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Sawyer County board adopts AI policy, updates personnel and board procedure manuals after debate on attendance and expense deadlines
Summary
The Sawyer County Board approved a new AI-use policy and updates to both the personnel manual and the county board policy and procedures manual. Discussion focused on attendance language, possible discipline, and a debated timeline for submitting expense vouchers before the measures passed.
The Sawyer County Board of Supervisors adopted a countywide artificial intelligence use policy and approved revisions to the personnel and board procedure manuals at its June meeting.
County administrator Markin, presenting the AI proposal, said the policy was designed to require staff to verify AI-generated content and to guard against the so-called hallucinations that can produce fabricated statements. He recounted an example cited in training that illustrated the risk, saying, "Thank you for pushing back. I made that up," to underline why verification is necessary. The board moved and approved the AI policy without a recorded negative vote.
The meeting also covered revisions to the county personnel manual that limit shift trades that trigger unintended overtime, formalize flexible meal-period language, move timekeeping to an electronic system (TCP+), restrict animals at work to service animals only, and update conceal-carry references to the applicable Wisconsin statute. Markin noted the personnel changes were primarily clarifying edits but included several operational changes for staff timekeeping.
More contentious debate surrounded updates to the board policy and procedures manual, particularly language referencing Wisconsin statutes about attendance and a provision about expense voucher timing. Several supervisors asked for a more specific submission deadline. Supervisor Miller said the current phrasing was too vague and that he would "be a no vote until they maybe got cleared up" if a precise timeline was not included. Other supervisors argued for 30 days as a reasonable window to submit expense vouchers after a meeting. After discussion and a call of the question, the board adopted the administrative committee version of the manual as presented.
The measures are effective pending any implementation steps the county administration requires; the board did not add a definitive voucher-submission date during the meeting and left follow-up to administrative staff and committees.
