Votes at a glance: Sawyer County board approves zoning ratifications, tax-deed ordinance changes, opioid budget and other measures

The Sawyer County Board of Supervisors took a series of votes on routine and policy items during the meeting. Key outcomes are summarized below.

Rezone — Corman property (rezone 25-004) - Motion: Approve rezone request (Matthew Corman and Steven Ann Corman) of 76.291 acres from Forestry 1 to Agricultural 1 to expand an existing cattle operation. - Committee recommendation: Zoning committee recommended approval (5–0). Town of Meteor recommended approval (3–0). No adjacent-property objections returned. - Board action: Motion to approve carried.

Ratification — Town of Spider Lake zoning map amendment (Wilson property) - Motion: Ratify the Town of Spider Lake’s zone-district map amendment changing 17.08 acres owned by Eric and Cheryl Wilson from Forestry 1 / Residential Recreational 2 to Residential Recreational 1. - Context: The town controls zoning in Spider Lake and requested county board ratification so Sawyer County’s official zoning map aligns with the town decision. - Board action: Motion to ratify carried.

Resolution — Recreational trails aids (annual DNR submittal) - Motion: Approve resolution to apply for recreational trails aids (snowmobile and ATV grants) required by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. - Board action: Motion carried.

Ordinance update — Administration/management of tax-deeded land (Resolution 2025-04-9) - Motion: Approve an amendment to the county code implementing state statutory changes to the tax-deed and tax-foreclosure process (Act 207/216 and related case law), shorten the county acquisition timeline and establish administrative fees. - Key changes: County practice formally reduced from a prior 5-year wait to a maximum of 3 years to acquire title; new administrative fees were established (administration fee per tax-certificate and a $1,800 fee assessed when selling a property, plus recovery of legal and maintenance costs). Any proceeds above the county’s fees and costs will be returned to prior owners where required by statute and case law. - Board action: Motion to approve the ordinance amendment and fee schedule carried.

Opioid-settlement budget (2025) - Motion: Approve the proposed 2025 opioid-settlement budget. - Details provided: County staff reported historical receipts (about $317,000 received through last year) and expected future receipts that vary annually through 2038; the packet proposed a $100,000 opioid spending plan for 2025 focused on harm reduction, prevention, treatment/recovery and staffing. Staff said the county expects settlement receipts through 2038 with annual amounts varying in the $60,000–$80,000 range in several years and that some settlement payments were advanced earlier in the process. - Board action: Motion carried.

Health & Human Services fee-schedule amendment - Motion: Approve amendments to the department fee schedule (clarifying language and adding fees for services missing from the schedule, including CBRF daily rate). - Board action: Motion carried.

Library service plan (2025–2030) - Motion: Adopt the county library service plan (required to maintain participation in the Northern Waters library system). - Board action: Motion carried.

Assign general fund balance (dental) - Motion: Assign fund balance related to self-insured dental program premium overpayments to a dental assigned fund balance for future claims/underpayments. - Board action: Motion carried.

Appointment — Interim county administration duties - Motion: Appoint Finance Director Mike Marker and Human Services staff member Rose (last name not specified in minutes) to split interim county-administrator duties at $50 per hour until a new county administrator is hired; weekly coordination meetings were scheduled. - Board action: Motion carried.

How to read this roundup: each item above reflects the motion offered and the board’s recorded disposition at the meeting. Where the transcript or packet provided numeric detail, it is summarized; where packet figures were unclear or multi-year, the minutes are cited as the source and the board’s formal approval is noted.