The City of Ladysmith Common Council met with a "standing room only" crowd for their proposed 2009 budget which would have increased taxes by 19.45%. The Council listened and will now present a new budget with an increase of 8.81% at a December 1 Public Hearing.

It is officially "That time of Year" ... Deer hunting has started ... Followed by The Holidays"

No major issue will be discussed by local government in northern Wisconsin until January.
(Except the Burnett County Sign Ordinance Public Hearing on December 2.)

I'll keep following the news just in case ... but pickings will be real slim.

The City of Ladysmith Finance Committee recommended the 20% tax hike go to Public Hearing.
The public will be allowed to comment on the budget proposal during a hearing scheduled for 6:45 p.m. Monday, Nov. 24, at city hall, 120 Miner Ave. West.

Could be an interesting Public Hearing.

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Governor Doyle's Northern Wisconsin Economic Summit was recently held in Rhinelander. NewsoftheNorth.Net reported ...

It’s a chicken-or-egg question of which comes first to the Northwoods: a thriving business community or high-speed Internet?

Judging from the discussion at an advisory task force held yesterday in a meeting room at the Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport, the answer is the latter.

The meeting was convened by State Senator-elect Jim Holperin of the 12th District and included a dozen or so representatives of Northwoods-based businesses and organizations who are affected by the lack of high-speed connectivity in northern Wisconsin...

After the task force meeting, Holperin said he came away with a list of five or six recommendations. “We’ll follow up with one, two or three key ideas,” he said, “and get the state to give a yes or a no answer on them—I think that’s what people are looking for. We have very entrepreneurial people in northern Wisconsin who want a definitive answer—positive or negative—so they can move forward.

For areas that do not have high speed internet this is a very important economic development issue. One person offices even need this service.

The Burnett County Zoning Committee will be holding a Public Hearing on their proposed Sign Ordinance on December 2 at 9:00 am. It should be a full house. The Siren Chamber of Commerce has sent out an alert to their members asking them to review the proposed changes. The proposed changes are on the Burnett County website. Follow the links to the Zoning Committee Agendas.

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Bayfield County Comprehensive Planning Committee has been holding Public Input meetings. They plan on having a compressed schedule of meetings in order to meet the January 2010 deadline.

November RANWW Report

Barron County

Barron County held an open house for new FEMA flood maps in September. The 90 day review period is now in process. County officials are very happy with the revised maps. The how and why of these new maps can be found in this article of the Chetek Alert.

The bottom line of these new maps is ...

"Prior to the new maps, 1,370 structures in Barron County were identified as being in the floodplain of a body of water. With the new maps, that number has dropped to 167 structures.

What does that mean for property owners in Barron County? For one thing, says County Administrator Duane Hebert, owners of property that has been removed from the floodplain will no longer have to carry flood insurance.

According to floodsmart.gov, federal flood insurance premiums on a $100,000 house total $1,143 annually.

"It's a good use of taxpayer dollars," says Hebert. "But there's more to it than just saving on flood insurance premiums."

Hebert adds that the mapping information is used by county law enforcement and the emergency management department to determine risks and possible damage to property."

There are multiple uses for this information; there's no doubt we'll get our money's worth."

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The Barron County Board of Supervisors have voted to abolish the County Forester position. It was not without controversy. The Chetek Alert reported ...

According to the resolution, the county would contract for timber services from an outside source, and all other duties of the department would be dispersed to other employees. The change is expected to save the county $50,000 per year.

"It's absolutely asinine that we don't want to have a county forester," said Supervisor Terry Henck. "An independent forester isn't going to care about the condition of the county's forests; they're only going to care about the bottom line."

Henck pointed out that the county has 75 employees in the Department of Health and Human Services, including four receptionists."And we can't afford to have one person look after the forests of the county?" Henck asked.

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The Barron County Comprehensive Planning Committee is hold Public Input sessions this month in Cumberland, Rice Lake and Barron. The Cumberland meeting had 12 in attendance. The Rice Lake Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday November 18 at the UW-Barron County from 6-8pm. The Barron Meeting is scheduled for Thursday November 20 from 1:30-3:30 pm at the Courthouse. Starting in January the plan is to start meeting more than once a month in order to meet the 2010 deadline for passage.

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A real battle is brewing in Rice Lake. When the Developers Agreement was signed between the City of Rice Lake and Lakeview Hospital it was agreed that both parties would negotiate in good faith to come to an agreement for the new hospital to contribute a Payment in Lieu of Taxes(PILOT). Those discussions are not going well. A building permit for the new hospital will not be granted by the City of Rice Lake until an agreement is reached.

Bayfield County

Bayfield County is looking at wind power. Seriously, looking at wind power. The Ashland Daily Press reports ...

