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Budget committee authorizes up to $57,000 for emergency snow hauling; approves UTV purchase and police hire
Summary
The committee approved an emergency expenditure for snow removal of up to $57,000 after a historic 26-inch snowfall, approved a grant- and donation-funded UTV purchase for the fire department, and recommended hiring a police officer to refill a vacancy.
The Marshfield Budget and Personnel Committee on March 17 approved several operational and personnel items prompted by recent weather and staffing needs.
Emergency snow removal: City administrator Steve Bar told the committee the city experienced a historic multi-day snowfall — about 26 inches — and that city crews need outside trucking help to haul accumulated snow from constrained downtown locations. Bar said the city may hire a contractor for up to three 18-hour days; he estimated each 18-hour shift would cost about $18,000–$19,000 and asked the committee to authorize up to $57,000 to cover days two and three if needed. "We're looking for authorization to have up to three days ... potentially three 18-hour shifts," Bar said. The committee moved and approved the emergency expenditure.
UTV purchase: A fire department representative presented budget resolution 08-2026 to transfer funds and complete purchase of a utility terrain vehicle (UTV) and trailer. The presenter said the roughly $55,000 project was identified in the 2028 CIP but had been fully funded sooner through a mix of donations and grants, including a Wisconsin DNR firefighter prevention grant on a 50/50 match and multiple private donors. Staff recommended transferring $24,000 from public safety grant funds and authorizing $26,000 in capital expenditure to complete the purchase. The committee approved the resolution.
Police hiring and personnel items: Police Chief Jod Glock described staffing shortfalls — one officer deployed with the military and two vacancies — and said two candidates are in the academy and available to hire (they would be paid at 80% of starting wage while in academy and must complete psych and physical screens). Glock recommended hiring to avoid prolonged overtime and training strain; the committee moved and voted to recommend council approval to fill the vacancy. The committee also approved an updated job description consolidating event and senior-program duties and approved a revised voluntary resignation policy (policy 3.410) that adds clarity about notice, off-boarding procedures and a city-discretion clause about last day worked for operational or security reasons.
The meeting moved to closed session later in the agenda under a cited Wisconsin statute provision and, after closed session, the committee approved a leave of absence for employee Casey Ashbrook.
Votes on the major items were recorded in open session and motions carried as presented.
