ASHWAUBENON, Wis. — The Ashwaubenon Finance Personnel Committee on Feb. 19 recommended three related financial moves: closing a dormant land-sales acquisition fund and transferring its balance to the village's NFL Draft reserve, approving a 2024 budget amendment to cover higher-than-expected employee retirement payouts, and moving restricted retirement reserve funds to unassigned fund balance.

Committee members moved and seconded each recommendation and voted in favor; each motion was recorded as carried. The actions now go to the full Village Board for final approval.

The committee discussed transferring the remaining balance in a long-unused land sales and acquisitions fund into the NFL Draft fund. A staff member said the land-sales account “hasn’t been used for a number of years” and that most property acquisitions are now handled by the Community Development Authority. The staff member added the fund balance is “roughly about $56,000” and described the transfer as a way to liquidate and close that account.

Committee members and staff discussed uses for the NFL Draft fund, saying most draft-related spending will be overtime for public safety. The staff member estimated local public-safety wage costs for the draft at about $300,000 — a figure the village supplied to state legislators — and noted that any unspent money in the NFL Draft fund would require a future board action to move it elsewhere, likely to a reserve retirement or building maintenance account.

Members also discussed recent press reports that Governor Tony Evers had included potential state budget support for Ashwaubenon and Green Bay; the staff member said prior announcements had not always produced funding and the village is not relying on state dollars for draft planning.

On the second item, the committee recommended a 2024 budget amendment to reflect actual retirement-related payouts. Staff explained 2024 produced more retirements — and therefore larger payout obligations for accrued sick leave, compensatory time, and unused vacation — than the village had budgeted. The committee recommended increasing general fund expenditures and using a designated retirement reserve to fund the difference.

The third, related recommendation was to transfer $126,000 from the restricted retirement reserve to unassigned fund balance to support the budget amendment and to keep the village’s fund-balance policy within its 20–30% target range. A staff member said the transfer “is specifically set up to fund these types of transfers.”

Votes at a glance

- Transfer from land-sales acquisition fund to NFL Draft fund (amount described in discussion as roughly $55,000; transcript contains two slightly different figures). Committee recommendation: approve; outcome: carried (committee vote recorded as in favor).

- 2024 budget amendment to cover retirement payouts ($126,000). Committee recommendation: approve; outcome: carried (committee vote recorded as in favor).

- Transfer of $126,000 from restricted retirement reserve to unassigned fund balance. Committee recommendation: approve; outcome: carried (committee vote recorded as in favor).

The committee repeatedly characterized these steps as procedural: each request is a committee recommendation that must be forwarded to the Village Board, and the board must adopt formal resolutions for the budget amendment and transfers. Staff said the retirement reserve is intended to smooth volatility from years with higher-than-expected retirement payouts, though the committee discussed whether the village should move to an approach that accrues or cashes out liabilities annually to reduce long-term unfunded obligations.

The meeting record shows the committee moved and seconded each recommendation and recorded the motions as carried. Next steps are formal resolutions to appear on an upcoming Village Board agenda.