Executive Committee 4:00 PM, September 14, 2026

Bayfield County Administrator 117 E 5th Street, PO Box 878, Washburn, WI 54891 Ph: 715-373-6181 Fx: 715-373-6153 www.Bayfieldcounty.wi.gov Mark Abeles-Allison, County Administrator Kelly Westlund, Deputy County Administrator Kristine Kavajecz, Human Resources Director Kim Mattson, Finance Director Gail Reha, Bookkeeper Ryan VanLanduyt, Energy Specialist Paige Terry, Clerk III Jaime Cadotte, Clerk II BAYFIELD COUNTY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING Fred Strand, Chair Steve Sandstrom, Vice Chair Jan Lee Dennis Pocernich Jim Crandall Larry Fickbohm Dear Committee Members: This letter is written to inform you of the Bayfield County Executive Committee Meeting scheduled for 4:00pm Monday, September 14, 2026 in the Bayfield County Board Room. This meeting will be held in-person and remotely. Supervisors and the public will be able to participate in the Meeting in-person or via voice either by using the internet link or phone number below. Microsoft Teams meeting Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/293412957243394?p=EOuoVI8SemkvjJA2hf Meeting ID: 293 412 957 243 394 Passcode: pA9jr3wk Need help? | System reference Dial in by phone +1 715-318-2087,,321669558# United States, Eau Claire Find a local number Phone conference ID: 321 669 558# For organizers: Meeting options | Reset dial-in PIN __________________________________________________________________________ Contact Bayfield County at 715-373-6181 if you have access questions or email Mark.Abeles-Allison@bayfieldcounty.wi.gov if during the meeting. Any person wishing to attend who, because of a disability, requires special accommodation, should contact the County Clerk’s office at 715-373-6100, at least 24 hours before the scheduled meeting time, so appropriate arrangements can be made. Notice is hereby given that in the event the standing committee does not have a quorum the County Board Chair or Vice Chair may act as an ex officio member (County ordinance, Chapter 3, section 2-3-1 (c)). Notice is hereby given that a majority of the Bayfield County Board may be present at the meeting to gather information about a subject over which they have decision-making responsibility. This constitutes a meeting of the Bayfield County Board pursuant to State ex rel. Badke v. Greendale Village Bd., 173 Wis. 2d 553, 494 N.W.2d 408(1993), and must be noticed as such, although the County Board will not take any formal action at this meeting. 1) Call to Order 2) Approval of Minutes of September 10, 2026 3) Public Comment, 3 minutes per person, up to 15 minutes total 4) Department Presentations: a) Sheriff’s Office b) Forestry Department c) Emergency Medical Services d) Emergency Management e) Planning and Zoning f) Personnel Summary g) Capital Improvements h) Agency Requests i) Other Departments 5) Budget Overview and Changes Spreadsheet Discussion and Possible Action 6) Next Budget Meetings / Presentation Requests / Wednesday, September 16, 2026 7) Adjourn 1 Minutes of theBayfield County Executive Committee Meeting4:00pm, September 10, 2026Meeting was held Remotely through Microsoft Teams and in person in the Bayfield CountyBoard Room, Washburn, WIMembers Present:Dennis Pocernich, Fred Strand, Jan Lee, Jim Crandall, Marty Milanowski,Larry Fickbohm(4:48)Excused:Others Present:Mark Abeles-Allison-County Administrator, Kelly Westlund-DeputyAdministrator, Kris Kavajecz, Jake Benson-Highway Commissioner, Jeff Holte, Stephanie Eder-DHS Financial Manager, Tom Croteau-DHS Director, Jeff Olson, Steve Sandstrom, EmmaGrove-Clerk of Court, Paul Houck-IT Director, Don Benson, Charly Ray, Meagan Quaderer, SueRosa, Kim Mattson-Finance Director,Called to order at4:02p.m. byStrandMinutes of August 13, 2026:Motion Crandall, Lee to approve minutes of the August 13, 2026Executive Committee meeting. Motion Carried (5-0)Public Comment:None ReceivedJuror Appreciation Resolution:Emma Grove reported thatSeptember is Juror AppreciationMonthas designated by the State of WI. Judicial Assistant, Nora Tribys was alsoacknowledged for her work.The committee viewed the video that was generated relatedto jury duty appreciation.Motion Lee, Sandstrom to approve the Juror Appreciation Resolution and forward to thefull county board for approval. Motion Carried (5-0)IT Budget Amendment, 2026:Paul Houck, IT Administrator reviewed a list of itemscontributing to a budget overage for the IT Department. Unplanned re-arranging wirelessto forestry and highway, Significant cost increases.Offsite backup cost increased 16%.Purchaseof Beyond Trust to meet security requirements and to replace the current VPNused by municipal treasurers and contractors due to the currentVPNbeingdiscontinued.Purchasing of ChatGPT and Claude for testing purposes.Account budgetcharges were placed in different locations making it very difficult to track expenses. Apurchase made in 2025 had to be expensed to the 2026 budget due to timing of invoicesand shipping. The decrease should be equivalent to the total increased expenditures. Theresolution should also clarify that the funds are coming from contingency. 