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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08 August 12 2025 minutes Grant County’s mission is to provide the public with needed goods and services in a cost-efficient manner. Integrity Efficiency Respect Honesty Executive Committee August 12, 2025 The Executive Committee met on Tuesday, August 12, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. at the Administration Building, 111 S. Jefferson Street, Lancaster, WI 53813 in Room 264, Second Floor. Members present: Gary Ranum, Gary Northouse, Joseph Mumm, Roger Guthrie, Kathy Kopp, Rick Sanson and Robert Keeney. Chairman Keeney called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. County Clerk, Tonya White verified the meeting was in compliance with the open meeting law, posted on the county website, in the Administration Building, the Courthouse and in the Herald Independent. Agenda: Joseph Mumm, second by Kathy Kopp made a motion to approve the agenda. Motion carried by voice vote. Minutes: Gary Ranum, second by Roger Guthrie made a motion to approve the minutes from the July 8, 2025 meeting. Motion carried by voice vote. Human Resources Staffing Update: Human Resource Manager Angie Gerndt provided the staffing update, noting that Amy Miller retired from the Health Department and will be recognized at the August County Board meeting. Policy Updates: Angie Gerndt explained the updates to the Travel/Expense Reimbursement policy related to meal reimbursement rates. The recommendation is to update the meal reimbursements to $16.00 for breakfast, $19.00 for lunch, and $28.00 for supper, effective January 1, 2026. Rick Sanson, second by Kathy Kopp made a motion to approve the recommended changes effective January 1, 2026 and forward the updated policy to the County Board. Motion carried by voice vote. Discussion and possible action on reclassification of District Attorney’s Office Legal Assistants for the 2026 budget cycle: Angie Gerndt presented a request to reclassify the three Legal Assistant positions in the District Attorney’s Office from a Grade F to Grade G as recommended by Cottingham & Butler. The request would be included in the 2026 budget. Roger Guthrie second by Gary Ranum made a motion to reclassify the Legal Assistant positions from Grade F to Grade G starting in 2026. Motion carried by voice vote. County Clerk request to approve recommended restructure of Administrative Assistant I position to Deputy County Clerk: County Clerk Tonya White presented a request to restructure the Administrative Assistant I position to a Deputy County Clerk position. White noted that cross-training has resulted in the Administrative Assistant performing duties that align with the Deputy County Clerk role. Gary Northouse, second by Rick Sanson made a motion to approve restructuring Administrative Assistant I position to Deputy County Clerk effective August 10, 2025. Motion carried by voice vote. Discussion and possible action on out of budget spending for Witness Fees and Mileage for the District Attorney: District Attorney Ryan Kieler explained that the office has exceeded its current budget for witness fees, witness mileage and service fees due to a higher than anticipated number of jury trials and out of state witnesses. Gary Ranum, second by Rick Sanson made a motion to approve $3,000 for witness fees, $5,000 for witness and jury mileage, and $3,000 for jury paper service from the general fund for the District Attorney’s Office. Motion carried by voice vote. Discussion and possible action on out of budget spending for Jury Pay for the Clerk of Courts: Clerk of Courts Tina McDonald explained that the jury pay is over budget by $24,000 as of the end of July and is projected to be over by approximately $54,000-$60,000 for the year due to additional trials. Roger Guthrie, second by Gary Northouse made a motion to forward to the County Board, the request for $60,000 from the general fund for jury pay for the Clerk of Courts. Motion carried by voice vote. Finance Treasurer’s Report: County Treasurer Carrie Eastlick provided the Treasurer’s Report. Revenue and Expense Report: The Committee reviewed the revenue and expense report. Review Vouchers: Roger Guthrie, second by Joseph Mumm made a motion to approve the vouchers. Motion carried by voice vote. Finance Director’s Report: Finance Director Patrick Montgomery provided a written report and gave a brief update on the 2024 audit. Review 2023 Audit Report, Baker Tilly: Andrea Jansen of Baker Tilly presented the 2023 audit report. There were two main components of the audit, the first being the financial audits and the other the single audit. Unmodified opinions, which is the highest level of assurance that they are able to give, were done for each report. Jansen gave some financial highlights regarding the general fund and general obligation debt capacity. Facilities and Maintenance Facilities and Maintenance Manager’s Report: Facilities and Maintenance Manager Garry Pluemer provided his report in writing. He also provided the following updates: Orchard Manor 700 wing will be coming online soon. At CSB, an inmate incident caused damage to sprinkler heads and smoke detectors. There have been water leaks in Orchard Manor and the Administration Building. Discussion and possible action on the addition of a full-time Maintenance Worker position starting in 2026: Facilities and Maintenance Manager Garry Pluemer requested the addition of one full-time Maintenance Worker beginning in 2026. This position would be assigned to handle custodial and maintenance duties for both UCS buildings. Discussion and possible action on the addition of a full-time Maintenance Technician position starting in 2026: Facilities and Maintenance Manager Garry Pluemer explained that the addition of the Highway Department, towers, Annex building, and UCS building will create an increased workload for the Maintenance Department. Staff also assist IT with pulling wires and occasionally provide support to UCS in the Dodgeville building. The department has been trying to complete most projects inhouse to reduce costs, however, they are struggling to keep up with the number of work orders. Emergency requests further pull staff away from regular daily duties. Roger Guthrie, second by Gary Northouse made a motion to approve the creation of a Maintenance Technician position starting in 2026. Motion carried by voice vote. Information Technology IT Director’s Report: IT Director Shane Drinkwater provided his report in writing. Drinkwater did update the committee on installing an access point in the sale barn at the Fairgrounds to support the streaming of the auction. Accurate Controls will be starting the VMS upgrade in the jail at the end of August. The Sheriff’s Office domain has provided a transfer code. IT is in the process of transferring the domain from the third party to Grant County. Administrator Administrator’s Report: Administrator Nate Dreckman provided his report in writing. The UCS agreement is still being worked on by Attorney Phillips. Dreckman also advised the committee that he has weekly meetings with the County Clerk and County Board Chair. Budget workshops have been scheduled with each department over the next few weeks. Employee Wage Increase (COLA) for 2026: The committee discussed the cost-of-living adjustment for 2026. Health insurance cost information has not yet been received. Most employees will also be receiving a step increase. Discussion and possible action on County Board Rules: The rules have been sent to WCA for review and recommendations. Discussion and possible action on County Board Chair compensation: The committee discussed options for determining compensation for the County Board Chair, including whether the chair should be paid per diem with mileage or a flat salary. Adjournment: Joseph Mumm, second by Gary Northouse made a motion to adjourn to September 9, 2025. Motion carried by voice vote.