City Council Meeting - September 2, 2026

City of Amery COMMON COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA The City of Amery does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability in employment or provision of services, programs or activities. NOTE: Upon reasonable notice, the City of Amery will accommodate the needs of disabled individuals through aids or services. For additional information or to request this service, contact the Clerk-Treasurer’s office at (715) 268-3410 by Noon the previous day so that arrangements can be made. Pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes 19.84, Notice is hereby given to the public that a meeting of the Common Council of the City of Amery will be held on: September 2, 2026 at Amery City Hall - 104 Maple St. W, Amery, WI at 5:00 PM. Call to Order Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call Adoption of Agenda Consent Agenda Items: Minutes – City Council (August 5, 2026), City Council (August 19, 2026), Finance Committee (August 25, 2026), Recycling Committee (June 2, 2026) Items under the consent agenda may be acted upon by one motion. If in the judgment of any Council Member, a consent agenda item needs discussion, the item can be removed and discussed. *Although the public may speak on any item that is not included on this agenda as a “Public Hearing or Forum” the Council will not respond or discuss the issue brought forward at this time. In accordance with open meeting laws the Council must notice an item on the agenda to take action on that matter. Your comments will be considered and may be placed on a future agenda for further discussion. Any person wishing to submit a public comment digitally may email them to Cityhall@amerywi.gov until noon of the day of the meeting. Although your comments will be presented to the Council they may or may not be read aloud or discussed during the meeting. The Public Comment Portion will be limited to 3 minutes total per speaker with the total duration to be at the Chair’s discretion. The council may act on any item that is noticed on the agenda. Taylor Larson Clerk/Treasurer **Posted: August 27, 2026 on the City Website (www.amerywi.gov); and at Amery City Hall, Amery Public Library, and the Amery Police Department. Order of Items Agenda Item 1 Public Comment 2 Department Head Reports –City Administrator, Clerk-Treasurer, Police Chief, Fire Chief, Library Director, and Director of Public Works 3 Wastewater Treatment Plant Update 4 Resolution 13-2026 in Support for Continued Act 150 Library Funding 5 Tourism Commission Composition Discussion 6 Council Comment 7 Closed Session – Wis. Stat. §19.85(1)(c) – Considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility. – City Administrator Compensation Review 8 Open Session – Possible Action on Closed Session Agenda 9 Adjournment. Resolution 13-2026 Support for Continued Act 150 Library Funding WHEREAS, the Amery Area Public Library serves the residents of the City of Amery and the surrounding towns and villages of Polk County, providing access to books and digital collections, public computers and internet access, job-search and small-business resources, youth and adult programming, and meeting space open to the public at no charge; and WHEREAS, the Library is a member of the Indianhead Federated Library System and of the MORE shared catalog, which stretch local dollars by giving Amery-area cardholders access to materials held by libraries throughout western Wisconsin; and WHEREAS, 1997 Wisconsin Act 150 amended Wis. Stat. § 43.12 to require each county other than Milwaukee County to pay every public library in the county not less than seventy percent (70%) of the cost of library service provided to county residents who live in towns and villages that do not maintain a public library of their own; and WHEREAS, the county library payment required by Wis. Stat. § 43.12 is a pass-through obligation: the County levies the required amount on the towns and villages whose residents use the libraries and remits that money to the libraries serving them, so that setting the rate neither creates nor consumes discretionary county general funds; and WHEREAS, the Polk County Board of Supervisors has for a number of years set reimbursement at ninety-five percent (95%) of the cost of service to rural residents, well above the statutory floor, and the Polk County Library Plan states a goal of one hundred percent (100%) reimbursement to each library established under Chapter 43 of the Wisconsin Statutes whose location is in whole or in part in Polk County; and WHEREAS, the Amery Area Public Library serves a population of roughly 10,200 people, the large majority of whom live outside the corporate limits of the City of Amery, and in 2025 approximately 61.4% of the Library's circulation was to patrons living outside the City; and WHEREAS, the City of Amery appropriated $218,000 to the Library for 2026 from its own tax levy, and reimbursement below ninety-five percent (95%) would either shift