City Council Meeting - July 15, 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: July 15, 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 *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: July 9, 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 FEMA Draft Flood Risk Review 3 Vehicle Registration Fee Discussion 4 Council Comment 5 Closed Session – Wis. Stat. §19.85(1)(c) –Fire Chief Interviews. Considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility 6 Adjournment. 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: July 6, 2026 RE: FEMA Flood Risk Map Update for Polk County and the City of Amery Summary FEMA, working with the Wisconsin DNR and Polk County, is updating the county's flood insurance rate maps under its Risk MAP program. Draft work maps are now out, and FEMA held a technical review meeting on June 24. The update does not add any new parcels to flood risk designation within Amery city limits. The two parcels already mapped in the flood zone remain the only ones affected, and the 100-year flood risk here stays concentrated in the Apple River Flowage and the wetlands around it. This memo is for the Council’s awareness. No action is needed , but staff is available to discuss the map and FEMA’s findings. Any comments or changes can be provided to FEMA during the comment period. Background FEMA is revising the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report for Polk County as part of a countywide remapping effort under the National Flood Insurance Program. On June 17, FEMA Region 5 notified Mayor Van Blaricom that survey and modeling work was complete and invited city and county officials to a Flood Risk Review meeting on June 24 at the Polk County Plaza in Balsam Lake. Staff have reviewed the draft work maps through FEMA's online viewer at https://arcg.is/1ib0mH5. The remapping doesn't change Amery's flood risk picture in any meaningful way. Two parcels within city limits carry a flood zone designation, and both already carried that designation under the current maps. No additional structures are being added. The mapped 100 -year flood risk in Amery is tied to the Apple River Flowage and the wetlands surrounding it, not to any other part of the city. FEMA is accepting comments and additional data on the draft maps from communities and other stakeholders through July 24, 2026. Comments can go by mail or by email to gordon.statz@wisconsin.gov. Once the comment period closes, FEMA will move toward a preliminary FIRM issuance and, eventually, a Letter of Final Determination, at which point the revised maps become effective for flood insurance purposes. Fiscal Impact None. The map update carries no direct cost to the city. The two affected parcels face the same flood insurance requirements they do today, and no other property owners in the city are affected by this update. A future revision that expanded the flood zone could raise mandatory flood insurance costs for additional property owners and affect development review in those areas, but this update does not do that. Recommendation Staff recommends the Council receive this update as informational. Staff will continue monitoring the comment period through July 24 and will bring the final adopted maps to the Council if anything changes before FEMA issues its Letter of Final Determination. U.S. Department of Homeland Security FEMA Region 5 536 S. Clark St. 6th Floor Chicago, IL 60605 www.fema.gov June 17, 2026 The Honorable Rick Van Blaricom Mayor, City of Amery 104 Maple Street W, Suite A Amery, WI 54001 Community Name: City of Amery, Polk County, Wisconsin Community No.: 550332 RE: FEMA Flood Risk Review Meeting Invitation / Data Submission Notification Draft Work Maps for Polk County, Wisconsin Dear Mayor Van Blaricom: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is updating the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report for Polk County under the Risk Mapping, Assessment and Planning (Risk MAP) program. With the initial survey and modeling now complete, FEMA will host a Flood Risk Review meeting to share draft data and work maps. We encourage staff and officials from villages, cities, townships and county government, regional organizations and nongovernmental organizations to participate. FEMA invites you and your staff to meet with us at the following location: Wednesday, June 24, 2026 1:00-2:30pm CT 100 Polk County Plaza Balsam Lake, Wisconsin 54810 East Conference Room (2 nd floor) Or via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85460019625?pwd=bc3l0wpjArvXWFJZhFLXzuc4fA7kAJ.1 This Flood Risk Review meeting will provide an opportunity for you and your technical staff to review your community’s draft work maps, ask questions about the engineering methods used to develop the spatial flood risk data, and provide comments and feedback to the agency. The meeting will also give community officials an update on the status and remaining schedule of the Polk County mapping project and help you begin preparing to communicate with the public about possible changes in flood risk. You can view the work maps on the FEMA Work Map Data Viewer at the link below. No password is required. To request additional files or supporting documents, contact us by phone or email using the information at the end of this letter. Mayor Van Blaricom June 17, 2026 Page 2 www.fema.gov Link to the Work Map Data Viewer: https://arcg.is/0DWHGm3 This meeting will begin the technical review by local communities, and we invite your comments. We will look for comments and additional data that are consistent with the engineering methods used in our flood study. FEMA will accept submissions on the work maps from communities and other technical stakeholders through July 24, 2026. If you wish to submit a written comment or hard copy data on these work maps, please use the following: By email: gordon.statz@wisconsin.gov By regular mail: G. Fritz Statz WW/3 101 South Webster St. Madison, Wisconsin 53707-7921 Please RSVP to this invitation or send requests for additional information to G. Fritz Statz by email at gordon.statz@wisconsin.gov or by phone at 608-220-4290. You may also send questions to Munib Ahmad, engineer for the FEMA Region 5 Risk Analysis Branch, by email at munib.ahmad@fema.dhs.gov or by phone at 202-702-9043. We look forward to working with you to increase flood risk awareness and reduce risks to life and property. Sincerely, Julia McCarthy Mitigation Division Director FEMA Region 5 All “cc” communications delivered by electronic correspondence cc: Alex Mansfield, City Administrator, City of Amery  Sarah Galster, State NFIP