County looks at options for veterans service 
by Mark Berglund
The Star News
December 17, 2009 —  For the first time in 30 years, Taylor County is in the market for a new Veterans Service Officer.
The Taylor County Human Services Board began the discussion of the future of the position last week under the agenda item mental health for veterans. Committee chairman Jim Seidl brought forward an idea to combine the position with a human services counselor position. The committee discussed what the hybrid position might look like and what requirements would have to be listed with the job posting.
The most important statutory requirement for the CVSO position is the person holding the title be a veteran of the United States armed forces. Larger Wisconsin counties also have one CVSO, with deputies, who do not have to be veterans. The veterans service office functions as the local face to state and federal veterans administration offices. Taylor County receives a $10,000 grant from the state for operating a full-time office. The grant would drop to $500 if the county decided to cut the position to half-time.
Human services board members were open to options to help, but wondered if a joint position was the best split. "If we have someone here in human services for five hours and you need 15 it doesn't work," board member Dave Bizer said.
Board members also wondered how many people holding the required masters degree for counseling would settle for being paid CVSO wages for 35 hours per week. The counseling degree typically opens up higher wages, even in the public sector.
Seidl said he has conducted his own survey and concluded the veterans service office needs .6 people to run the office. In addition to human services board, Seidl is a member of the county committees on Veterans Service, Personnel, and Finance. Thomas' retirement will be effective March 1, 2010, so the direction of the future of the department will most likely come from committees. The entire county board will not meet again until after the April election.
Marie Albers is currently the second employee in the Taylor County Veterans Service office. The experienced assistant would be on board to help the new CVSO adjust to the position.
Jerry Polus is the Brown County CVSO and chairman of the CVSO association's training and certification committee. He said there is no statewide trend for reducing the position to half-time as the new generation of American veterans is filling the ranks as older veterans pass away. He said there is a trend toward younger CVSOs with the generational changes in the veteran population.
Polus said most counties have set the requirements for the position at a bachelor degree and two to five years experience working with veterans in some capacity. He suggested the county post the job opening with the state organization in the possibility of finding candidates with some experience.

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