the cost of serving rural patrons onto City of Amery taxpayers who already support the Library, or require reductions in hours, staffing, collections, and programming that would fall on rural and City users alike; and WHEREAS, the Common Council adopted Resolution 07-2025 in support of continued Act 150 funding, and the Polk County Board of Supervisors thereafter maintained reimbursement at ninety-five percent (95%), for which the Council is grateful; and WHEREAS, the Polk County Board of Supervisors will again set the reimbursement rate for public libraries in the course of adopting the 2027 county budget; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of Amery, that: 1. The City of Amery reaffirms its support for full and stable funding of public libraries under Wis. Stat. § 43.12, as established by 1997 Wisconsin Act 150. 2. The City of Amery urges the Polk County Board of Supervisors to maintain reimbursement at not less than ninety-five percent (95%) of the cost of library service to rural residents in the 2027 county budget, and to continue working toward the one hundred percent (100%) goal set out in the County's own library plan. 3. The City of Amery recognizes the Amery Area Public Library as a shared asset of the City and the surrounding townships, and acknowledges that neither the City nor the County can sustain the Library's current level of service without the other. 4. The Mayor, the City Administrator, and the Library Director are authorized to appear before the Polk County Board of Supervisors and its committees to speak in support of this resolution. 5. The City Clerk shall forward a certified copy of this resolution to the Polk County Board of Supervisors, the Polk County Administrator, the Polk County General Government Committee, the Polk County Library Planning Committee, the Amery Area Public Library Board of Trustees, the IFLS Library System, and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Division for Libraries and Technology. Adopted this ____ day of ________________, 2026. _____________________________ Mayor, City of Amery _____________________________ City Clerk, City of Amery 104 Maple Street W., Suite A Office: 715.268.7486 Amery, WI 54001 Fax: 715.268.4870 TO: The Common Council of Amery FROM: Alex Mansfield, City Administrator DATE: August 25, 2026 RE: Ordinance No. __-2026, Amendment to § 14-7, Tourism Commission Requested Action. Adopt Ordinance No. __ -2026 amending § 14 -7 of the Municipal Code, and hold all Tourism Commission appointments until the amendment takes effect. Background. Section 14 -7 currently seats four members: one Alderperson, one representative of the Wisconsin hotel and motel industry, the President of the Amery Community Club, and one member of the Amery Economic Development Corporation. Under § 66.0615, Wis. Stats., the Commission designates the City's tourism entity and directs the room tax revenue that entity receives. The Community Club has been the designated tourism entity since the Commission was created. The conflict. Two of the four seats sit on the receiving side of that transaction. The Club's President serves on the body that designates the Club and sets its funding. Separately, a person under consideration for the AEDC seat holds a paid contract with the Club throu gh a private business, so a share of the revenue the Commission directs to the Club would fund that contract. The City Attorney has reviewed both and agrees a conflict exists. Wisconsin law treats a private pecuniary interest in a public contract as a serious matter, and abstention alone does not always cure it. Recusal is also impractical here as the Commission is currently structured. With four members, a quorum of four, and a requirement that actions carry a majority of all members, two members stepping aside would leave the Commission unable to designate an entity or approve an allocation at all. Composition. The amendment seats five voting members: one Alderperson, one representative of the Wisconsin hotel and motel industry, and three Amery residents at large. The City Clerk-Treasurer serves as a nonvoting ex officio member so the annual state report can be prepared and filed without waiting on a meeting. Appointed members other than the lodging representative may not be officers, employees, or paid contractors of the tourism entity, or hold an ownership interest in a business that contracts with it. The lodging seat is carved out of that restriction because state law requires a lodging representative on the Commission and a lodging owner or operator on the tourism entity's own board. Five members falls within the range state law allows. Meetings. The ordinance has required the Commission to meet at least quarterly, and that has not been happening. The amendment requires the Commission to adopt a schedule of regular meeting dates, times, and locations at its first meeting of each term and to file that schedule with the Clerk-Treasurer. Quorum drops to three to match the smaller body. Conformity with state law. At the City Attorney's direction, the definitions of “tourism entity” and “tourism promotion and tourism development” now track § 66.0615 word for word. The prior text listed only the two fallback options and omitted the primary definition, which reversed the order of review the statute requires. The amendment also states the May 1 deadline for the annual Department of Revenue report, assigns that filing to the Clerk-Treasurer, and requires the tourism entity to furnish its board roster and its members' business affiliations by April 1 so the report can be completed. Fiscal impact. None. The amendment reduces exposure to the daily penalty for a late room tax report and to a challenge to the validity of room tax appropriations. 