The Withee Village Board held their regular monthly meeting on Monday, October 13, 2025.

Under the Payroll Report, Board President Larry Klabon asked a question about the overtime for DPW Derek Schad. It was in regard to a communications failure at the tower and him attending the September board meeting.

For Committee Reports, trustee Nancy Amacher had provided a couple of handouts from Clark County Economic Development, one highlighting Withee and the other highlighting meat, cheese and ice cream shops around Clark County.

Under the Police Report, Klabon asked a question about the six-ton weight limit on some village streets and whether certain trucks should be driving on them. Chief of Police Patrick Fehlman said it depends on the reason for the weight limit. In particular, Fehlman said no heavy trucks were allowed on Willow from North East Street in Owen going west. The board approved the $1.25 an hour raise for Chief Fehlman. They moved on to discussion of the savings account and changing it to an equipment replacement fund. It was noted that there is $96,174.82 in the account from when an officer wasn’t hired. Officer Haugstad’s squad is 11 years old and it will cost $45-$55 thousand plus equipment to replace it. They plan to look for a high yield account. The board approved changing it to a savings account for vehicle/equipment replacement. Klabon went through a few items in the police budget before the board approved the 2026 budget.

For Public Works, DPW Schad tested some water meters and flushed hydrants. He reported on the annual inspection letter for the Water Department. It showed no deficiencies, but had three recommendations. The first was to check into why Well #3 has dropped from producing 200 gallons per minute to producing $140 gallons per minute. The second was to continue to pursue their water rate case with the PSC. The third was that the water system only has one certified operator. The DNR recommends they have a second certified operator. Schad said the third recommendation comes up every year and they are going to have to think about what they want to do. The DNR doesn’t want the village to have to depend on the city of Owen or Rural Water for backup. They postponed a vote on sewer rate increases until their November meeting after Owen has updated their rates. The board also looked at the water rate case information. The PSC will set the new rates after a hearing is held. The overall rate increase for customers is proposed to be 8.33%. The current rate of return is 4.58%. The PSC would like to see 6.8%. The rates for public fire protection will also increase. Owen will be paying $6.98 per thousand gallons along with $1,408 in public fire protection per month. For a resident that uses 2,000 gallons of water per month, their bill will go from $34 per month to $39.36 per month based on the volume of water used.

The village chose Weld Riley for their legal services. They were the only law firm that provided a full proposal. The cost will be $295 per hour. They will be hired effective January 1, 2026.

The ordinance on election officials was approved. It will allow for fewer election officials and elections can be split into two shifts. Amendments to the 2024 budget were also approved. The resolution moved $26,942 to savings. Another approximately $3,000 was carried over into the 2025 budget. The village will hold their first budget meeting on October 27 at 6:15 p.m.