County OKs staffing increase over objections
Increasing staffing levels in the human services department and sheriff’s department drew opposition and comments at Monday’s county board session.
The changes came in the form of ordinance updates for the departmental authorizations. All the of the changes had been discussed and approved at various committee levels over the past few months before coming to the county board.
Under the changes, the authorization for human services will increase from 43 to 44 full-time-equivalent (FTE) positions and the sheriff’s department will increase from 43.7 to 44.7 FTE positions. The human services position would transfer a fullyfunded income maintenance position from a different county to Taylor County. The sheriff’s department increase is for a security officer to be located at the main entrance to the courthouse.
Board member Scott Mildbrand noted that in the committee meetings where the human services positions were discussed, one of the selling points would be that in addition to the wages and benefits being covered, it would bring with it $10,000 to $16,000 in savings for the county in the form of funding for administration and indirect costs.
“I don’t think that’s true,” Mildbrand said, noting the only way the county would see any savings if there is a corresponding reduction of $10,000 to $16,000 in the levy budget for the department.
County board member Mike Bub agreed and said that the finance committee will need to do its due diligence in the budget process next year to show where that savings was made. “In next year’s budget we absolutely should be doing that,” Bub said.
Human services director Suzanne Stanfley explained that they routinely use savings from one portion of the human services budget to offset additional expenses from other areas of the department which allows the department to come to the county in the black each year.
She said that she saw the additional position as an opportunity for the county. If Taylor County passed on it, the position would go to Wood County. Both counties are part of an 12-county consortium that spreads the work for the income maintenance efforts. She said the county giving up the position is having difficulty filling and retaining staff and that it was unusual to have the opportunity to pick up a fully funded position.
As with all fully funded positions, if the funding goes away the position could potentially be cut by the county board.
On a voice vote, Mildbrand was the only no vote, with board member Rollie Thus absent.
The other staffing level question dealt mainly with doubts over the need for a full-
See COUNTY BOARD on page 4 time deputy to be providing security for the entryway at the courthouse.
Bub said that had voted in favor of the courthouse security changes and that he regretted that vote. “I am going to vote no because I wish I hadn’t voted for the security,” Bub said.
Board member Tim Hansen also said he would be voting against the additional deputy. He noted that he had previously voted against the courthouse security changes.
Last fall, the county board approved creating a security and screening checkpoint at the entrance to the courthouse. Everyone entering the building will be required to have their bag searched by the security officer and go through a metal detector. The call for increased security came following rising concerns and threats made against court officials and their families.
Board member Chuck Zenner said he continued to support the additional security measures and that that they already said they would be doing this and they should proceed with it. The cost of the equipment will come from the judge’s budget with the additional personnel expense for the sheriff’s deputy to be absorbed for this budget year within the existing sheriff’s department budget.
Board member Rod Adams said the county board cannot sit on its hands and do nothing when there are safety concerns and said it helps to give a sense of security to those in the building.
Hansen noted that someone sitting in the entryway would do nothing to stop someone ramming the courthouse with a car.
In the end, Bub and Hansen were the only no votes for the increase in sheriff’s department staffing authorization.
In other county staffing authorization action, the county board approved clarifying that the payroll and benefits specialist would remain at a 35 hour work week along with one of the specialists in the ADRC.
Hangar
Taylor County will tap into federal funds to pay for the lion’s share of three new box hangars to be built at the airport.
The project is estimated to cost $1 million. Of that the county will receive at least 90% in federal and state funding. The county will be responsible for the 10% remaining match for the work amounting to $100,000.
Zenner, who chairs the airport committee, explained that there is potential the project could qualify for additional funding bringing the county’s share of it down to $50,000.
Regardless, Zenner explained that the county’s match will not be coming from local tax dollars, but rather will come from the amount of annual allocation the county airport receives from the federal government. The money ultimately is a share of the takeoff and landing and other fees charged to the airline industry.
