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Executive committee flags handbook edits and asks counsel about state per-diem limit
Summary
Members reviewed supervisor-handbook edits (meeting fees, per-diem amounts and cross-references) and asked court counsel to advise whether a Wisconsin statute limiting per-diem to 20 days can be changed now or must await election timing; staff will return with counsel's guidance.
The Ashland County Executive Committee reviewed proposed edits to the supervisor handbook, including updated meeting fees and clarifications to language about per-diem and meeting stipends.
Committee members identified multiple places in the handbook that require correction (several numeric amounts listed incorrectly) and highlighted a Wisconsin statutory limit cited in the draft that counts board member per-diem days at 20 annually, with no more than 10 for a single committee. Several members said the county has likely exceeded that limit in practice and asked whether the board can increase allowable days by two-thirds vote or whether an intervening election affects implementation. One member read a statutory reference and noted exceptions allow the county board to vote to increase allowable days, but the committee agreed to obtain formal legal advice from court counsel.
Members also debated the practice of paying a reduced meeting fee for a second meeting in one day, and whether wording such as "meeting fee/stipend" vs. "per diem" affects compliance with state law. The committee directed staff to send the handbook and the legal questions to court counsel, make necessary numeric corrections in the handbook language, and return to the executive committee or the full county board once counsel has advised.
