04/25/2019- Change could be coming to the way the Menominee County Board of Commissioners does business. It’s part of an effort to increase board efficiency and facilitate better conversations about the issues and decisions that impact residents and the county as a whole. County Administrator Jason Carviou brought up the topic at an Executive Committee meeting Wednesday saying under the current structure, some issues were being discussed many times over before any action was taken and that slows the county’s forward progress.
One contributing factor is that the information from the committee dealing with specific issues doesn’t always get to the board before they’re asked to make a decision on it. And, Commissioner Larry Phelps says even when it does, not everyone on the board is doing their research beforehand.
It was suggested that the county eliminate their Personnel and Finance Committees and instead bring the topics that would be presented there to the County Board meetings for discussion by a Committee of the Whole after necessary action items from the previous meeting are taken care of. County Clerk Marc Kleimann says the current County Board agenda structure already allows for this, it’s a matter of taking advantage of it.
Carviou and Kleimann will work to update the county’s by-laws and policies to reflect the elimination of some committees in favor of working as a Committee of the Whole. A formal proposal is expected to be brought forth in the coming months.