Bayfield County could reasonably consider installing a commercial scale wind turbine on one of two possible locations in the county, says a preliminary assessment from a consulting professional engineer.

The report, released to members of the Bayfield County Board Executive Committee Thursday said a large-scale wind turbine would be "reasonably productive" if built on a Mount Ashwabay site or another Bayfield hills site west of the City of Bayfield.

County administrator Mark Abeles-Allison noted that on Madeline Island, the Town of La Pointe is on the verge of beginning its own detailed wind studies with a goal of becoming energy-independent.

This does not make any wind proposal a done deal as there would be massive political input from both sides.

Burnett County

The Burnett County Comprehensive Planning Committee had a meeting planned for November ... but no agenda was ever posted. Let's hope they don't wait until January to get started again.

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An Attorney General opinion has dealt a serious blow to a very critical "quality of life" issue in Burnett County. According to this report in the Burnett County Sentinel...

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said "the mutual aid statute does not apply to tribal law enforcement agencies operated by any of Wisconsin's 11 Native American tribes and bands."

What this decision means locally is that the St. Croix Tribal Police Department can't offer mutual aid assistance off-reservation."It's a safety issue for our officers," member Emmett Byrne pointed out. "If one of our deputies needs assistance and a tribal officer is closest but can't respond because of this ruling, our officer could be in jeopardy."

"One of our biggest concerns is we don't have a K-9 unit like the tribal P.D. does," Stacy Hopke pointed out. "We'd have to go to Polk County for the nearest unit."Hopke was presenting the sheriff's report on behalf of Sheriff Dean Roland.

Committee member Gary Lundberg agreed."This decision handicaps the tribal police too," he said. "If they have an officer in Hertel, that officer can't go lights and sirens to an emergency in Danbury or Barron county until he is on tribal land."

"This puts us at a big disadvantage," Lundberg added. "We just lost 12 or 13 officers, not to mention all the equipment they have."Lundberg said if there is any bright side to this situation, it's the fact the decision is being challenged.

Rusk County

The Rusk County Comprehensive Planning Committee has not met since August. Tick tock... tick tock. January 2010 looms.

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While every local unit of govenment has had their share of problems balancing this years budget, the City of Ladysmith seems to be having the biggest problem in the area. According to the Ladysmith News ...

The City of Ladysmith is planning a special finance committee meeting early next week to consider additional cuts in a proposed 2009 city budget calling for double digit spending, tax levy and tax rate hikes.

There is no firm date or time set yet, but the meeting will likely be held next Tuesday evening (Nov. 18) at city hall. It will be an open meeting for the public to attend, but it was not immediately clear if public comment will be taken by the finance committee.

City officials have proposed a 2009 municipal budget that calls for a 20.64 percent property tax rate hike.

Under the proposal, the tax rate would increase from $5.91 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2008 to a new level of $7.13 per $1,000 of assessed value the following year.

Ouch!

Sawyer County

Sawyer County will be looking at changes to their sign ordinance in January. Of particular interest to Realtors® is language that regulates the size and location of For Sale signs. A meeting of Realtor® members and Zoning Administrator Bill Christmanwas recently held. The RANWW is in the process of gathering input from members in order to make recommendations at that January meeting.

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The October meeting of the Sawyer County Comprehensive Planning Committee started to get down to the nuts and bolts of planning. They started to hear from citizens. RANWW member Gary Nathan was one of many at the meeting who noted the lack of affordable housing in the county. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday November 19 at 6:30 pm.

What the Comprehensive Planning Committee decides to recommend regarding affordable housing will be interesting to follow. Every planning committee of any kind I have attended in Sawyer County over the years identifies affordable housing as a top priority.

Washburn County

Washburn County will once again be attempting to pass their Comprehensive Plan in January after a new fresh printed copy has been provided to all County Board Supervisors.

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A strange story that has no relevence, but I found very interesting, comes out of Washburn County. It was reported in both the Spooner Advocate and Washburn County Register...

Washburn County Judge Eugene Harrington will soon be reunited with his personalized gavel, after it went missing 10 years ago.

Harrington said that when he was sworn in as judge in 1997, his father gave him a gravel engraved with his name and new title. However, the gavel disappeared from the courthouse not long after that.

Recently, when Washburn County Sheriff's Department officials searched a Spooner residence on a drug case, Harrington said, they found the gavel prominently displayed on a shelf.

The woman not only faces multiple charges for marijuana paraphernalia and possession of THC within 1,000 feet of a school, but possibly a stolen property charge, as well.

The woman said in court Monday afternoon that she had just moved to the area and was renting the house from someone; the gavel has been missing for over 10 years.