2 Motion Pocernich, Lee to approve the IT Budget Amendment resolution with the changesdiscussed. Motion Carried (5-0)2027 Proposed Budget Presentation:Abeles-Allison reviewed the structure of the budget bookand explained that the full draft document is also available on the county web page. The financialreports are only available on the county web site.a)Budget Overview, proposed revenues, expenditure, tax levy and mill rate:The draftbudget includes a 9.1% reduction in levy. Short term borrow reduction contributes to this.Proposed levy for 2027 is $15.3 million, down about $1.68 million from 2026.b)IT Department:Total proposed budget is $989,164, up 7.2% from 2026. Houckreported on the recent cyber attacks in two other northern WI counties that took themoffline for several days.Fickbohmarrived at this time.c)Highway Department:Jake Bensonreportedon the proposed budget for 2027. Thehighway department is providing services for other local governments to generaterevenues when possible.d)Human Services Department:Tom Croteau reported that the levy for DHS will remainthe same as 2026. Overall budget has increased about 10%, but the additional costs areoffset by additional revenues.Abeles-Allison reviewed details in the Budget Introduction Summary document, which isincluded in the budget book and on the county web site.Assigned Balances:Modifications are proposed based on projects accomplished over thepast Courthouse and HVAC reductions have been made to address improvements made.These modifications are both appropriate and necessary for the county to comply with its25% Fund Balance policy.Recommendation is to modify assigned balances as follows:•Reduce $800,000 designated for compensated balances to $750,000.•Reduce $1,000,000 Courthouse/annex buildings and roof repairs to $500,000•Reduce $1,000,000 HVAC projects, boilers, duct work to $400,000•Reduce$500,000 for business park infrastructure to $100,000Motion Crandall, Sandstrom to forward the recommendations as presented to the full countyboard for approval.Comment Motion Carried (5-1, Pocernich opposed)Short Term Borrow Resolution:The committee reviewed a short-termbonding resolution forproposed projects, Highway ($2.4 million), IT ($700k) and Northern Lights ($100k).Consensus of the committee is to wait until after the budget meetings to determine if ashort term borrow will be necessary and the amount needed. 3 Carbon Offset Reserve Resolution:Auditors have requested that the county adopt thisCarbon Fund resolution noting that revenues from Carbon are committed to projectsaddressed by the COR document.Motion Crandall, Lee to approve the Carbon Offset Reserve Resolution and forward tothe full county board for approval. Motion Carried (6-0)Mineral Rights Re-Certification:Bayfield County has retained mineral rights onthousands of tax delinquent lands. For decades the county sold tax foreclosed lands butretained the mineral rights. Bayfield County Corporation Counsel cited state statues andan Attorney General Opinion requiring public sale of mineral rights.Every 20 years the county must recertify its interest in these lands if it wants to retainthem.The County met with our corporation counsel and reviewed options: Advertise salepublicly, Let mineral interest lapse, or Restate claim for 20 more years.Motion Lee, Pocernich to forward a recommendation to the full county board to retain themineral rights for another 20 years. Motion Carried (6-0)Data Center Moratorium Ordinance Edits:The Planning and Zoning Committee and theCounty Board reviewed a moratorium on large-scale data centers. After review withCorporation Counsel, a number of edits were made to the draft moratorium. KellyWestlund reviewed details related to recommended modifications.Motion Pocernich, Sandstrom to forward the modified moratorium ordinance to the fullcounty board for consideration. Motion Carried (6-0)Appointment Business Park Advisory Committee Members:The Business Advisory ParkCommittee was appointed by the County Executive Committee. Several Committeemembers have changed. The following updates are recommended the reappointment ofthe following members.Brian Tochterman (BCEDC), Marty Milanowski, Lynn Hall (Excel Energy), MarkAbeles-Allison, Brian Gardner (Norvado), Preston Mikula (Ashland Ford), Jake Hipsher(Bayfield Electric)Motion Pocernich, Lee to authorize the Business Park Advisory Committee members as noted.Motion Carried (6-0).This group reports to the Executive Committee and should be reappointedon an annual basis if needed. 4 DNR Surface Water Grant for Pigeon Lake:Westlund reported on a couple of grants that maybe available to assist with costs associated with removal of dead or dying trees on the PigeonLake property.Motion Pocernich, Sandstrom to forward the grant support resolution to the full county boardwith recommendation for approval. Motion Carried (6-0)Reports:2)Financial Reports end of August 2026:Report was included in the meeting packet and wasreviewed by the County Administrator. No significant items to note.3)Treasurer’s Report, end of August 2026:Report was included in the meeting packet andwas reviewed by the County Administrator. No significant items to note. Discussion whetherthe NL Collateral Pledges need to be continued. County Administrator will follow up on this.4)Budget Meeting Schedulei)September 10ii)September 14iii)September 16iv)September 28MotionLee, Pocernich to convene in closed session pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1)(e), whichpermits a closed session for deliberating or negotiating the purchasing of public properties, theinvesting of public funds, or conducting other specified public business whenever competitive orbargaining reasons require a closed session. Discussion Regarding Pigeon Lake PropertyPurchase/Sale. Motion Carrie (6-0) Entered closed session at6:05 pm.All county board membersremained in the closed session.Motion Pocernich,Leeto exit closed session. Motion Carried (6-0)Meeting adjourned at6:16pm.Respectfully submitted by Kristine Kavajecz. 2027 BUDGET MODIFICATIONSGENERALFUNDINCREASES&DECREASESMODIFICATIONSDEPARTMENTEXPENSEREVENUENOTESTotal 100 General Fund Modifications-$-$$0710 HIGHWAY FUNDEXPENSE REVENUETotal 710 FUND Modifications-$-$$0CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUNDEXPENSE REVENUETotal Capital Improvement Fund Modifications-$-$$0HUMAN SERVICESMOTOR POOLSQUAD FUNDDEBT SERVICEGRAND TOTAL MODIFICATIONS-$-$