Coordinator, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Munib Ahmad, Regional Engineer, FEMA Region 5 Ben Koch, Water Management Engineer, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources U.S. Department of Homeland Security FEMA Region 5 536 S. Clark St. 6th Floor Chicago, IL 60605 www.fema.gov 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: July 9, 2026 RE: Wheel Tax Recommendation and Five-Year Streets Funding Outlook (2027–2031) SUMMARY City staff have completed a five-year model (2027–2031) of the City's streets operating and capital funding against the maintenance schedule MSA identified. The program is underfunded in every year of the model, with or without a wheel tax. Adopting a wheel tax reduces the five-year shortfall from an estimated $1.29 million to $944,000. That is a real improvement, but it does not close the gap. This memo presents the model's findings, the alternatives Staff considered, and a recommendation to move forward with a wheel tax ordinance for 2027 while opening a separate conversation with Council on the remaining shortfall. BACKGROUND MSA Professional Services produced a pavement management schedule identifying the City's street maintenance and reconstruction needs. Staff built a five-year funding model against that schedule using the City's currently available revenue tools: General Transportation Aid (GTA), the streets operating and maintenance budget, biannual borrowing, special assessments, the state Local Roads Improvement Program (LRIP), and the interfund utility cost-sharing. FISCAL IMPACT Revenue Assumptions Streets operating revenue draws on two sources. Of the City's $321,036 in total GTA aid, only $140,000 is budgeted toward the maintenance items MSA identified; the remainder is already committed to street personnel (approximately $120,000) and snow and ice removal (approximately $60,000) and is held flat across the model, with no assumed growth. The wheel tax, based on 3,678 eligible vehicles at $20 per vehicle, adds $73,560 per year once fully phased in, with 75 percent collected in 2027 ($55,170) to reflect ordinance adoption partway through the year. Capital revenue is available only in the years a reconstruction project is executed (2028 and 2031 in this model) and draws on four tools applied to that year's executed reconstruction cost: special assessments at 25 percent under Wis. Stat. § 66.0703, the state Local Roads Improvement Program (LRIP) at 50 percent, capped at $250,000 per project and not guaranteed, an interfund utility cost-share agreement at 40 percent, and biannual borrowing of $125,000 per year, held flat and accumulated toward project years. In project years, 75 percent of gross operating revenue (O&M budget plus wheel tax) is also diverted to reconstruction, appearing as a transfer into the capital program and leaving only 25 percent of operating revenue for maintenance that year. Expenditure Assumptions Costs are based on MSA's 2027 baseline: $216,300 for chip seal, $59,000 for crack fill, and $15,000 for street painting on the operating side; $151,400 for overlay, $28,000 for sidewalk, and $270,300 for reconstruction on the capital side. All costs escalate 5 percent per year, consistent with recent construction cost trends. Reconstruction is not budgeted as an annual expense. It is treated as an annualized need that accrues each year and is executed as a bundled project only in flagged project years, as per MSA's schedule reflects a three to four-year cadence rather than continuous annual work. 104 Maple Street W., Suite A Office: 715.268.7486 Amery, WI 54001 Fax: 715.268.4870 Year Total Program Cost Gap, No Wheel Tax Gap, With Wheel Tax Wheel Tax Revenue 2027 $469,700 $204,700 $149,530 $55,170 2028 $1,047,300 $172,125 $98,565 $73,560 2029 $517,844 $252,844 $179,284 $73,560 2030 $543,736 $278,736 $205,176 $73,560 2031 $1,510,386 $384,735 $311,175 $73,560 5-Year Total $4,088,967 $1,293,141 $943,731 $349,410 The wheel tax figures in this model reflect a corrected count of 3,678-wheel tax eligible vehicles in Amery, revised down from the estimate of 4,912 used in earlier drafts. At $20 per vehicle, the wheel tax generates $73,560 annually once fully phased in, with 75 percent collection in 2027 ($55,170) to reflect ordinance adoption partway through the year. Over five years it contributes $349,410 to the program, reducing the cumulative shortfall by the same amount, since the wheel tax affects operating revenue only and does not reach the capital side of the program. Even with the wheel tax, every year in the model runs a deficit. The most severe is 2031, when a bundled reconstruction project pushes the combined program cost past $1.5 million. The City remains roughly $311,000 short that year even with the wheel tax collecting at full rate. RECOMMENDATION City staff recommends Council authorize preparation of a wheel tax ordinance under Wis. Stat. § 341.35, effective for 2027, at $20 per vehicle. This step alone does not fund the MSA schedule as identified, but it is available now, reduces the five -year shortfall by $349,410, and requires neither new debt nor a levy increase the City cannot legally take under the NNC growth limit. - $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 $200,000 $250,000 $300,000 $350,000 $400,000 $450,000 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 Gap / (Surplus), $ Year Combined Street Gap by Year Without Wheel Tax With Wheel Tax 104 Maple Street W., Suite A Office: 715.268.7486 Amery, WI 54001 Fax: 715.268.4870 ALTERNATIVES Do not adopt a wheel tax. This avoids a new fee on vehicle owners but leaves the full $1.29 million five- year shortfall in place. Given the levy limit and the police contract's mandatory salary increase, the City has no legal path to close this gap through the property tax levy alone. Reduce or slow the MSA program. Council could direct a smaller or slower reconstruction schedule than MSA recommends. This lowers near -term cost but raises long -run cost, since deferred pavement deteriorates faster and moves from resurfacing-eligible to full reconstruction-eligible condition. Pursue additional borrowing beyond the biannual program. The City could bond for a larger share of reconstruction cost. This addresses the capital side of the shortfall but not the operating side, adds debt service, and has met public resistance in past Council discussions. Leave a vacant Public Works position unfilled. Not backfilling an open part-time position would free approximately $50,000 per year for the streets operating budget. That would bring O&M funding to roughly $190,000 per year without a new fee on residents, but it comes at the cost of crew capacity.