While the gavel is being held as evidence in the case, the district attorney said the judge will soon get it back.

An Attorney General opinion has dealt a serious blow to a very critical "quality of life" issue in Burnett County.

According to this report in the Burnett County Sentinel...

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said "the mutual aid statute does not apply to tribal law enforcement agencies operated by any of Wisconsin's 11 Native American tribes and bands."
What this decision means locally is that the St. Croix Tribal Police Department can't offer mutual aid assistance off-reservation.

"It's a safety issue for our officers," member Emmett Byrne pointed out. "If one of our deputies needs assistance and a tribal officer is closest but can't respond because of this ruling, our officer could be in jeopardy."

"One of our biggest concerns is we don't have a K-9 unit like the tribal P.D. does," Stacy Hopke pointed out. "We'd have to go to Polk County for the nearest unit."

Hopke was presenting the sheriff's report on behalf of Sheriff Dean Roland.

Committee member Gary Lundberg agreed.

"This decision handicaps the tribal police too," he said. "If they have an officer in Hertel, that officer can't go lights and sirens to an emergency in Danbury or Barron county until he is on tribal land."

"This puts us at a big disadvantage," Lundberg added. "We just lost 12 or 13 officers, not to mention all the equipment they have."

Lundberg said if there is any bright side to this situation, it's the fact the decision is being challenged.

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Sawyer County will be looking at changes to their sign ordinance in January. Of particular interest to Realtors® is language that regulates the size and location of For Sale signs. A meeting of Realtor® members and Zoning Administrator Bill Christman was held earlier this week. The Realtors® Association of Northwestern Wisconsin will be making their recommendations to the Zoning Committee at that January meeting.

The first of three Comprehensive Planning Workshops will be held this evening in Cumberland. The workshop starts at 6:00 pm at the Augustana Lutheran Church. On November 18 the Rice Lake workshop starts a 6:00 pm at the UW-Barron County campus. The final workshop will be held in Barron on November 20 at 1:30 at the Barron County Courthouse.

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The next Burnett County Comprehensive Planning Committee will be held on November 17 at 1:00 pm. This meeting will be held at the The Lodge at Crooked Lake in Siren.

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The Rusk County Comprehensive Planning Committee has not met since August.

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Washburn County will once again be attempting to pass their Comprehensive Plan in January after a new fresh printed copy has been provided to all County Board Supervisors.

The October meeting of the Sawyer County Comprehensive Planning Committee started to get down to the nuts and bolts of planning. They started to hear from citizens.

The Sawyer County Record reported on the meeting...

Access to affordable, adequate housing remains a big problem in Sawyer County, according to guest speakers who addressed the Sawyer County Comprehensive Plan Development Committee at its Oct. 22 meeting...

“We continue to have this perplexing problem of (a lack of) good, clean, safe, affordable, accessible single-family homes and apartments for rent in Sawyer County,” Gary Nathan added.

What the Comprehensive Planning Committee decides to recommend regarding affordable housing will be interesting to follow. Every planning committee of any kind I have attended in Sawyer County over the years identifies affordable housing as a top priority.

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Barron County held an open house for new FEMA flood maps in September. The 90 day review period is now in process. County officials are very happy with the revised maps.

The how and why of these new maps can be found in this article of the Chetek Alert.

The bottom line of these new maps is ...

"Prior to the new maps, 1,370 structures in Barron County were identified as being in the floodplain of a body of water. With the new maps, that number has dropped to 167 structures.

What does that mean for property owners in Barron County? For one thing, says County Administrator Duane Hebert, owners of property that has been removed from the floodplain will no longer have to carry flood insurance.

According to floodsmart.gov, federal flood insurance premiums on a $100,000 house total $1,143 annually.

"It's a good use of taxpayer dollars," says Hebert. "But there's more to it than just saving on flood insurance premiums."

Hebert adds that the mapping information is used by county law enforcement and the emergency management department to determine risks and possible damage to property."

There are multiple uses for this information; there's no doubt we'll get our money's worth."

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Bayfield County is looking at wind power. Seriously, looking at wind power.

The Ashland Daily Press reports ...

Bayfield County could reasonably consider installing a commercial scale wind turbine on one of two possible locations in the county, says a preliminary assessment from a consulting professional engineer.

The report, released to members of the Bayfield County Board Executive Committee Thursday said a large-scale wind turbine would be "reasonably productive” if built on a Mount Ashwabay site or another Bayfield hills site west of the City of Bayfield.

This does not make any wind proposal a done deal as there would be massive political input from both sides. In addition to county interest ...

County administrator Mark Abeles-Allison noted that on Madeline Island, the Town of La Pointe is on the verge of beginning its own detailed wind studies with a goal of becoming energy-independent.