Rock County board reappoints 17-year-old Max Olsen to Youth and Governance Committee

The Rock County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to reappoint 17-year-old Max Olsen to the county’s Youth and Governance Committee after residents and several supervisors spoke in favor of his continued membership.

During the citizen participation period, community members described Olsen’s long record of service on local bodies, urging the board to preserve a seat for youth representation. Mary Gout, a prevention specialist with Family Services of Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois, said Olsen “consistently demonstrates the qualities this committee was created to elevate: youth voice, civic responsibility, and a genuine commitment to improving Rock County.” Cheryl Avery, a Milton High School teacher, told the board that Olsen had served as FBLA chapter president and “is not afraid to approach adults, organize and carry out events.”

Former District 5 Supervisor Bill Wilson recalled helping to form the county’s youth-in-governance program and said Olsen “attended all 26 meetings” of the exploratory committee and “significantly contributed to the committee’s work.” Olsen himself addressed the board, reading a supporting letter and telling supervisors that a negative vote would send a message to other young people considering civic involvement: “If you vote against me, the committee will still exist. The work will continue, but it will not have the person who believed in it before it had a single meeting.”

Supervisors framed their remarks around two questions: whether a youth under 18 belongs on a committee explicitly titled “youth in governance,” and whether appointing Olsen created a problematic precedent. Several supervisors — including Sutherland, Buchanan, Tilman and others — said Olsen’s maturity, attendance and leadership made him an appropriate appointee. Corporate counsel explained there is no general county age limit for appointed boards and commissions unless a statute or the establishing resolution specifies one.

A motion to approve the appointment was made and seconded, and the roll call recorded 25 yes, 0 no, 4 absent. The board moved the original consent-agenda item (4C1) back onto the active agenda and completed the vote.

What happens next: Olsen will continue serving on the Youth and Governance Committee in the role the board authorized; supervisors who raised questions about precedent said they would consider whether committee charters or policies need clarifying language going forward.