April 23

City of Bayfield Common Council Special Meeting Minutes April 23, 2025, 7:00 am - City Hall Attendees: Fizell, Cornelius, Bland, Carrier Meeting Called to Order at 7:00 am 1.City of Bayfield staffing matters a.Reviewed and edited position descriptions for City Clerk and Treasurer.
 
 Motion to post these positions on city website, InDeed, and several Wisconsin municipal job oriented sites — MSC(Carrier/Fizell)
 b.Discussed the position of Zoning Administrator. The consensus was to consider a more narrowly defined set of responsibilities compared to the most recent posting. To be considered at a future meeting.
 2.Appointments of Boards, Commissions, or Committee Members 2025-2026
 The proposed list was modified and corrected.
 
 Motion to make these appointments — MSC(Fizell/Bland)
 3.State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program - Bland reported that the State of Wisconsin website about this program had an FAQ that made it clear that hardware was not allowable. It is then very unlikely that the program is relevant to our immediate needs.
 4.Interim help
 There is an urgent need to supply the auditors (Baker-Tilly) with information they need to prepare WIDOR Form C, due 15 May. Cornelius reported that Billie Hoopman is working on miscellaneous Clerk tasks including sending documents to the auditors. Dionne Johnston is working evenings to complete the 2024 financial books, a requirement for the auditors to submit Form C. The auditors have also belatedly been granted necessary access to city bank accounts.
 
 We discussed the need for an outside accounting firm to scrutinize the 2024 financial records. This extra examination seemed appropriate given council’s lack of access to this information, public concerns related to city financial management, and the number of people who have had some form of access over the past 7 months. This exercise is presumably expensive and its scope not yet clearly defined. We decided that as a first step we would establish an ad hoc committee to consider appropriate next steps.
 
 Motion to establish an ad hoc Financial Committee to advise Council on immediate and longer-term financial challenges. Bland would begin searching for members and return with a complete scope at a future meeting — MSC(Carrier/Fizell) Next meeting set for 7:00 am, May 2, 2025. Motion to adjourn — MSC(Carrier/Fizell) Meeting adjourned at 9:06 am. Bill Bland