104 Maple Street W., Suite A Office: 715.268.7486 Amery, WI 54001 Fax: 715.268.4870 Transition and timing. Two current members carry over under the amended composition: the Alderperson and the hotel and motel industry representative. The Community Club President's seat is eliminated by this amendment, and the AEDC seat is eliminated before it is filled. Three r esident seats must therefore be appointed and confirmed before the Commission can meet, because quorum is three and action requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the full voting membership. The Commission must allocate room tax revenue before the e nd of the year, which makes the appointment timeline the binding constraint rather than the ordinance itself. Recommendation. Staff recommends adoption, together with direction to the Mayor to bring forward appointments to the three resident seats at the same meeting or the one immediately following. Attachment: § 14-7, Tourism Commission, as amended. ORDINANCE NO. __-2026 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING § 14-7 OF THE CITY OF AMERY MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO THE TOURISM COMMISSION The Common Council of the City of Amery, Polk County, Wisconsin, does ordain as follows: SECTION 1. § 14-7 of the City of Amery Municipal Code is hereby repealed and recreated to read as follows: § 14-7. Tourism Commission. A. Composition. The Tourism Commission shall consist of five members: one Alderperson; one representative of the Wisconsin hotel and motel industry, as required by § 66.0615(1m)(c)1., Wis. Stats., who need not be a resident of the City; and three residents of the City of Amery appointed at large. The City Clerk-Treasurer shall serve as a nonvoting ex officio member, shall not be counted in determining a quorum, and shall not be eligible to serve as an officer of the Commission. No appointed member other than the representative of the Wisconsin hotel and motel industry may serve as an officer, director, employee, or paid contractor of the tourism entity appointed under Subsection F(1), or hold an ownership interest in a business entity that is a paid contractor of that tourism entity. B. Appointment. Members of the Tourism Commission shall be appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by a majority vote of the members of the City Council present when the vote is taken. Term of membership shall be one year. Members may be reappointed. C. Organization of Commission. Upon appointment to the Tourism Commission, members shall appoint a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and Secretary from its members to serve throughout the duration of the term. The Chairperson shall serve as the President and spokesperson of the Commission and shall conduct all meetings of the Commission. The Vice Chairperson shall act as assistant to the Chairperson and shall fulfill the duties of the Chairperson when he or she is unable to do so. The Secretary shall record and distribute Commission meeting minutes and shall maintain all Commission records. D. Record. The Tourism Commission shall keep a written record of its proceedings to include all actions taken, a copy of which shall be filed with the City Clerk-Treasurer. Three members shall constitute a quorum and all actions shall require the affirmative approval of a majority of all the voting members of the Commission. E. Meeting. At its first meeting of each term, the Tourism Commission shall adopt a schedule of regular meeting dates, times, and locations for the term, providing for not fewer than four regular meetings and at least one regular meeting in each calendar quarter. The schedule shall be filed with the City Clerk-Treasurer. Special meetings may be called by the Chairperson or upon the written request of any three members. All meetings shall be noticed and conducted in compliance with subch. V of ch. 19, Wis. Stats. F. Duties. (1) Appointment of the tourism entity. In accordance with § 66.0615, Wis. Stats., the Tourism Commission shall appoint a tourism entity. The appointment of the tourism entity shall be ratified with every new term. As provided in § 66.0615(1)(f), Wis. Stats., "tourism entity" means a nonprofit organization that came into existence before January 1, 2015, spends