Matt McKay, Sawyer County Health and Human Services environmental health supervisor, told the board on Sept. 9 that the county's first full season under a new tourist rooming house (TRH) ordinance reduced the overall active license count from about 600 to roughly 550 but that enforcement and classification work is ongoing.

County staff had expected a sharper decline after the ordinance took effect but said part of the reduction reflected consolidation of multiple operator licenses into single licenses and that 74 new facilities applied this season. McKay said the department has issued cease-and-desist letters to owners who did not renew and is using a commercial monitoring service to find unlicensed rentals.

The ordinance requires visible signage listing local contacts, a designated owner's agent if the owner lives more than 60 miles away, and notice to neighbors within 300 feet of a property boundary. McKay said the sign requirement and neighbor notification prompted the most complaints from property owners and managers, and inspectors face timing challenges when attempting on-site checks during nonrental periods.

"As of August 15, if we don't hear from them and don't receive any information or fees, we put them out of business and send a cease and desist letter," McKay said. "We did lose 130 licenses, but of those 130 some were consolidated, and we've gained about 74 new facilities." He added the county is sending additional letters to operators who appear to be operating without a license and working through about 25 more potential violations identified through the monitoring platform.

The county also flagged a pending state rule rewrite of ATCP 72, Wisconsin's lodging code, that could change which facilities qualify as TRHs. The proposed revision would introduce multiple lodging classifications (single cabins, 2–4 units, 5–9 units, larger resorts) and create a new category for specialty lodging such as yurt- or eco-structures without fixed plumbing. That revision could require resorts and some clustered-cabin properties to obtain TRH licenses and comply with county TRH rules.

"Proposed ATCP 72 code changes would possibly affect resorts with rentable cabins as they may be considered TRHs going forward," McKay said. He said the state rule was in the final review phase with the joint legislative committee, with county staff hoping for approval by December and a 90-day effective period after rule publication.

County staff said the state is also considering fee increases to reflect inspection workload; the state has not updated fees in more than a decade. Sawyer County pays a portion of collected fees to the state and will revisit its own fee schedule once the new state rule and fee structure are finalized.

The board asked about complaint-driven enforcement and whether the complaint process had resulted in strikes or license revocations. McKay said the county had not yet issued strikes and that inspectors are documenting repeated complaints while working to educate property owners and managers.

The county is using Granicus' platform to locate unlicensed rentals and to manage a complaint hotline. McKay said Granicus helped staff identify roughly 15–18 places operating without licenses and had already produced search results leading to letters and inspection activity.

Why it matters: Sawyer County tourism and short‑term rentals are a significant local economic and land‑use issue. Changes to state definitions or county fee structures could increase county inspection workloads, change operating costs for lodging providers, and alter the number and type of lodging properties regulated at the county level.

Looking ahead: County staff said they will monitor the state rulemaking, adjust the local fee schedule if needed, continue outreach to operators, and follow up on unlicensed facilities identified by the monitoring service.