Waupaca County Board approves $1 million transfer, wage boost for water patrol deputies and zoning changes

The Waupaca County Board of Supervisors on March 18, 2025 adopted a series of unanimous measures to address budget shortfalls, public-safety staffing and local land-use changes.

The board approved Resolution No. 57 to transfer $1,000,000 from the Highway Operations Fund to the Transportation Services Fund after learning Transportation Services exceeded its 2024 budget by $711,630 and the 2025 budget expected to use $492,555 of fund balance. The fiscal note states the transfer reduces the 2024 Highway Operations cash balance to $3,597,037. Supervisor Much moved the measure and Supervisor Ertl seconded; the motion carried 21-0.

The board also approved a personnel pay change for seasonal water enforcement staff. Resolution No. 59 authorizes increases above the $25.00-per-hour base for returning Water Patrol Deputies, up to a maximum of $30.00 per hour, contingent on meeting performance expectations; the change takes effect upon passage. Supervisor Jaeger moved and Supervisor Hardy seconded the motion; the transcript records the vote as 22-0. The board discussion and resolution text cite recruitment and retention difficulties for water patrol-certified law-enforcement officers and note that maintaining a strong law-enforcement presence on the county’s public waters is important for public safety.

Public-safety funding and equipment decisions included acceptance of a $1,000 donation from the Almond Rod and Gun Club to support the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit (Resolution No. 56). That donation was accepted by unanimous vote.

The board acted on land-use requests from the Town of Union by adopting a comprehensive-plan amendment (Resolution No. 54) and two zoning map amendments (Ordinances Z-003-2025 and Z-004-2025). Resolution No. 54 implements PLUM-001-2025: part of parcel 19-16-42-9 was removed from the Farmland Preservation Overlay and reclassified from Agriculture to Residential to accommodate proposed sales. The two zoning petitions from S R F Inc. — one converting portions of an Agriculture Retention (AR) district to Rural Residential/Overlay (RR-O) and Rural Residential (RR) on roughly 4 and 1.5 acres, and another converting approximately 29.5 acres from Agriculture Enterprise (AE) to Agriculture Retention (AR) — were recommended by the Planning & Zoning Committee and approved by the board. Votes on the zoning ordinances were recorded as 22-0.

The board approved the recommended contract award for Radio Site Development (Bid RFB-25-001-23) by unanimous vote, and it confirmed appointments: Jeff Dyer, Ken Van Dyke, Maryann Snider and Sue Golding were reappointed to the Solid Waste Board through April 2028, and Diana Stevenson and Evan Abrahamson were appointed as citizen members to the Board of Adjustment Committee. The appointments were recorded as 23-0.

Chair Morack and Vice Chair Nygaard delivered their monthly reports and Chair Morack announced a temporary meeting location at the Waupaca County Fairgrounds and an update on the UW-Extension office relocation. Supervisor Spierings moved to adjourn and Chair Morack declared the meeting adjourned at 9:38 a.m.

Votes at a glance

- Agenda amendment (remove Resolution No. 58): motion carried 21-0 (mover: Supervisor Zaug; seconder: Supervisor Ertl). - Approve minutes, Feb. 18, 2025: motion carried 21-0 (mover: Supervisor Jaeger; seconder: Supervisor Purchatzke). - Resolution No. 54 (Comprehensive Plan Map / PLUM-001-2025): adopted 21-0 (mover: Supervisor Hardy; seconder: Supervisor Federwitz). - Resolution No. 56 (Accept $1,000 donation for Sheriff’s K9 Unit): adopted 21-0 (mover: Supervisor Will; seconder: Supervisor Zaug). - Resolution No. 57 (2024 budget amendment — $1,000,000 transfer to Transportation Services Fund): adopted 21-0 (mover: Supervisor Much; seconder: Supervisor Ertl). - Resolution No. 59 (Water Patrol Deputy wages — increase above $25/hr up to $30/hr): adopted 22-0 (mover: Supervisor Jaeger; seconder: Supervisor Hardy). - Ordinance Z-003-2025 (Town of Union zoning amendments): adopted 22-0 (mover: Supervisor Zaug; seconder: Chair Nygaard). - Ordinance Z-004-2025 (Town of Union zoning amendment AE to AR ~29.5 acres): adopted 22-0 (mover: Supervisor Wengelski; seconder: Supervisor Miller). - Contract award RFB-25-001-23 (Radio Site Development): approved 22-0 (mover: Supervisor Jaeger; seconder: Supervisor Way). - Reappointments to Solid Waste Board (Jeff Dyer, Ken Van Dyke, Maryann Snider, Sue Golding): adopted 23-0 (mover: Supervisor Hardy; seconder: Supervisor Purchatzke). - Appointments to Board of Adjustment (Diana Stevenson, Evan Abrahamson): adopted 23-0 (mover: Supervisor Wengelski; seconder: Supervisor Nygaard).

Why it matters: The $1,000,000 transfer addresses a substantial 2024 shortfall in Transportation Services and reduces the Highway Operations cash balance; the wage increase for water patrol deputies responds to recruitment challenges cited in the resolution text and aims to strengthen safety on county waterways. The zoning approvals respond to Town of Union petitions and change the land-use designation on specified parcels, which will be effective subject to the town filing requirements described in the ordinances.

What the record shows and what it does not: Resolutions and ordinances were approved by roll-call-style tallies recorded in the minutes; the transcript records unanimous support for all measures. The record lists committee recommendations and petition identifiers (PLUM-001-2025, Z-003-2025, Z-004-2025) but does not include verbatim debate or questions; details about implementation timelines beyond the items' effective-on clauses are not specified in the transcript.