Economic support seeks supervisor after county FoodShare error rate exceeds state threshold

Rhonda Brown, Saint Croix County economic support administrator, told the board that federal and state changes require county involvement in pre‑certification reviews (PCRs) for FoodShare cases and that Wisconsin narrowly avoided penalties for fiscal year 2025 with a state payment error rate of 5.72%. "We must improve and maintain accuracy or face significant financial consequences," she said.

Rhonda outlined the consortium plan: the Great Rivers Consortium agreed to fund 50% of a new supervisor role for PCR work and related operational coordination, while the county would cover the other half. "The county's portion, 50%, which as it was listed is, a 120,000 approximately total for the position, would be tax levy," she said, and added that the PCR team will include dedicated reviewers whose work cannot be mixed with call‑center caseloads.

Rhonda also reported Saint Croix County's active error rate on the federal fiscal year metric: "Saint Croix County's rate is currently 9.91%," and said the county's month‑one rate was as high as 43% before remedial efforts. She said state funding is available specifically for expanded quality assurance work but cannot be repurposed for other operations and that unused funds must be returned.

Board members asked how the county compares to peers and whether federal thresholds will change; Rhonda said the consortium is participating in statewide work groups and that the county volunteered early to pilot PCR work. The board did not take a vote but discussed the budget impact, workforce stability, and technology options (including OCR for wage data) as part of a phased plan to stand up a PCR team.