Winnebago County supervisors approved creating an employee wellness committee to satisfy a requirement from the county's new insurance provider and appointed Supervisor Susan Smith to represent the board.

At the meeting, Speaker 4 told colleagues, “So our new insurance company requires us to have a wellness committee,” which must include one supervisor. Board members discussed committee size and representation, with suggestions to ask each department for volunteers and to include public-health staff and other supervisors.

Speaker 3 moved to appoint Susan Smith from the supervisors to the wellness committee; Speaker 1 seconded, and the board voted in favor. Supervisors agreed to solicit volunteers from departments and to aim for a committee of roughly five members so it remains manageable.

County staff said the committee will address employee physical and mental wellness topics; no formal charter or budget was adopted at the meeting. Staff indicated they will follow up by emailing departments to fill the remaining seats and return to the board with a proposed committee roster and any required administrative support.

The appointment meets the insurer’s stated requirement but does not, by itself, create a new budget. The board’s next step is to finalize membership and clarify the committee’s responsibilities and meeting schedule.