Gilman village board approves switching audit firms

BY BRIAN WILSON

NEWS EDITOR

The village of Gilman will switch its auditing firm to a lower-cost company based in Eau Claire.

At the December 13 village board meeting, board members approved hiring Bauman Associates of Eau Claire to the three-year auditing contract at a combined cost of $71,560.

The village had solicited quotes for auditing services and at the December 11 finance meeting committee members reviewed the proposals received from Wipfli, CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), and Bauman.

According to village president Jane DeStaercke, committee members used a point system, assigning points based on cost but also on their experience in working with the village in the past.

Bauman had the lowest price for the three- year contract of $71,560 and scored 80 points on the committee’s scoring tally. It was enough to beat out Wipfli, which had a score of 78 points and a price tag of $98,480. CLA had 70 points in the village’s ranking at a cost of $81,375.

The village previously worked with Wipfli.

“It will be a big switch, but it will be fine,” DeStaercke said.

In other action, the village board set the fee schedule for the coming year including things such as rental of park buildings and equipment, copy charges, and licenses. The only significant change noted was in the liquor licenses with it noted that in comparing with other area municipalities, Gilman’s rates were lower and had not been raised since 2020. The recommendation from the finance committee was to raise the Class A intoxicating liquor license fee to $250, up from $185 per year in the past and for the Class B intoxicating liquor license raising it from $275 to $325 per year. The full village board approved the fee schedule with the changes.

Although tax bills have already been sent out, the village board formally approved setting the property tax at $19.40 per $1,000 of value. This is the combined tax rate including the village as well as the village’s portion of the school district, county, and Chippewa Valley Technical College levies. While the tax rate went down, overall valuation of the village was up. According to clerk Candice Grunseth, tax bills in the village are up about 16% over last year.

In other action, the village board: ★ Approved the 2-year appointments of Patricia Jenson, Vonda Kinas, Shirley Williams, Josie Steinbach, Pat Welter, Val Kulesa, Grace Grunseth, Emma Grunseth, Becky Mann, and Dawn Chaplinski to serve as village election workers. Candice Grunseth noted the appointments are all unaffiliated.

* Approved the addition of Jamie Wilson representing the school district and Ericka Bertsinger representing the village board to the Western Taylor County Public Library board. Their terms expire in December 2026. They join current members Pat Welter, Sharon Hughes, Chris Kolasa, Lynn Webster, and Pat Ustianowski.

* Set a public hearing to review the updated floodplain ordinance for 5:30 p.m. on January 10. The village is in the process of adopting the state’s model floodplain ordinance. The action is required because FEMA updated floodplain maps for the state. It was noted that there were few changes to the maps impacting property in the village. The village board will take up action on the ordinance at that meeting.

* Set the village caucus for 5:45 p.m. on January 10 preceding the regular board meeting.