Richland County Board approves zoning changes, personnel moves, budget amendments and grant uses

The Richland County Board on Nov. 11 approved a package of ordinances, resolutions and personnel actions covering zoning, grants, opioid‑settlement spending, labor‑contract updates and budget documentation.

Votes at a glance

- Appointments: Confirmed committee appointments including Tiffany Thompson (public safety & Pine Valley committees), Mark Storms (board of adjustments) and Elaine Hendrix (library planning committee). Motion carried by voice vote. - Ordinances (zoning): Adopted three zoning ordinances to resolve legal nonconforming status for parcels in Westford and Marshall (Ordinance numbers and amendment tags as presented in committee). Motions carried by voice votes. - Lake monitoring grant (Resolution No. 25‑103): Authorized Natural Resources standing committee to apply for up to $7,000 from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for aquatic invasive‑species monitoring and supplies; no county match required. Authorized Land Conservation & Zoning Director Kathy Cooper to sign grant documents; resolution adopted. - Opioid settlement allocations: Approved use of opioid settlement funds — $5,000 for treatment‑court incentive funding and $17,000 to send treatment‑court staff to the All Rise national conference in Nashville (July 20–23, 2026) for training. Staff described prior award spending (~$3,500) and plans to track implementation of new practices; resolution adopted. - Collective bargaining MOU (Resolution No. 2005‑105): Amended the deputy sheriffs MOU to add paid holidays (day after Thanksgiving and Good Friday) and revise sick‑leave accrual language; resolution adopted. - Rural functional classification (Resolution No. 2005‑106): Approved updates to road functional classifications (state traffic counts affect classification and funding streams, examples include State Highway 56 and County Road Q); resolution adopted. - Job descriptions (Resolution No. 25‑107): Adopted six 2026 job descriptions (administrative secretary/ambulance, child & family services lead worker, emergency management director converted to a county position, human resources director, coordinated services lead worker, and radio‑tower technician). The board approved an amendment removing a fire‑officer certification requirement from the emergency‑management director description; resolution adopted. - 2026 budget amendments (Resolution No. 25‑108): Formalized previously approved budget floor amendments and clarified a fund‑balance transfer of $5,006.25 from parks (fund 650) to the ambulance fund (fund 510) and similar Pine Valley adjustments; resolution adopted. - Continued legal representation waiver (Resolution No. 25‑109): Approved a waiver allowing A. Swayne Law LLC (Attorney Wendell) to continue representing the county in matters other than ambulance‑service matters where a conflict was disclosed; one supervisor opposed, resolution adopted. - Fee schedule amendments (Resolution No. 2005‑110): Removed or corrected public‑records request fees to comply with Wisconsin public‑records law guidance; resolution adopted. - Closed session: Board entered closed session under state statute s.19.85(1) for a six‑month performance review of the county administrator; the vote to enter closed session was unanimous. The board returned to open session and reported no action was taken.

Several supervisors asked staff to follow up on public‑records compliance details and to provide documentation for certain budget and fund transfers. During future‑agenda discussion, a supervisor raised concerns about potential post‑office closures in some small communities if local postmasters retire; the chair asked that anyone with information contact county staff so it can be investigated.

The board adjourned following a vote by voice.