2.05 Standing committees (6/17/14) | Municipal Code of Kenosha County

2.05 Standing committees (6/17/14).

(1) The Standing Committees of the County Board shall be as follows:

(a) Finance and Administration Committee

(b) Judiciary and Law Enforcement Committee

(d) Planning, Development and Extension Education Committee

(e) Human Services Committee

(f) Executive Committee

(g) Legislative Committee

1. All matters relating to purchasing, finance, taxes, budgets, assessments, audits, the sale, lease, purchase or disposition of any county lands or buildings (except highway right-of-way), economic development, Deferred Compensation, the Office of the County Clerk, the Office of the County Treasurer, the Office of the Register of Deeds, the Housing Authority, and the following Divisions of the Department of Administration: Financial Services, Information Services, and the Office of the Director which are to come before the County Board shall be referred to the Finance and Administration Committee.

2. Pursuant to section 59.52(12)(a) of the Wisconsin Statutes, the Finance and Administration Committee is delegated the power of the County Board in regard to current accounts, claims, demands, or causes of action against the County where the amount does not exceed $5,000.

3. All matters relating to personnel matters arising out of Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 111, employee classification, reclassification, labor contracts, collective bargaining, employee safety and working conditions, insurance, risk management, and the Department of Administration Division of Personnel Services which are to come before the County Board shall be referred to the Finance and Administration Committee.

1. All matters relating to law enforcement, the jail, the house of corrections, the court system, the Sheriff’s Department, the Office of Juvenile Intake, the Department of Administration Division of Emergency Services, the Department of Corrections, Conservation Wardens, the Office of the Clerk of Courts, and the Office of the District Attorney which are to come before the County Board shall be referred to the Judiciary and Law Enforcement Committee.

2. The Committee shall have the authority to review and act upon licenses and permits as set forth in Chapter 8 of the Municipal Code of Kenosha County.

1. All matters relating to highways, roads, dams, parks, recreation, and the Department of Public Works which are to come before the County Board shall be referred to the Public Works and Facilities Committee.

2. The Committee shall have the powers of a county park commission as defined in Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 27 and the powers of the county highway committee as defined in Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 83.

3. The Committee shall have the power to adopt rules and regulations for the administration of County Parks as set forth in section 10.02 of the Municipal Code of Kenosha County.

4. All matters relating to major repairs, remodeling, expansion, construction, demolition, purchase, sale, or lease of all county-owned buildings and grounds, including Kemper Center and the Historical Society which are to come before the County Board shall be referred to the Public Works and Facilities Committee.

1. All matters relating to land use planning, development, shore land and floodplain issues, subdivision control, sanitation, interim reapportionment, the County Surveyor’s Office, and the Department of Planning and Development, excluding the land conservation function, which are to come before the County Board shall be referred to the Planning, Development and Extension Education Committee.

2. The Planning, Development and Extension Education Committee shall act as the agent of the County Board in matters pertaining to county planning and development as outlined in the Wisconsin Statutes, section 59.69 as amended.

3. The Planning, Development and Extension Education Committee shall have the powers as set forth in Chapter 12 of the Municipal Code of Kenosha County in general and as set forth in section 12.03–12.04 of the Municipal Code of Kenosha County specifically.

4. All matters relating to the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension Office (including concerns related to agriculture, home economics, horticulture, 4-H youth development, and Community, Natural Resource, and Economic Development (CNRED)), soil and water conservation, and the Department of Planning and Development land conservation function which are to come before the County Board shall be referred to the Planning, Development and Extension Education Committee.

(e) Human Services Committee. All matters relating to community health, aging services, Brookside, the public welfare, child support, the Office of the Medical Examiner and the Department of Human Services which are to come before the County Board shall be referred to the Human Services Committee.

(f) Executive Committee. All matters relating to strategic planning for the greater good of Kenosha County and other matters as deemed necessary and proper by the County Board Chair shall be referred to the Executive Committee.

(g) Legislative Committee. All matters relating to the polices and rules of procedure of the County Board, intergovernmental relations, intergovernmental communications, pending or proposed legislation, the Office of the Corporation Counsel and other governmental matters which are to come before the County Board shall be referred to the Legislative Committee.

(a) Standing Committees of the County Board may at the discretion of the Board Chair consist of five (5) or seven (7) members except that the Finance and Administration Committee must have seven (7) members.

(b) Every supervisor shall serve on at least one committee.

(d) No chairman of another standing committee may serve on the Finance and Administration Committee.

(e) The Finance and Administration Committee Chairman may not serve on any other standing committee except the Executive Committee.

