Oconto County Board compensation plan revised

Supervisors approve pay plan, new district boundaries
By: 
Warren Bluhm
Editor-in-chief

The new Oconto County Board committee structure is still being tweaked, but the pay for the 2022-24 supervisors has been set.

That’s because compensation needs to be established prior to Dec. 1, when nomination papers begin circulating for the next term, County Clerk Kim Pytleski told the board Nov. 10.

The new compensation plan passed 26-2, with supervisors Gregory Sekela and Kenneth Linzmeyer dissenting.

Currently supervisors are paid a per-diem fee for attending meetings of the full board and its 14 standing committees. That creates some disparity among the board members, who serve on as few as one committee or as many as five.

Under the system given tentative approval in October, the number of standing committees will be reduced to six, and each supervisor will be given just one committee assignment.

The new pay structure provides most supervisors with a $200 monthly salary and a per diem of $100 per meeting, or about $3,600 a year. They would get an additional $60 per diem for meetings of non-standing committees, such as the Library Board, that don’t necessarily meet every month.

Pytleski said on average that would give them approximately the same compensation as they receive now.

The chair and vice chair will each receive more compensation based on their extra duties. The chair is in line for a $15,000 annual salary but will not receive additional pay for attending meetings. Current Chairman Paul Bednarek attends several committee meetings every month in addition to coming to the courthouse as often as three or four days a week.

The vice chair will receive a $4,900 base salary with the same per-diem pay as other supervisors.

County Administrator Kevin Hamann acknowledged that having a base salary could be seen as reducing the incentive to show up for meetings, but he said there’s more to being a county board member than attending meetings.

“You have other duties other than going to the county board and committee,” Hamann said. “People call you; you have to do other things. That’s what the salary is for.”

Pytleski added that sometimes supervisors get sick or otherwise just can’t physically come to a meeting.

“That’s what we’ve seen in the past, too. Somebody will fall ill the day before, and they’ve done all the work. They’ve read everything; they’ve answered for their constituents. They’ve let me know if they have any objections,” she said.

The board also gave final approval to the new boundaries between the 31 supervisory districts, based on the results of the 2020 U.S. Census.

Supervisors had instructed Hamann to draft the plan without regard to where incumbents live. As a result, several of the new districts have no incumbent, and two or more incumbents live in several other districts and would have to run against each other.

Districts with more than one incumbent include District 6 in the Town of Chase, where Supervisors Dennis Kroll and Robert Pott reside; District 9 in Abrams and Morgan, home to Allan Stranz, Fran Wranosky and Leonard Wahl; District 11 in the Towns of Oconto and Pensaukee, home to Diane Nichols and Karl Ballestad; District 15 in the Town of Little River and City of Oconto, where John Matravers and Rose Stellmacher live; and District 22 in the towns of Brazeau and Spruce, where Bednarek and David Parmentier reside.

Districts with open seats include District 3 (parts of Little Suamico and Chase), District 7 (Chase Wards 4 and 5), District 8 (parts of Abrams and Morgan), District 12 (Oconto Wards 1 and 2), District 20 (parts of Stiles and the city of Oconto Falls), and District 28 (parts of How and Breed).

Nomination papers must be submitted by 5 p.m. Jan. 4. Incumbents who decide not to run for reelection are required to submit a notice of non-candidacy by Dec. 25.