Sawyer County board requires repayment of $5,000 loan to Northwest Wisconsin SEP
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Sign Up Free
Summary
After hearing a presentation from Northwest Wisconsin SEP, the Sawyer County board voted to require repayment of a $5,000 county loan. SEP's executive director had asked the board to consider loan relief or conversion to a grant because of federal funding delays; the board cited precedent concerns and voted to require repayment.
The Sawyer County board voted to require repayment of a $5,000 loan the county made to Northwest Wisconsin SEP (SAP).
Skylar Durell Ader, executive director of Northwest Wisconsin SEP, told the board that SEP was prepared to repay the loan but had asked for relief because federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds have been delayed: "We are fully prepared to repay that amount if that is the board's decision," Ader said. Ader described program outcomes in Sawyer County, saying SEP has served “1 in every 70 Sawyer County residents” through job training, youth apprenticeship and other services and cited a youth apprenticeship program that placed 60 Hayward High School students with more than 20 local employers.
Board members pressed on precedent and budgeting. One supervisor noted the county had not forgiven similar advances in the past and flagged the risk of setting a precedent for loan forgiveness. Finance staff said the original loan had been recorded against 2024 surplus and that repayment was due Dec. 31, 2025. During questions, Ader said five counties had issued loans to SEP and that SEP had discussed converting some county loans to grants in other counties.
Supervisor Stacy Hessel moved to require repayment of the $5,000; Mark Hellwig seconded. The motion passed on a voice vote.
The board did not adopt a forgiveness or conversion to grant at this meeting; SEP representatives said they would welcome any future flexibility but indicated preparedness to meet the repayment deadline.