(f) No more than two members from any one standing committee may serve on the Finance and Administration Committee.

(g) The Executive Committee shall consist of the Board Chair, Vice-Chair and each Committee Chair. In the event the Vice Chair is also a Committee Chair, the Chair of the Board shall appoint another Supervisor of his or her choosing.

(h) No supervisor shall simultaneously serve as the chair of a standing committee and as the chair of a County affiliated board, committee, or commission. (5/17/16)

(a) The chair of the County Board shall appoint a chair, and 1st vice-chair of each standing committee. Each standing committee shall elect a 2nd vice-chair from the remaining members of the committee. (3/20/18)

(b) The chair shall set the time and place for all meetings of the committee, shall check and list committee meeting dates with the County Clerk to avoid conflicts with other committee meetings, and shall report committee attendance to the County Clerk who shall maintain a record thereof.

(c) The committee 1st vice-chair shall act as chair in the absence of the chair. The committee 2nd vice-chair shall act as chair in the event that both the committee chair and 1st vice-chair are absent. In the event that the committee chair, 1st vice-chair, and 2nd vice-chair are all absent, and the committee still has a quorum, the most senior member of the county board who is a member of the committee shall act as chair. (3/20/18)

(d) It is the responsibility of the committee chair, in cooperation with the committee secretary and appropriate county oversight staff, to ensure that all proceeding minutes are recorded and posted to the County website in accordance with this policy.

All meeting minutes are to be documented using a digital audio recording device and a written text of the minutes.

The full digital recording from any county board standing or ad hoc committee open meeting or public hearing is to be posted, in its unedited form, to the county website within five (5) business days of the proceeding. This rule shall also apply to the county board of health and the county board of adjustments.

Closed session minutes are to be recorded on a separate audio track and are not to be posted to the website. They may be posted at a later date when limited access is no longer needed and in accordance with the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law.

Written minutes are intended to be a brief synopsis of the discussion with sufficient detail to provide an understanding of the topic, points of discussion, motion(s) made and action taken.

Written minutes are required to note the start and end time of the committee proceedings as well as the approximate start time of each specific agenda item to allow the public to efficiently search the audio recordings for a full audio transcript of a specific topic.

All written minutes must be approved by the respective committee at the next regularly scheduled committee meeting with all written minutes posted to the County website within five (5) business days of the date of the meeting at which the written minutes were approved. No draft meeting minutes will be allowed to be posted to the website.

The County Clerk shall keep minutes of County Board meetings and final approved minutes shall be posted within five (5) business days of approval; the Board agenda shall be kept on file with the Clerk, be posted on the county’s web site and published in the proceedings of the County Board as required by law.

(e) No item may be scheduled for inclusion on the agenda for a regular meeting of the county board unless it has already been considered by the appropriate committee or committees, unless the County Board Chair, in consultation with the item’s submitter, determines that the matter is of a time sensitive nature requiring the board’s attention. This section does not prevent a matter from being scheduled for the first of two required readings prior to committee consideration. (1/17/17)

(a) Each standing committee shall study, conduct investigations, and make recommendations and shall perform such other duties as the County Board may from time to time direct relative to their areas of responsibility.

(b) Each standing committee shall meet as necessary with officials of the appropriate divisions, departments, boards, or commissions.

(c) Each standing committee may refer matters relating to their areas of responsibility to the County Board. In order to sign a resolution or ordinance, as a committee member, a supervisor must have been in attendance of the committee meeting at which the measure was discussed.

1. Each standing committee shall place an item on its agenda for citizens’ comments and shall report to the County Board such concerns as expressed by citizens.

2. Each standing committee shall endeavor to respond to citizens’ comments and inquiries when requested to by citizens.

(e) Each standing committee shall have the power to subpoena in accordance with Wisconsin State statutes.

(6) All appointments, including reappointments, to boards, commissions, or department director positions by the County Executive and/or the County Board Chair and all approvals of division head nominees which may come before the County Board shall be referred by the Chair of the County Board to one or more appropriate standing committees. The committee(s) shall investigate, study, and inter-view perspective appointees and nominees requiring County Board approval and shall perform such other duties as the County Board may from time to time direct relative to such reviews. The committee(s) shall interview perspective appointees and nominees with respect to their familiarity with Kenosha County; their expertise and qualifications for service on the board, commission, or position in question; their understanding of the rules of procedure and due process; and their philosophy with respect to any issue or concern which the board, commission, department, or division in question will, in all likelihood, face or be subjected to.