at least 51% of its revenues on tourism promotion and tourism development, and provides destination marketing staff and services for the tourism industry in a municipality. If no such organization exists, the Commission may contract with one of the following entities: (a) A nonprofit organization that spends at least 51% of its revenues on tourism promotion and tourism development, and provides destination marketing staff and services for the tourism industry in a municipality. (b) A nonprofit organization that was incorporated before January 1, 2015, spends 100% of the room tax revenue it receives from a municipality on tourism promotion and tourism development, and provides destination marketing staff and services for the tourism industry in a municipality. (c) Before contracting with an entity described in Subsection F(1)(a) or (b), the Commission shall determine, and record in its minutes, that no organization meeting the definition set forth in the third sentence of this Subsection F(1) exists. (2) Room tax rate. The Commission from time to time shall evaluate the room tax rate and suggest to the City Council adjustments to it as deemed necessary. (3) Reports. (a) The Commission shall report to the City Council each term as to the purposes for which room tax revenues provided to the tourism entity were spent and of any delinquencies or inaccurate reporting by the tourism entity. (b) Annually, on or before May 1, the City Clerk-Treasurer shall prepare and file with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, in the form and manner required by § 66.0615(4)(a), Wis. Stats., all of the following for the previous year. The Clerk-Treasurer shall provide a copy of the filing to the Commission at its next regular meeting. [1] The amount of room tax revenue collected and the room tax rate imposed by the City. [2] A detailed accounting of the amounts of that revenue forwarded for tourism promotion and tourism development, specifying the commission or tourism entity that received the revenue, including all expenditures of $1,000 or more made by the Commission or by the tourism entity. [3] A list of each member of the Commission and each member of the governing body of the tourism entity to which the City forwarded room tax revenue, and the name of the business entity each such member owns, operates, or is employed by, if any. (c) On or before April 1 of each year, and as a condition of receiving room tax revenue, the tourism entity shall furnish to the City Clerk-Treasurer the information required under Subsection F(3)(b), including the roster of its governing body and the business entity each of its governing body members owns, operates, or is employed by. Each member of the Commission shall furnish the same information as to himself or herself on or before April 1 of each year. (4) Use of funds. The Commission shall ensure that room tax revenues provided to the tourism entity are used solely for the purpose of tourism promotion and tourism development and that no revenues are used to construct or develop a lodging facility. As provided in § 66.0615(1)(fm), Wis. Stats., "tourism promotion and tourism development" means any of the following that are significantly used by transient tourists and reasonably likely to generate paid overnight stays at more than one establishment on which a room tax may be imposed under § 66.0615(1m)(a), Wis. Stats., that are owned by different persons and located within the City; or, if the City has only one such establishment, reasonably likely to generate paid overnight stays in that establishment: (a) Marketing projects, including advertising media buys, creation and distribution of printed or electronic promotional tourist materials, or efforts to recruit conventions, sporting events, or motorcoach groups. (b) Transient tourist informational services. (c) Tangible municipal development, including a convention center. G. Vacancies. When vacancies occur during a term, the Mayor shall appoint a replacement member to serve out the remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner as appointment for the full term. The replacement member shall meet the requirements of the vacancy he or she is appointed to fill. H. Compensation. Compensation shall be as established by the City Council. Citizen members shall take the official oath as required by § 19.01, Wis. Stats., said oath to be filed with City Clerk-Treasurer. SECTION 2. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this ordinance is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION 3. CONFLICTING PROVISIONS. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with this ordinance are hereby repealed. SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance shall take effect upon passage and publication as provided by law. Adopted this ______ day of ____________________, 2026. ____________________________________ Mayor, City of Amery ATTEST: ____________________________________ City Clerk-Treasurer Published: ____________________________