The Owen Common Council held their regular meeting on Tuesday, August 27 with no members of the public present.

Police Chief Patrick Fehlman said he believed the dog fence had been put up at 730 E. 4th Street and he has had no further complaints from the neighbors. Alderperson Bob Wilczek said the fence is up around the entire yard and is five feet tall. The council had originally said the fence had to be completely enclosed, but since there have been no new complaints voted to approve the fence as is.

In regard to the property nuisance abatement at 613 E. 2nd Street, Wilczek said that Chief Fehlman has spoken to the attorney and the city has two options. They can move forward with the city abating the nuisance without a court order. The attorney would send the property owner a 30-day notice to clean it up and the city would abate the nuisance. The other option is to do the 30-day notice and then get a court order to remove the junk on the property. Wilczek said it would cost a little more but also protects the city and their employees. He also recommended hiring a clean-up crew rather than public works employees doing it. With a court order any costs can be assessed on the property taxes. When asked how long it would take, Chief Fehlman said the attorney can send the letter and then it will just depend on when the issue can get on the court calendar. The council voted to go ahead with sending the letter and then proceed with a court order if the property isn’t cleaned up within the 30 days.

Wilczek also gave an update on the Finance Committee meeting. In regard to the unbudgeted expenses, the lawsuit settlement is a TIF expense and the Kerry Ingredients chargeback goes against the tax roll, not the general fund. The extra cost for the audit will still be a general fund expense. But it was discovered that the reimbursements to the city from the Owen-Withee Police Department weren’t showing up in the budget because the auditors consider that a liability. Wilczek said no adjustments are needed to the budget at this time.

Wilczek went on to say that they started looking at the budget and some items will have to be looked at for next year’s budget as they are a payment, but not really a budgeted revenue item, as the amount is not a guaranteed amount. Owen’s state shared revenue is increasing by $93,000 and that money needs to be used for police, fire and public works. DPW Chad Smith would like to take any unused street funds and put them into savings for next year. Chief Fehlman would like to hire a third officer. Wilczek said that Owen always had three officers in the past and they are one of a very few that only have two officers. The state recommends more given Owen-Withee’s population and Wilczek feels that an extra person is needed. Owen’s cost would be $25,636.65, which is less than a third of the additional shared revenue.

The health insurance will be going up about $25 per week per person. This item was tabled to give the Personnel Committee time to look at the new policy information.

Delinquent water bills were discussed. One customer sold their property and the bill did not get paid. The council recommended contacting the attorney who handled the sale and if the bill isn’t paid it will be assessed to the new owner’s property taxes. The new owner could be offered a pay agreement rather than have to pay it all at once. There is also an issue of some accounts that Workhorse inactivated owing money.

Kerry Ingredients is in litigation over their 2023 property tax assessment and are also fighting their 2024 assessment. Alderperson Ray Kilty talked to the person at the state who handles assessments and a new system is now in place. Kerry also still owes the city about $54,000 for their water bill. The council told Clerk Rau and DPW Smith to send a letter to Kerry and that if the bill is not paid to follow the needed procedures to shut the water off.

Municode was again on the agenda. Chief Fehlman said that it has taken the Ordinance Committee months just to get through the fee schedule. In beginning to look at Chapter 1 of the ordinances, there are many state statutes referenced that are not current. He felt it will take the committee years to properly cross reference everything in the book with state statutes and then it will still have to be checked by an attorney. He said the time the committee is spending on this plus legal fees could end up costing as much as Municode. Municode will get it done in two years, update it as needed, and will provide online access to both staff and residents. The cost would be payable in installments. Chief Fehlman will get an updated quote and it will be put on the next agenda. Alderperson Pam Jaffke wondered if the city’s insurance company would reimburse a portion of the cost like they reimburse the police department for Lexipol.

The city attorney has told the mayor they need a policy in regard to contracts and developers agreements that would allow for review by the city attorney before they are approved. This was tabled until the next meeting.

Linda Plautz was appointed to the library board to replace Nancy Garrett.

Under Other Reports, Alderperson Ken Martine said the Car Show had a good turnout and he would have some numbers for the next council meeting. Alderperson Jason Thornton said the fire district had approved going forward with a feasibility study to study what to do about building needs.

Personnel and Finance Committee meetings were set to begin work on the 2024 budget.