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Jefferson County board adopts county code, endorses BEAD application and approves staffing and budget amendments
Summary
At its meeting the Jefferson County Board approved codification of county ordinances, endorsed an ISP for BEAD funding, raised capital asset threshold, denied a Charter Spectrum claim, and passed several budget/staffing amendments including sheriff's office restructuring and human services hires funded by opioid settlement dollars.
The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors voted on a package of ordinances and resolutions that included adopting a consolidated county code, endorsing an Internet service provider's BEAD application, and multiple budget and staffing adjustments.
The board adopted the new Jefferson County Code of Ordinances, a codification project done with Civic Plus LLC that consolidates existing county ordinances into a single organized code. Supervisor Wienerke moved the ordinance and Supervisor Paulson seconded; the ordinance was adopted after voice vote (motion recorded as adopted in the transcript).
The board endorsed the Broadband Working Group’s recommendation to support Bug Tussle’s application for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program funding. The endorsement gives an applicant up to seven points on the state application; the Broadband Working Group had voted on 02/07/2025 to recommend the endorsement and forwarded it to the full board. The motion passed by voice vote (mover not specified in the transcript excerpt).
Finance committee and budget items approved included a resolution raising the county’s asset capitalization threshold from $5,000 to $10,000 effective for accounting and budgeting purposes; the finance committee recommended adopting the federal Office of Management and Budget’s updated guidance and the board approved the change. Supervisor Jones moved the resolution; Supervisor Jayco seconded (voice vote recorded).
The board also adopted resolutions to deny a claim for damages by Charter Spectrum (per the county insurance carrier recommendation) and to accept committee recommendations on several staffing and budget amendments affecting the sheriff’s office, human services and fair park operations.
Notable staffing and budget outcomes recorded in the meeting transcript: - Sheriff’s Office restructuring (Resolution 202483): The board approved changes to fund the undersheriff position full time, reclassify the jail captain title to jail administrator captain, and allow an overlap period to cross‑train staff. The measure required a two‑thirds vote; the transcript shows the result as 28 yes, 0 no, 2 absent and the resolution passed. - Transfer of a program assistant position (Resolution 202484): The board approved transferring oversight of a program assistant from Economic Development to Human Services Economic Support Division while keeping funding in the Economic Development budget. The vote recorded was 28 yes, 0 no, 2 absent. - Creation of a full‑time Human Services Professional 1 (Resolution 202485): A position to support reentry and addiction recovery was added to the 2025 staffing plan and funded from approved opioid settlement funds ($80,304 allocated for wages and benefits). Vote recorded: 28 yes, 0 no, 2 absent. - Fair Park staffing adjustment (Resolution 202486): The board eliminated two seasonal on‑site caretaker positions and created a 19‑hour‑per‑week part‑time buildings and grounds worker role; the change was described as cost neutral though potential unemployment insurance costs were estimated at $4,000 per individual. Vote recorded: 28 yes, 0 no, 2 absent.
Other administrative items included formally denying the Charter Spectrum claim (Resolution 202482) based on the county insurer’s recommendation and referring the matter to Wisconsin Municipal Mutual Insurance Company (WIMIC).
Where votes were recorded, the transcript shows unanimous support among the 28 members present and two members absent for the measures that required two‑thirds approval or were recorded with roll counts. Several other measures passed by voice vote without a detailed roll call in the provided excerpt. The transcript does not show additional implementation steps beyond the resolutions’ descriptions in the meeting packet.
