Keeping options open

Members of the Taylor County executive committee will be joined by two other board members in exploring administration options for running the county in the future.

As part of the county’s comprehensive plan, board members were called on to explore if the county should continue with an administrative coordinator or go with a more formal administrator or elected county executive. Taylor County is one of handful of counties that does not have either an administrator or county executive. The major difference is that state laws give county administrators and elected executives significant authority to act independently of the county board in the day-to-day operations of the county.

At the November 15 executive committee meeting, members approved creating a study committee made up of county board chair Jim Metz and executive committee members Scott Mildbrand and Chuck Zenner along with board members Lori Floyd and Bud Suckow. Floyd and Suckow were selected as being advocates for switching to an administrator model.

County Administrative Coordinator Nicole Hagar will also serve as a nonvoting member of the committee to help gather information. The administrative structure ad hoc committee will report its findings to the April county board session.

See COUNTY on page 3 ADRC

Committee members received an update on the dissolution of the ADRC of the Northwoods and the creation of the ADRC of Taylor County which will absorb the Commission on Aging.

Mildbrand raised concern about the $75,000 loan the county had given to ADRC of the Northwoods several years ago to assist with cash flow. The county has gone on record that with the ADRC set to be dissolved the money needed to be repaid to Taylor County.

“It seems this is getting swept under the table a bit,” Mildbrand said. The money was given as a loan to the organization to help with expenses while waiting for state and federal reimbursements to come through, and the reimbursement process can take several months.

Mildbrand said they owe it to their constituents to not allow other counties to take advantage of Taylor County. “If someone owed me $75,000 I would do what was needed to go get it,” Mildbrand said.

He raised concerns after going through the ADRC’s financial statements and expressed concerns that they are doing nothing to pay back the money to Taylor County.

According to ADRC board member Catherine Lemke, who represents the Taylor County board with the organization, the ADRC of the Northwoods doesn’t have the money to pay back the county. She said that whenever the ADRC ends the year in the positive, the state takes away grant money and gives it to other counties.

Mildbrand asked for a record of how much has been taken by the state over the years and suggested the county bring legal representation to the next ADRC board meeting. The county has also asked for an inventory of ADRC office equipment and supplies to see if any can be used when the office merges into Taylor County.

“For the record, we have a signed contract that says it was a loan and that we would be paid back on the dissolution of the ADRC of the Nothwoods. That is coming up on December 31,” Mildbrand said.

In other business committee members:

• Approved placing GPS trackers on county owned vehicles used by general courthouse staff. The vehicles which include a Durango and a van are used by personnel from Commission on Aging, Human Services and staff and board members going to conferences or meetings outside the area. The executive committee serves as the oversight committee for these vehicles and so was asked to sign off on having the trackers on them.

• Approved supporting a change in the county code for disposal of county property. Under current code, the county clerk is responsible for disposal of surplus equipment. In practice what happens is that when one department or office has equipment it no longer needs or is being replaced, an email will be sent to other departments to see if there is interest in it. This allows the equipment to continue to be used saving taxpayer resources. The actual work of relocating the equipment and of storing or scrapping out broken or unneeded equipment falls on the buildings and grounds staff. County clerk Andria Farrand proposed having the code changed to have buildings and grounds supervisor Joe Svedja be the one in charge of disposing to more closely match what what is taking place.

• Accepted the retirement of child support administrator Michelle Kurth and approved refilling the position. Committee members met in closed session for interviews for the position.

• Received an update on the schedule of county board sessions in 2025. The full board is scheduled to meet on January 6, April 15, June 24, August 26 and October 29 in 2025 with the potential for a meeting on December 15, 2025 if needed. “It is easier to cancel if we don’t need one,” Farrand said.