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Northern Income Maintenance Consortium to remove Forest County in 2026 after contract noncompliance, Sawyer County says
Summary
Sawyer County staff reported the Northern Income Maintenance Consortium voted to remove Forest County in 2026 because it had not met contract obligations; state assistance will be used to transition residents so services continue.
Shauna, economic-support staff, told the Sawyer County Health and Human Services board June 10 that the Northern Income Maintenance Consortium has voted to remove Forest County from the consortium effective 2026 because Forest County did not meet its contractual obligations.
The action matters because the consortium coordinates call-center and eligibility functions for FoodShare, BadgerCare, long-term disability, childcare and related programs across multiple northern Wisconsin counties; removal requires a transition plan so Forest County residents continue to receive services.
Shauna said the consortium includes Ashland, Bayfield, Florence, Forest, Iron, Lincoln, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, Taylor, Vilas and Wood counties. She said Forest County “was not upholding their end of the contract for the last 1 and a half years,” that it had not kept positions posted or filled and that staff had used positions to support other departments rather than consortium work. The consortium voted to remove Forest County effective 2026, Shauna said, and the state will help implement a transition plan so residents do not lose services.
Shauna said removal will not immediately cut services to Forest County residents; the state will assist to ensure continuity. She added the move was difficult but necessary to protect service levels for the remaining member counties.
Board members asked whether Forest County employees would lose positions; Shauna said the county had not maintained its maintenance-of-effort contributions or staff to meet contract obligations, which prompted the consortium’s decision.
No formal Sawyer County board motion on the consortium action was recorded at this meeting; Shauna reported the consortium vote as background for Sawyer County’s economic-support report.
