Dodge County supervisors approve capital plan, ARPA purchases and multiple human‑services budget amendments

The Dodge County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 15 approved a package of resolutions that adopted the county's capital improvement plan, adopted an investment policy, authorized several ARPA‑funded equipment purchases for the sheriff's office and amended human services budgets.

The board adopted Resolution 24‑38, the Dodge County Capital Improvement Plan for 2025–2029, after a motion by Supervisor Guchenberger and a second from Supervisor Benter. The Finance Committee presented the plan; the board approved the measure by roll call, recorded in the transcript as passing 30 to 1.

The board also adopted Resolution 24‑39, the county's Investment Policy. Supervisor Guchenberger moved the measure with Supervisor Boenter seconding. Supervisor Houchin asked whether Nancy Kaye — whose signature appears on the committee paperwork — had attended; a committee member said Kaye participated virtually and agreed with the measure. The resolution passed, recorded as 31 to 0.

Several ARPA‑funded purchases for the sheriff's office were approved. Resolution 24‑40 would authorize purchase of mobile fingerprint scanners from IDEMIA and increase the 2024 budget by $20,000; Supervisor Beal moved the resolution and Supervisor Yarroch seconded. Sheriff Dale Schmidt told the board, “We don't have any of these right now. I haven't had any purchases. We're waiting for this resolution to purchase.” A transcript line reporting the final tally for this item is garbled and does not yield a clear vote total; the resolution was presented and approved at the meeting according to the record, but the exact recorded tally could not be read.

Resolution 24‑41 authorized the purchase of two radios for the sheriff's office (fiscal note in the file shows increases of about $18,200 and $36.22 to revenues and expenses) and passed 29 to 2 after a motion by Supervisor Guchenberger and second by Supervisor Miller. Resolution 24‑42 authorizing a mass spectrometer (fiscal impact $72,015.57, ARPA funds) passed 30 to 1.

The Human Services and Health Board brought several budget amendments to the board. Resolution 24‑43 increased 2024 human services revenues and expenses by $2,370,499 to account for Title 3B home‑delivered meals, congregate meals, public health and children's long‑term support programming; the board approved the amendment 31 to 0. Resolution 24‑44 added $65,110 for a Family First CST supplemental and substance abuse block grant supplement and passed 31 to 0. Resolution 24‑45 added $244,008 for various grant allocations and passed 31 to 0.

The board also approved Resolution 24‑46, authorizing upgrades to county network storage and reallocating funds (the record notes a $400,000 decrease in the sales tax division and a $178,242 ARPA increase). A county staff member explained, "we want to commit as many ARPA dollars as we can before the end of the year and spend as many as we can before the end of the year," saying ARPA funds carry expiration dates that influenced the decision. The resolution passed 30 to 1.

Land‑use items included adoption of a public participation plan for the comprehensive plan update (Resolution 24‑47), which the committee said meets the minimum statutory requirements; the board approved it 31 to 0. The board also approved several town zoning amendments and an amendment to the county land‑use code (Resolutions 24‑48, 24‑49 and Ordinance 1154) after committee reports and motions; each passed by the tallies recorded in the meeting file.

Administrator Claffer announced that hard‑copy budget documents were available in the back and that supplemental finance reports were provided electronically; staff offered to provide hard copies to any supervisor on request.

The board adjourned to its next meeting, set for next week at 6 p.m., after a motion by Supervisor Johnson and a second by Supervisor Kane.

Votes at a glance: the meeting record shows approvals for multiple items; key tallies recorded in the transcript include: RES‑24‑38 (Capital Plan) — recorded as 30 to 1; RES‑24‑39 (Investment Policy) — 31 to 0; RES‑24‑40 (IDEMIA fingerprint scanners) — transcript vote line garbled, exact tally not recoverable from the audio transcript; RES‑24‑41 (radios) — 29 to 2; RES‑24‑42 (mass spectrometer) — 30 to 1; RES‑24‑43 (Human Services budget +$2,370,499) — 31 to 0; RES‑24‑44 (+$65,110) — 31 to 0; RES‑24‑45 (+$244,008) — 31 to 0; RES‑24‑46 (network storage / ARPA reallocations) — 30 to 1; RES‑24‑47 (public participation plan) — 31 to 0; RES‑24‑48/24‑49/ORD‑1154 (zoning/land‑use amendments) — approved (tallies recorded in meeting file).

All direct quotations and vote tallies in this article are taken from the provided meeting transcript; where the transcript is garbled or ambiguous the article notes that explicitly.