Supervisors rescind flood relief donation plan

COUNTY – The Waupaca County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted last week to rescind a previous motion that directed the donation of their meeting per diem pay to local flood victims after being notified the county had no mechanism to do so.
County supervisors are paid a per diem rate of $75 for meetings up to four hours. Of the 27 supervisors, 23 were present and voted 22-1 during an April 28 special meeting to collectively donate their day’s compensation to support Waupaca County residents recovering from recent floods.
“It was acting out of compassion and concern for the flood victims and in hindsight we found out that the county mechanism to do that does not exist,” Chair James Nygaard said at last week’s meeting.
Legal counsel explained that the county cannot take official action to mandate the donation of compensation entitlements without formally amending county ordinances. Under current rules, the county is legally obligated to pay the per diems to the supervisors, though supervisors remain free to individually donate their compensation to third-party relief efforts on their own accord.
During the discussion, board members pointed out the procedural mistakes. One supervisor asked, “Why are we missing this stuff?” questioning how both the board and its legal counsel failed to recognize the legal constraints when the donation was initially proposed.

Supervisor Lee Much spoke against the idea of a board-mandated donation.
“I live in Marion,” he said. “I don’t believe Marion was invited to get any donation. So, I think as long as we’re not fair to everybody, I don’t think it’s fair to dictate where the money goes. If I’m going to donate to recovery, I want to do it my own way.”
The motion to rescind the per diem donation passed 25-0.