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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExecutive Committee - Minutes - 9/16/20251 Minutes of the Bayfield County Executive Committee Meeting 4:00pm, September 16, 2025 Meeting was held Remotely through Microsoft Teams and in person in the Bayfield County Board Room, Washburn, WI Members Present: Dennis Pocernich, Mary Dougherty, Fred Strand, Jan Lee Excused: Marty Milanowski, Madelaine Rekemeyer Others Present: Mark Abeles-Allison-County Administrator, Kristine Kavajecz-Human Resources Director, Jeff Olson, Sue Rosa, Kim Mattson-Finance Director, Kelly Westlund- Deputy County Administrator, Sheriff Tony Williams, Tom Croteau-DHS Director, Anne Coy- Health Director, Jake Benson-Highway Commissioner, Charly Ray, Liam DelMain, Steve Sandstrom, Gail Reha-Bookkeeper Called to order at 4:00p.m. by Chairperson Dougherty Motion Strand, Pocernich to approve minutes of the September 10, 2025 Executive Committee meeting. Motion Carried (4-0) Public Comment: Bri Roland: Addressed the topic of Flock Cameras. Assumes good intention with having the cameras in the community, however, is not well received by the public. The AI technology related to this equipment. Paul DelMain: Not interested in having Flock Cameras track his movements and maintained in a database. Is against it and does not want to pay for it. Dana Churness: Reiterated comments made by Roland. Questioned how to navigate the advantages of Flock cameras from a public safety standpoint against privacy and accountability concerns. Isabel Grower: Expressed concern with the Flock cameras, contracted through a private company and concerns with the level of data gathered by the private company and the security of that data. Liam DelMain: Echoed concerns expressed previously about the Flock cameras. Asked for further community input before approving 2026 contract for flock services. Doug Liphart: Need specific boundaries for Flock cameras. Better ways to use these monies that may be more effective. Budget Overview and Changes Spreadsheet: Abeles-Allison reviewed the Master Budget Summary Worksheet with detail of each department and fund’s revenue and expenses. A detailed list of proposed levy allocation was reviewed. Department Presentations: a. Human Services / Emergency Assistance: PAGE 179 & 25 of the proposed budget book. Tom Croteau explained that the DHS budget reflects no levy change from 2025. Salary and wages will decrease as a result of retirements of 3 long-term 2 employees. Proposed budget is down due to financial modifications requested by the auditor related to pass-through funds. Replacement for WISIS accounting and program software budgeted at $67,000. $125,000 is budgeted for emergency assistance programs, $75,000 of this is earmarked for the heating assistance program that is being eliminated through the federal Big Beautiful Bill. In the past, the LIHEAP program has funded about $430,000 in heating assistance. The county’s proposed budget includes fund balance allocations to ensure the continuation of the LIHEAP program on a transitional basis if state and federal funding is not received. b. Sheriff Office, PAGE 128: Sheriff Williams reviewed the list of capital requests for the department. Sheriff expressed concerns with the figure budgeted for boarding revenue as being too high. Sheriff stated that the number of inmates being boarded is expected to decrease. Sheriff explained the benefits of the Flock cameras from a law enforcement standpoint. Sheriff stated that the private company that the Flock cameras are contracted through cannot share data. The data belongs to Bayfield County. When a snowmobile is purchased, the DNR reimburses the county for the cost over a 3-5 year timeframe. The Flock cameras are a 5-year contract and are in the 2nd or 3rd year of the contract. Sheriff will check whether there is a cancellation clause for the camera contract. c. Highway Department PAGE 190: Projected increase of 15%. Jake Benson reviewed the list of highway improvement projects projected for 2026. He reviewed the status of the road system PACER ratings. The 20-year reconstruction plan is projected to be completed in 2028. Benson reviewed the equipment purchase/replacement proposals for 2026. The budget does not reflect a levy for bridge aide projects because bridge aide fund balance will be used to cover the expenses. d. Public Health / Emergency Assistance PAGE 141 &25: Anne Coy reported that several grants that the department manages are operating on 25% reductions. Status of other grants are unknown. Coy reviewed a number of examples of unfunded mandates that the Health Department must facilitate. The department’s goal for 2026 is to work closely with Emergency Management to align emergency response planning. The department has taken on water sampling in Ashland and Bad River as a result of the Northland College closure. The budget reflects a 20% levy increase for WIC and Public Health programs due to the reduction or elimination of federal/state funds. $125,000 is budgeted for emergency assistance programs, $50,000 of this is earmarked for services that are being eliminated through the federal Big Beautiful Bill. Strand stated that statistics show the state of WI allocates one of the lowest that per capita contributions toward public health. 3 e. Forestry / Carbon PAGE 168 / 247: This presentation will take place at the next meeting. f. Personnel: PAGE 56: Kris Kavajecz reviewed the proposed budget for 2026. No new staff are anticipated. The budget for wages and benefits is $21.7 million, a 2.7% increase over 2025. Health insurance rates and WRS rates are increasing in 2026. Law Enforcement have changed their union representation to MacGillis Group. Negotiations will take place in the near future. Teamsters have settled for the max CPI-U, 2.64%. The 2025 Wage Study preliminary results are anticipated next week. The 2026 budget does not include adjustments for the wage study. If adjustment is recommended as a result of the study, savings from attrition could be used to offset the additional cost. g. New Accounting, HR, Human Services, Highway, Software: PAGE 23: Kavajecz shared an overview of a proposed new ERP system. The committee asked if some figures could be calculated to show the time and monetary effect of implementation through efficiencies and savings in not needing to add additional staff. Pocernich asked for the topic to be added to the County Board agenda for consideration. Abeles-Allison stated that it is not included in the proposed budget. If it were added as a short term borrow item, it would reflect a mill rate that was equal to 2025. h. Housing: Pages 200, 283-285: Kelly Westlund reviewed the requests included in the budget related to housing. These include CheqBuilt and Bayfield County Housing Authority. Board members would like this reflected as a unique line item in the budget that is more easily identified. i. Capital Improvements: PAGE 199: Moved to the next meeting. j. Energy Project: PAGE 264: Moved to the next meeting. k. County Board: PAGE 78: Moved to the next meeting, l. Agency Requests: PAGE 280: Moved to the next meeting. Changes Spreadsheet Discussion: Moved to the next meeting. Next Budget Meetings / Presentation Requests 4 Wednesday, September 24 at 4:00 PM 1. Department Presentations 2. Economic Development 3. Fund Balance 4. Budget Changes 5. Procurement Policy Discussion 6. Resolution: Energy Project Budget Amendment 7. Resolution: Animal Control Thursday, September 25 at 5:00 PM 8. Department Presentations 9. Changes 10. Discussion and Possible Action on Budget 11. Discussion and Possible Action on Procurement Policy Meeting adjourned at 6:30 pm. Respectfully submitted by Kristine Kavajecz