Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Waunakee trustees agree to study pay for committee members, send options to finance
Summary
The board discussed standardizing compensation for standing (and potentially ad hoc) committees after a staff survey found most Wisconsin clerks’ offices offer compensation; trustees asked staff to present budget and implementation options to the finance committee.
The Village of Waunakee board signaled broad support for standardizing compensation for board, committee and commission members and directed staff to prepare options and budget estimates for finance committee review.
Chief Carla (Clerk) introduced results of a statewide survey: "77 of them, 53 of them offered compensation," she said, noting the village currently pays some committees annually and others not at all. Carla said the change would help payroll and record-keeping and suggested offering compensation consistently to standing committees while clarifying exceptions.
Trustees discussed administrative options, including purchasing attendance modules or using existing software, and cautioned that more frequent pay cycles would be harder to track without better systems. Several trustees emphasized equity and inclusion: one trustee said paying committee members can remove financial barriers such as childcare costs faced by lower-income residents and make participation more accessible.
The board agreed to ask staff to prepare a proposal showing the fiscal impact of offering compensation to standing committees and the cost implications of adding ad hoc committees. Trustees suggested the finance committee review the proposal and return a recommendation to the full board at an upcoming meeting.
