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Dunn County Fair Board adopts updated bylaws and delegates treasurer duties to county finance staff
Summary
The board approved revised bylaws, voted to designate the Dunn County Finance Department (or facilities staff) to perform treasurer duties as a nonvoting, ex‑officio role, elected a vice president and tabled a secretary nomination.
At its meeting the Dunn County Fair Board voted to adopt updated bylaws that clarify membership, ex‑officio roles, meeting procedures and conflict‑of‑interest rules, and the board designated the Dunn County Finance Department (or a facilities staff member) to carry out treasurer duties.
The draft bylaws presented to the board spell out composition (one Dunn County supervisor appointed during the county organizational meeting and eight citizen members appointed by the county board chair), ex‑officio roles (including the fair board treasurer and the UW Extension 4‑H program educator), committees, quorum and amendment procedures. The bylaws say amendments require a two‑thirds vote and that the Facilities Committee must review changes before forwarding to the county board.
Roy Steinmeier moved to approve the bylaws; Jeff Hackard seconded the motion and the board approved the bylaws by voice vote. During discussion Mercedes—who currently serves as the board’s treasurer—explained she already performs many treasury tasks for the fair but that the board needs clearer county oversight and daily tracking of receipts.
After discussing two options for the treasurer role—(A) electing a treasurer from among appointed fair board members, or (B) designating a Dunn County Finance Department or Facilities Department staff member to serve as a nonvoting, ex‑officio treasurer—the board voted to designate the county finance/facilities staff for treasurer duties. Scott made the motion to designate the county finance department; Jeff Eckhart seconded and the motion carried.
The board also held officer elections: Troy Steinmeier nominated Scott Beyer for vice president; Larry Bjark seconded and members approved Beyer’s nomination. A nomination to add a younger person as secretary was raised and a specific nomination was made but the board voted to table the secretary appointment to the October meeting so the nominee may consider the position.
The board discussed creating a finance liaison role to ensure regular communication between the treasurer (county staff) and the fair board. Staff estimated the liaison/accounting support at roughly 150 hours per year and recalled a 2021 cost of approximately $4,300; a rough first‑year estimate for a county liaison or contracted support was discussed around $5,000. Board members said moving to a card or full cashless system would reduce counting and reconciliation workload.
Why it matters: placing treasurer responsibilities with county finance staff creates an extra layer of county financial oversight and daily reporting, a change board members said could reduce reconciliation errors and improve transparency for taxpayer funds.
What’s next: staff will work with Dunn County Finance and Facilities to formalize the nonvoting treasurer role and to specify liaison duties; the secretary nomination was tabled to the October meeting.
