Administrator outlines county finances, dam actuator work, HR audit and EMT incentive update

County Administrator reported to the Polk County Board of Supervisors on July 15 that June sales tax receipts were down 6% compared with June 2024 but remain up about 4% year-to-date; the administrator said staff are monitoring revenues as the county moves into the budget process. He told supervisors that recent federal legislation preserved the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds, which the county views as favorable for future borrowing. At the state level, the administrator said transportation funding received increases for the next biennium and that routine maintenance funding—part of the state–county agreement—will show an increase statewide. The administrator said a separate ad hoc county proposal for mental-health crisis services did not make the state budget, but the governor set aside $10,000,000 for the Chippewa Valley and approximately $1,010,800,000 was allocated statewide for crisis and urgent-care facility development; he said the governor also reduced planned child-placement rates that had posed very large county costs. On county projects, the administrator said the Fair Society delivered 50% of its initial share for the Grandstand project—$181,970—which was deposited and passed to finance. He also said Rod Polk is working with Canadian engineers and Wisconsin DNR staff on actuator gearing issues at Clam Falls Dam; the actuators have been binding and engineers are reviewing gear ratios. The administrator reported the dam’s flowage was about 1,023.1 feet above sea level and staff were keeping the level roughly between 1,023.1 and 1,023.5 feet to avoid reaching the bridge elevation. On personnel matters, the administrator said Helen Swanson has met education requirements for the county health-officer position, preserving the county’s Level 3 public-health designation. He also reported that the county’s HR director left employment and the county hired TwinSite HR Consulting out of the Twin Cities, with consultant Melissa Perez assisting on an HR audit and potential recruitment for a new HR director. The administrator described an incentive the county offered to encourage emergency-service personnel to remain with local ambulance services: a $1,000 payment was offered to candidates who committed to a year of service. He said Sarah Jensen, who worked for the Amery portion of Northwest Ambulance Service, completed the obligation and sent a thank-you card to the county. A supervisor asked the administrator to return to the board at a future meeting with data on the zoning-compliance technician hired under Resolution 4-24: specifically, the number of citations issued and revenue generated in 2024 and through the first half of the current year. The administrator said the county’s Condition of the County report will be presented in August and approval of county fees will be on the August agenda. No formal action was taken; the report was delivered for the board’s information and to prompt follow-up reporting at future meetings.