County seeks to make buildings safer
Finance committee approves purchasing automatic defibrillators for each county building, meal site
Taylor County is investing in the safety of those who work in and visit county buildings.
Members of the finance committee on Tuesday approved purchasing 15 automatic external defibrillators (AED) along with cases and signs to be placed in each of the county buildings and on each floor of the Taylor County courthouse.
The devices would be placed by each of the seven senior dining sites, the human services building, the highway department, the Taylor County Agriculture Service Station, the Taylor County Education and one to be shared between the fair office and the Winter Sports Area. The courthouse currently has one of the lifesaving devices located on the second floor in the courtroom area.
County finance director Larry Brandl estimated the cost of each of the units at about $900 and recommended using the remaining $9,000 in the county’s 2021 contingency fund budget line item and then go elsewhere in the budget for the remainder.
Committee members instead suggested the county tap into the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) grant funds received since it was a health and safety improvement to the county. The county currently has $1.9 million in ARPA funds which it is holding in an account waiting for more definite guidance from the state and federal government on how it can be used.
The risk of tapping into the funds, is that if the use is not approved the county may have to pay it back. Committee member Tim Hansen said that at that point the county could tap into the contingency account if they needed to in order to repay the grant. Although as a health and safety issue he felt it should qualify.
Hansen said it is very important to have these devices available. If someone goes into cardiac arrest, those in the area can use the devices as part of lifesaving measures. The devices are designed to not required specialized training to be used.
“It is important in dealing with the public to have something accessible,” Hansen said.
Committee members agreed and voted unanimously to proceed with purchase and installation of the AEDs.
Library payment
Taylor County will pay the Withee Public Library $1,056 for the cost of county residents getting materials from the library. Annually libraries charge their neighboring libraries for circulation by nonresident individuals.
Hansen said across Taylor County the county libraries pay out between $33,000 and $34,000 each year. In return the county libraries receive about $30,000 in billing from other libraries. “So it is kind of a wash,” Hansen said, noting that in some years they pay out more and other years less.
The amounts are part of the overall county library budget which is approved and built into the special library levy each fall. What happened this year is that Withee’s director missed the deadline in getting the statements out. “This year he just missed the boat,” Hansen said, noting the amount was comparable to previous years. Committee members agreed to pay the amount requested out of the contingency account.
In other business, committee members approved consolidating the county property, liability and comprehensive insurance under the Wisconsin County Mutual Insurance company to streamline the process for dealing with claims and to take advantage of a 5% discount offered for bundling them together. Human resources director Marie Koerner explained that in the past the county would have to work with multiple different agents and representatives for a single claim.
“This just makes a whole lot of sense,” said committee chairman Chuck Zenner.
Koerner cautioned that the caveat on the deal is that Wisconsin Mutual will not insure the current buildings on the former Bauer property parcel due to their age and condition. Some county departments are using the buildings for cold storage. She said as long as the items are listed under the county’s equipment coverage policies they would be covered if something happened to them in the buildings.
