Change in state law needed to proceed
By Patricia Bogumil
Editor
The Waterford Town Board voted unanimously Monday night to allow the number of commissioners serving on the Waterford Sanitary District Board to change from three to five.
The town board’s vote is the first step in a formal process that will require a change in state law in order to take effect.
But already there’s controversy, with one WSD commissioner addressing the town board Monday night and asking that it not act.
Monday’s town action follows some discussion – but no recommendation made – at last month’s WSD commission meeting.
At that time, the WSD attorney advised that it is unlikely legislators will act to change state law unless a formal request is made by the town rather than the WSD board.
So, the town board acted, Town Chairman Robert Langmesser said Tuesday.
“The town board decided on its own because we want to protect the citizens,” he explained.
Langmesser said what has been happening at WSD in the last 15 years with “ridiculous salaries and ridiculous benefits” for employees is a “shame and a disgrace.”
Having five board members will help prevent the kind of cronyism in which two people can get on a board and then decide to vote together to set public policy, he explained.
But WSD commissioner Dan Dickinson, who won election to the board last month in a successful recall of Bill Gerard, spoke to the town board Monday night as a private citizen and asked that it not get ahead of upcoming changes expected at WSD.
Dickinson explained afterward that on the WSD Sept. 11 agenda is an item to begin a review of the entire structure of WSD – top to bottom, including the commission board – with an eye to making WSD positions task-driven rather than organization-based.
In his personal opinion, it seems best if town officials not get ahead of that process and instead wait to make sure what legislators are asked to do will be a good fit once changes are implemented at WSD, he said.
Dickinson also said he is concerned that by adding two more commissioners, WSD would add more costs to its budget to pay those new commissioners.
But Langmesser said he expects that the sum total now paid to three commissioners would stay the same and just be split between five commissioners.
Even if state law is changed, there is no requirement that WSD ever switch to a five-member board if commissioners decide against, Dickinson noted.
And WSD will still have plenty of time to implement changes to accommodate a five-member board, Langmesser said, because any change to state law will take months to achieve.
State Rep. David Craig (R-Big Bend) has advised that a bill proposing the change to state law needs to be submitted by legislators in January in order for it to be included in the state’s budgeting process, Langmesser said.
The back story
Over the last month, there have been communications between Langmesser and state legislators Craig and Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) about the issue.
Craig advised Langmesser in an Aug. 30 letter that he has confirmed with the Wisconsin Legislative Council that state law stipulates a three-member board for sanitary districts.
“If the Town Sanitary District wishes to increase in size, then this statute would have to be amended,” Craig advised.
The resolution approved Monday night explains that a move to a five-member board “would allow for better communications and more democracy.”
In a Sept. 11 letter that was sent to Craig along with the resolution, Langmesser further explains that “it has long been felt that a three-person board/commission has the potential to make one-sided decisions that may not be best for the district.”
The town is asking that the state offer sanitary districts the choice of having either a three- or five-member board, Langmesser stressed. The town is not asking that a five-member board be mandated for all, he said.
Tuesday, Craig described the town board’s vote as the first step in the process. He said that before moving forward, he will need to carefully research the full issue and its potential impact at both the local and state levels.
Craig said he would like to hear from members of the entire town board, as well as any other boards impacted.
Dickinson said that he expects to have the five-member board issue placed on the WSD October agenda for discussion.
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