New County Judge and the Resignation of Board Member Hightlights Meeting in Jefferson County
The March 14 meeting of the Jefferson County Board saw very few announcements, but those made were nevertheless vital to continuing the county’s success going forward. Most noteworthy was the introduction of Robert F. Dehring Jr., who as of April 1, 2017 will be serving as the Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge in branch III. Dehring will also be taking on the role of Chairperson of Jefferson County Security and Facilities Committee on the same day. In response to his confirmation, Dehring appeared in front of the county board, saying that upon hearing about the vacancy by the retiring David J. Wambach, “I eagerly got my application together, and when I got the call from Governor Walker I could not be happier to serve as your judge”.
The other major topic of discussion was the announcement of Tim Smith’s resignation from the board as the representative for the county’s 29th district. According to Jefferson County Board Chair Jim Schroeder, Smith’s replacement is will be determined by county board approval. Schroeder made it public knowledge that three candidates are currently in the running for Smith’s spot, with a decision to be made at the board’s April meeting.
Several speakers held brief speeches in concerns to the some last minute issues from 2016, as well as a speech by Dean Boes, the head of the Wisconsin Municipal Mutual Insurance Company. Boes made it known that this is not an insurance company does business with just anyone, stating “we are fairly selective of who we chose to best represent the county and the company”. WMMIC focuses mostly on liability claims, with plans written by their members, with Boes noting the next plan rewrite is set for 2018. Staci Hoffman, the Register of Deeds reported an extremely good 2016 in regards to benefits for Jefferson County noting that “$305,000 made it back the general fund last year after expenses”. Barb Frank, the County Clerk complimented Hoffman for a job well done, making note of award Hoffman received for her work last year, while acknowledging their combined efforts during the November election and the state recount. Frank joked that “the election committee said it was our Super Bowl, that we were extremely lucky, but it sure did not feel like it, they were wrong,” in regards to Wisconsin recounting of the presidential votes.
The final major issue regarded the County’s strategic plan which has not been updated since 2010. All other issues that came to vote saw no debate or objections and unanimous voting across the board for the 28 of 30 available representatives in favor of the various decisions presented by County Chair Jim Schroeder. The Jefferson County Board’s next meeting is scheduled for April 18, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.
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