Dunn County committee hears possible countywide fire/EMS solutions; staff report spots IRS error affecting child support

DUNN COUNTY — Committee members discussed a potential countywide approach to support volunteer fire and emergency medical services and heard staff reports on an IRS error affecting child-support intercepts during the Judicial and Law Committee meeting.

The committee’s most substantial discussion centered on emergency management and a recent grant application aimed at replacing or upgrading legacy communications equipment and addressing gaps in volunteer fire and EMS coverage. Director Gillenbach said the county submitted a grant seeking equipment to maintain the local ‘‘legacy system’’ and noted the work could support longer-term study of whether some services should shift from local volunteer control to a countywide model.

The county’s emergency management presentation referenced a recent carbon monoxide call in the village of Elk Mound where the volunteer department did not respond and the county paged the next-closest agency, Menominee Fire, to respond. Director Gillenbach said the incident highlighted staffing limits at small volunteer departments and that a consultant hired by the town of Elk Mound has been studying options. ‘‘It could be housed as a countywide fire EMS,’’ Gillenbach said, but she added the consultant’s work is in an early stage and any county role would come later if the consultant and town present specific proposals.

Why it matters: Committee members said the conversation touches funding, personnel and service reliability in rural townships where small volunteer departments have limited weekday availability and tight budgets. Gillenbach observed some volunteer departments have small rosters — for example, Elk Mound’s chief described a department ‘‘of 20 or under’’ with only two people typically available on weekday daytime shifts — and that rising personnel costs and large equipment purchases are straining township budgets.

Committee members discussed timeline and next steps. Gillenbach said the consultant expects to complete studies and be ready to present solutions in July or August; the committee will consider any formal requests when those recommendations are presented. She cautioned the effort would be ‘‘a long project’’ and not an immediate change even if grant funding is approved.

On child support, Josie of the county child-support office reported she has an accepted internal transfer and tentatively will start the new position on April 7. She also described a federal processing error: the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service sent notice letters about tax-refund interceptions for child-support arrears but, in some states, failed to carry out the actual intercepts. Josie said six states were most affected and that Wisconsin’s exposure was reported at about $2,300,000. ‘‘They sent out the letters to tell people they did and then just forgot to actually do it,’’ Josie said; staff plan to work with affected states to identify individuals who received notices but did not have funds intercepted.

On criminal justice coordination, Sarah of the Community Justice Coordinating Council reported work to clear a backlog of required DNA samples. She said state law requires DNA be on file for people convicted of certain offenses and that the county is mapping the collection process to ensure samples are taken and entered into the State Crime Lab database (CODIS). Sarah and other speakers noted that collection for child-support paternity purposes is separate; Josie said people sometimes assume conviction-sample DNA is available to the child-support office, but ‘‘we have to do our own collection for our own purpose.’’

Committee business: The committee disposed of the current deputy sheriff hiring eligibility list after staff explained three of four candidates on the list had been hired and the remaining candidate could not relocate. The committee voted to clear the list so hiring can proceed against a new list. The committee also approved the meeting minutes earlier in the session.

Votes at a glance: - Approval of minutes (Item 3): Motion by Carl VanderMeel, second by Tom Gilberts; outcome: approved (voice vote). - Disposal of deputy sheriff hiring eligibility list (Item 7): motion and second not specified in the record; outcome: passed (voice vote).

What’s next: Staff said the consultant’s results on possible countywide EMS options could return to the committee in July or August, and county staff will follow up on the IRS intercept issue as other states and federal officials provide clarifying details.

— Reported from the Dunn County Judicial and Law Committee meeting; transcript excerpts and votes recorded in committee minutes.