Mildbrand opposed spending the money on new hangars and instead said the county should be using the funds to make upgrades and maintenance of the airport terminal building to address issues with it and make it more inviting.
“I think we should accept the money and use the money to do repairs that are needed,” he said, rather than expanding the hangars.
Zenner said that both the hangar and the terminal had been on the airport’s five year plan, but that the newly hired airport manager strongly felt that the dollars would be better spent on hangar space which could be rented out to pilots to base their planes in Taylor County.
“A new terminal won’t make us any more money,” Zenner said. He noted that the county recently purchase the Weather Shield hangar and that they have one of the two spots in it being leased by a pilot.
Mildbrand noted that the “frustration level is high” with the community having so many needs including the potential to build a new ambulance garage and that the federal government will give money for the airport hangars and not for those other needs.
“It is no wonder we are $36 trillion in debt on the federal level,” Mildbrand said.
“If we don’t take it, someone else will and your taxes won’t go down,” Zenner said.
Mildbrand was the only no vote to the project. Construction on the hangers is not expected to take place until 2026 due to the hoops required for airport projects.
In other business, board members:
• Approved an amendment to a resolution passed a year ago, in order to use for federal ARPA grant funds and less county tax dollars for upgrades to the courthouse fire alarm system. At the time it was passed, the county board had authorized moving ahead with the $185,300 project with $95,000 to come from the ARPA funds and the remainder from the buildings and grounds budget. As 2024 drew to a close, and with it the window for spending ARPA funds, the county found it had additional funds left unspent from savings on other projects. Rather than have that money be returned to the federal government, county board chairman Jim Metz had authorized using all of the $168,920 remaining to be used for the fire alarm project, reducing the county’s share of the project to less than $20,000. Monday’s action was to formally approve what had been done.
• Approved an ordinance to formally end the Taylor County Commission on Aging and replace it with the newly formed Aging and Disability Resource Center of Taylor County with a new governing body made up of nine members fulfilling different criteria for age and disability. The action is part of the merger of Taylor County’s portion of what had been the ADRC of the Northwoods with the local COA office.
• Approved an ordinance change giving the buildings and ground director with the advice and consent of the buildings and grounds committee, the authority to dispose of county property. Prior to the change, the county clerk had the responsibility. The change had been proposed because it was felt the buildings and grounds director had more working knowledge of the needs of the various county departments since the buildings and grounds crew has been historically the ones who worked to remove the items when they were no longer needed by departments.
• Approved appointing Scott Perrin to be the county’s medical examiner for 2026. He has held the position for a number of years and this is a routine reappointment. Under terms of the agreement, he is paid $100 per death case investigation and $50 for each cremation authorization along with a monthly fee of $385 to administer the medical examiner program. This is a part-time position that is called on an asneeded basis with no holidays, vacation or sick leave.
• Received a report from the informational technology department providing an overview of the department’s operations, expenses and future challenges. The review is an outgrowth of the county’s comprehensive planning process specifically as way to improve communications and work on improving operational effectiveness. At upcoming county board meetings, different departments will give similar types of reports.
• Received a lengthy overview of the county’s ongoing broadband project. The project dates back to 2018. In the time since, the county has constructed a “middle mile” fiber optic network which has connected school, municipal and county facilities. The county is also working with Bug Tussel to provide fixed base wireless internet through a series of 18 towers in rural portions of the county, many of which will also be utilized by cellular phone providers. As of the end of 2024, the six of those towers on the east side of the county have gone into operation with the remaining towers set to go live by the end of 2025. The county is also in negotiations with internet service providers to use federal grant funds to provide fiber optic to the home as part of the project. Committee chairman Mike Bub addressed concerns over the speed of the project’s progress noting there are many moving parts to it that have been hampered by the state and federal funding programs changing their rules along the way.
• Received a letter of thanks from the Medford VFW post for the $40,000 grant from the powerline impact fee funds that were approved by the county board last fall.
Broadband committee chair Mike Bub gave an update on the multi-year project. BRIAN WILSON/THE STAR NEWS
