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Barron County board adopts revised rules and procedures after suspending second-reading
Summary
After a 20–6 vote to suspend the second-reading requirement, the Barron County Board adopted revised rules and procedures on March 17; the final adoption passed 25–1 and includes clarifications on closed-session exclusion, remote committee attendance, and ballot initialing for certain elections.
The Barron County Board voted on March 17 to adopt a revised set of county rules and procedures after first suspending the typical two-reading requirement. A motion to suspend the second-reading requirement passed 20–6; after discussion the substantive ordinance passed by the required supermajority with a 25–1 recorded vote.
The board debated whether to delay adoption until newly elected supervisors could review the changes. Supporters — including the county’s corp counsel and staff — said the amendments are mostly alignment with a Wisconsin Counties Association template and technical clarifications rather than substantive policy shifts. Opponents argued that incoming supervisors should have time to review the packet before a final vote.
Key changes explained by corp counsel include: a new explicit rule allowing a committee to exclude a member from a closed session (for conflicts or other committee-determined reasons), language clarifying when committees may allow remote/virtual attendance, a requirement that ballots for certain elected committees be initialed (to prevent secret ballots where not allowed by law), and small clerical edits. Discussion also covered enforcement of decorum (the language focuses on disruptive or loud conduct that impedes the board’s ability to conduct business) and mileage/podium payment clarifications tied to meeting agendas.
The procedural steps were: a motion by Supervisor Patty Anderson to suspend the rules (seconded by Supervisor Olsen) passed by two-thirds (20 yes, 6 no). The main ordinance to adopt the new rules was moved by Supervisor Goolick, seconded by Supervisor Heler, and passed by two-thirds with 25 yes votes and one no (Supervisor Efforts).
The board also recorded and addressed several supervisor-proposed edits during the debate; corp counsel and staff agreed to ministerial language fixes noted during discussion. The board set its next meeting after the April election for reorganization and to review health insurance data scheduled for May.
