Powerline grant changes ahead

County looks to limit amount, types of projects, eligible groups as funds decrease

Taylor County is tightening the belt to help make Powerline Impact Fee grant funds last longer.

At the May 8 county finance meeting, committee members supported a plan to make changes to the types of projects that qualify, who may apply and the maximum amount groups may receive.

When the Arrowhead to Weston 345kv transmission line was built, counties and impacted municipalities received impact fee funds. The money came in a lump sum at the start followed by annual payments that have been decreasing over time. This year the payment from American Transmission Company was $26,565, which is down by about half from payments received just a few years ago. The payments are scheduled to decline going into the future.

Taylor County has used the impact fee funds for a num-

See COUNTY on page 8 ber of projects including replacement of windows and upgrades at the courthouse as well as projects throughout the county in cooperation with local groups. These have included everything from roofs for senior centers, ballfield improvements and park projects throughout the county.

With the number of projects requested, and the dollar amount of those projects increasing, and the money available decreasing, there was concern about the need to curtail spending on grants.

Committee member Mike Bub presented a proposal to change the guidelines. He noted that some of the projects approved in the past would not fit under the new guidelines.

“I believe we need to reset the guidelines. Just because we have funded some projects in the past does not mean the county board cannot set new guidelines going forward,” Bub said.

Bub’s proposal included the following:

• Applications from private businesses will not be accepted.

• Applications to repair, upgrade or fix buildings will not be accepted. Bub noted these projects should be funded by a town, village, city or county buildings and grounds budgets.

• Projects for school districts should not be funded. It was noted that school districts are taxing entities and have their own resources to do projects.

• Community projects are encouraged that provide recreation and improvements to a community that is used by the public. Examples are parks, community fishing docks and hiking trails.

• Maximum request would be set at $5,000.

In addition, the proposal calls for setting aside 10% of the money received each year to have a reserve in case there was a larger project that came down the pipeline that the county board wished to support. Based on this year’s amount it would be setting aside $2,600.

Committee chairman Chuck Zenner agreed with the proposed guidelines and said there also needs to be additional monitoring and accountability to ensure the projects take place and the money requested is used what is was for.

“I don’t want to send out the money and they never do the project,” Zenner said.

While some supported holding the funds until work began, it was noted that some smaller organizations need the funds up-front in order to do things like order equipment or supplies. In that case, committee members suggested the groups show a copy of the invoice to show that the money was being used as requested.

“We are giving away money to very good causes and are asking for a little better communication back,” Zenner said.

Mildbrand said he supported not giving to school districts. He noted that while school districts have their own ability to tax, the size and scope of school projects is often outside of the scope the county is able to handle. “School district projects are big money projects,” Mildbrand said.

Committee members also supported having more teeth in requiring follow up and reporting from groups. They noted that if groups don’t comply with the rules, they will be ineligible for funding in the future. The proposal will go to the full county board in June.

In other business, committee members:

• Discussed the potential to continue providing county budget funds to support the Taylor County Housing Authority. While TCHA is housed in the courthouse, it is an independent agency and its employee reports to that group’s governing board. Changes in funding from state and federal programs, resulted in a budget shortfall in recent years and the county board has approved funding to subsidize the office to keep it available for local residents. The concern now is if those services are being provided or if the county would be better served by working with Northwest Regional Planning to provide them on a more regional basis. “The transition might be a little touchy, but a year from now it would be worth it,” Mildbrand said,

• Approved an ordinance change to move some duties that were historically in the clerk’s office to the finance department. This is a clean up from staffing changes made in recent years.

“Just because we have funded some projects in the past does not mean the county board cannot set new guidelines going forward.”

— Supervisor Mike Bub