A.G. OPINION HAS COUNTIES SCRAMBLING
Friday, November 4th, 2011 -- 12:30 PM
Clark County isn?t the only county in the state grappling with how to address a recent Attorney General?s opinion.Last week, J.B. Van Hollen opined that a sitting County Board member cannot serve as the county's permanent administrative coordinator. He said that arrangement would constitute a conflict of interest.
The Clark County Board, on the advice of Corporation Counsel Lyndsey Brunette, took swift action at their meeting Tuesday to rescind their appointment of Board Chairman Wayne Hendrickson to that post, and then reappoint him ?interim? administrative coordinator as they decide how to proceed.
"We need to look at the legal options to see if there are ways to let these counties use a system that seems to have worked well for them so far, and still be in keeping with the Attorney General's opinion," reason John Reinemann, Legislative Director for the Wisconsin Counties Association, who says he?s still trying figure out what this all means.
Clark County is one of about one dozen Wisconsin counties that appoint a board member to serve as administrative coordinator every two years, to coincide with supervisory elections. The coordinator is tasked with ??coordinating all administrative and management functions of the county government not otherwise vested by law in boards or commission, or in other elected officers.?
The A.G.?s opinion has confused some observers, seeing state statue actually requires counties that don?t have a county executive or administrator to appoint an elected or appointed official to serve as administrative coordinator.
But Van Hollen says, because the county board selects the administrative coordinator, a supervisor must resign from the board before accepting the position.
"We may find we have to ask the legislature for some clarification here," he says.
In Clark County, the administrative coordinator is paid a salary of around $6,000, far less than the typical salary of a county executive or administrator.
Reinemann says the WCA is still gathering information before formally advising counties what to do.
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