones here are um for admin
increasing uh finance manager to

954
01:18:29,360 --> 01:18:39,520
controller due to change in duties and
what they've been doing. Uh it is

955
01:18:36,159 --> 01:18:42,800
increase of an from an M to an L
position for our public information

956
01:18:41,280 --> 01:18:46,480
specialist
to a public information communication

957
01:18:45,040 --> 01:18:53,040
coordinator for the duties that have
expanded on on that position. And then

958
01:18:48,960 --> 01:18:57,040
the other one's from court counsel. Uh a
great increase from NIL for legal uh

959
01:18:55,199 --> 01:19:02,880
legal office manager to a legal office
manager to position.

960
01:19:00,400 --> 01:19:09,600
Uh next slide.
Uh provisionally this is all the

961
01:19:04,800 --> 01:19:13,920
approved AFRs that we did 2.7 million uh
received over $6 million in requests

962
01:19:11,600 --> 01:19:18,320
from departments uh for not only
personnel but for capital projects.

963
01:19:16,560 --> 01:19:23,679
Again 2.2 two of that is our debt
financing to keep our levy flat um with

964
01:19:21,840 --> 01:19:28,560
that and that allows us to do all these
projects

965
01:19:25,440 --> 01:19:33,520
with that. So um you'll get the full
budget then uh next week at the county

966
01:19:31,040 --> 01:19:37,679
board it'll be yours and then in October
we'll look at technical amendments or

967
01:19:35,360 --> 01:19:42,000
changes that you would like with that.
But this is a structurally balanced

968
01:19:39,600 --> 01:19:45,960
budget right now
for um for 2027.

969
01:19:50,320 --> 01:19:56,199
Any questions?
Anything? Jeremy

970
01:19:57,840 --> 01:20:01,560
doesn't appear to be

971
01:20:01,760 --> 01:20:07,679
um administrator's update.
>> Sure. I only had three things on my list

972
01:20:06,320 --> 01:20:12,480
this this I've been telling the
committees. Um

973
01:20:10,080 --> 01:20:17,280
sales tax for August was down 4% but
we're still 2.6% above uh what we were

974
01:20:15,280 --> 01:20:21,760
last year about 90 grand. So that's
good. Um County Road H north of Highway

975
01:20:20,239 --> 01:20:26,480
8 is closed currently for the bridge
repair over the Apple River replacement.

976
01:20:24,800 --> 01:20:34,320
About six weeks for that. And then
coming up in October, Oyola 243 closes

977
01:20:29,440 --> 01:20:38,719
for one year to replace the 243 bridge.
And then subsequently 8 to 10 years

978
01:20:36,560 --> 01:20:42,280
highway 8 into Taylor's falls that
bridge will be replaced.

979
01:20:44,480 --> 01:20:53,480
All right. Um
review work plan and identify subject

980
01:20:49,520 --> 01:20:53,480
matter for the next meeting.

981
01:20:58,239 --> 01:21:06,320
I don't know what what we've got for
that, but

982
01:21:02,320 --> 01:21:11,520
probably isn't anything. It'll be the um
finalizing budget stuff. I would imagine

983
01:21:08,320 --> 01:21:15,520
I don't know what else we would have for
>> there'll be actually a couple of things

984
01:21:12,800 --> 01:21:19,360
coming from my office for October. Um
there's going to be a couple of

985
01:21:16,560 --> 01:21:25,040
resolutions for annexations. So, when a
city or village annexes land from a

986
01:21:22,480 --> 01:21:28,719
town, uh we have to sometimes do
adjustments for supervisor district

987
01:21:26,880 --> 01:21:32,960
lines when it comes to like elections
and who votes where. Um we've had a

988
01:21:31,199 --> 01:21:38,000
couple of them come up over the last
couple of years that we have not taken

989
01:21:36,000 --> 01:21:41,360
care of because we were not aware that
we had to make those changes. Thought it

990
01:21:39,679 --> 01:21:44,560
was all done at the municipal level.
We're going to get those cleaned up and

991
01:21:43,120 --> 01:21:49,040
make sure that everything falls in line
and is contiguous with the rest of the

992
01:21:46,960 --> 01:21:53,520
supervisor districts. So, we have those
annexations ready. And then, um,

993
01:21:50,960 --> 01:22:00,320
something I've talked to, uh, the
administrator and Don Woram about also

994
01:21:56,080 --> 01:22:04,639
is the Arnellou is coming up, uh, in
December. Um, so that's a discussion

995
01:22:02,480 --> 01:22:08,880
that's going to be coming up also, and
I'm just involved in that one because we

996
01:22:06,480 --> 01:22:11,360
handle dog takes with them. Um, so
that's something that kind of comes

997
01:22:10,239 --> 01:22:13,679
through my office.
>> So those items will be for October's

998
01:22:13,280 --> 01:22:18,000
meeting.
>> The annexations will for sure be in

999
01:22:15,840 --> 01:22:21,360
October. I guess it's kind of up to you
guys as to when you want to. We are now

1000
01:22:20,159 --> 01:22:26,480
discussions. Okay.
>> That contract I believe is up in

1001
01:22:23,040 --> 01:22:30,560
December, so sometime before then. But
those annexations will come up next

1002
01:22:28,719 --> 01:22:34,800
month because we have to approve them
and then they take effect in November on

1003
01:22:32,880 --> 01:22:39,679
November 15th. So we want to make sure
that they're approved before then.

1004
01:22:37,040 --> 01:22:43,440
Just a point of clarity before anyone
panics about voting or anything like

1005
01:22:41,440 --> 01:22:51,120
that. In previous elections, all of the
annexed areas had zero population. So

1006
01:22:48,480 --> 01:22:55,960
stemming any paranoia on that
>> one is a is a z6.068

1007
01:22:56,080 --> 01:23:02,560
acres from town of Lincoln to city of
Amory. It's just one little like

1008
01:23:00,239 --> 01:23:09,440
rightway road. And then the other one I
believe is the where the um

1009
01:23:06,239 --> 01:23:13,840
the new hospital facility is going in
St. Croy Falls. Again, population zero.

1010
01:23:12,000 --> 01:23:18,400
They're annexing that from town of St.
Croy Falls to the city.

1011
01:23:16,880 --> 01:23:22,000
» Okay.
>> And we will have some I believe moving

1012
01:23:20,159 --> 01:23:26,320
forward. I know the village is working
on some of theirs, but you'll maybe see

1013
01:23:24,320 --> 01:23:31,120
this a little more often as they come up
instead of just kind of cleaning up

1014
01:23:28,000 --> 01:23:35,520
these these previous ones.
So, it might be something you see in the

1015
01:23:32,800 --> 01:23:41,360
future a little more often.
>> Well, inform us early.

1016
01:23:38,239 --> 01:23:46,440
» We'll do my best.
>> All right. Final final agenda item.

1017
01:23:48,400 --> 01:23:51,400
» Jeremy,

1018
01:23:51,520 --> 01:23:57,840
» he does not appear to be on any
>> motion to adjourn.

1019
01:23:57,040 --> 01:24:01,199
Second.
>> All right. Motion has been made and

1020
01:23:59,280 --> 01:24:05,159
second to adjurnn. All in favor?
>> I oppose.