RESOLUTION TO CONDUCT COUNTYWIDE ADVISORY REFERENDUM ON ESTABLISHMENT OF SAUK COUNTY AS A STATUTORILY SELF-ORGANIZED COUNTY

The County’s Executive & Legislative Committee has previously discussed the possibility of Sauk County becoming self-organized. Sauk County is empowered by §59.10(1), Wis. Stats. and through its County Board to elect to become a self-organized county. Self-organization is a process used to give county boards alternatives to some of the specific procedures otherwise mandated in Chapter 59, Wisconsin Statutes. A self-governing county provides itself some flexibility in the manner in which its board of supervisors may operate. This narrow power to control several elements of county board functioning is found in Wis. Stat. §59.10(1) and was given to counties during the 1970s, when the legislature decided that counties needed some flexibility in these matters. Counties do not have constitutional home rule authority as do cities and villages and are subject to much greater state control. A county which has undergone self-organization may adopt its own policies regarding: 1. Use of staggered terms for the supervisors, electing half of them each year rather than electing them all each even-numbered year. Wis. Stat. §59./0(l)(b). Without self-organization, all supervisors are to elected on the first Tuesday in April in even-numbered years and take office on the third Tuesday in April of that year. Self-organization allows the use of staggered terms. Wis. Stat. §59.10(3)(d). 2. Compensation of supervisors for attendance at board meetings and paying mileage. Wis. Stat. §59.l0(l)(c). Non-self-organized boards already have several options. Self-organization would allow the board to be as creative as it wished, except that compensation would have to be set by the statutorily required date and the board could not give a mid-term compensation increase for itself.; 3. Filling vacancies in the office of county supervisor. Wis. Stat. §59. 10(l)(d). A county may adopt its own procedures. Without self-organization, vacancies are filled by the board chairperson for the unexpired term, with the approval of the board. Wis. Stat. §59.10(3)(e).  Self-organization of the County would have significant and far-reaching fiscal and operational impact on the County Board, the Employees of the County, and most importantly, the Citizens of Sauk County.  As such, the decision on whether Sauk County should change to a Self-Organized County ought to be made by the Citizens of the County through a Countywide referendum.  Additionally, prior to the referendum vote, a series of public-hearings should be held to educate the Citizenry on the potential impacts of Sauk County becoming Self-Organized.