Price County panel sets $500 minimum bid on unsold parcel, approves bridge aid and vouchers, and forwards administrator agreement

The Price County Executive Committee on Jan. 15 handled a range of routine county business: it set a $500 starting bid for an unsold land parcel, approved a bridge and culvert aid resolution for the Town of Georgetown and approved December vouchers totaling $1,235,624.83. The committee also returned from closed session and voted to send the County Administrator Employment Agreement to the full County Board of Supervisors with a recommendation to approve.

Treasurer staff reported on delinquent taxes and the in‑rem collection process that began with 2022 delinquent parcels, noting more than 70 parcels in the process and that about half of the titles have been returned from title work; approximately 15 parcels were described as small "sliver" parcels that resurfaced during assessments. The third land auction concluded with one remaining parcel to be re‑auctioned; parcel tax ID #5164 sold for $26,750, while parcel #23518 was unsold and the committee set a new starting price of $500.

The Register of Deeds reported recording 304 documents in December, conveying $12.2 million in straight sales, receiving 42 vital record applications and issuing 249 vital certificates. Staff noted an interface problem with the new State Department of Revenue electronic real estate transfer program that began Jan. 8; the county, the land‑records vendor Fidlar Technologies and Wisconsin DOR were working to resolve the State‑side issues.

County Administration reported the need to amend Highway borrowing Resolution 30‑24 to reallocate amounts between road construction and equipment purchases while keeping the total borrowing at $3.1 million. IT staff reported a short 9‑1‑1 outage tied to a third‑party vendor, an updated cloud go‑live date for financial software of Feb. 19, 2026, and an increase in malicious email activity directed at county addresses.

The committee approved the Town of Georgetown Bridge and Culvert Aid resolution (motion by Doug Erickson, seconded by Jeff Hallstrand) and approved the December vouchers (motion by Alan Barkstrom, seconded by Doug Erickson) in the amount of $1,235,624.83. During a closed session taken under Wis. Stat. §19.85(1)(c) to review the County Administrator contract, the committee voted (Barkstrom/Hallstrand) to forward the County Administrator Employment Agreement to the full County Board with a recommendation to approve; the roll call recorded four yes votes (Barkstrom, Erickson, Ernst, Hallstrand) and zero no votes. The meeting adjourned at 10:58 a.m.

The minutes record these decisions and several departmental financial details; the minutes do not specify additional implementation timelines for the parcel re‑auction or the county's highway borrowing amendment.