This month’s meeting was short and there was not a lot of activity. Lady Whistledown would be disappointed.

Supervisor Mark Waldon was appointed to the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee. Supervisor Joan Fordham was reappointed to the Sauk County Library Board. Supervisor Rebecca Klitzke was appointed to the Tri-County Board of Appeals. This removed Supervisor Brian Pepper from the position. While most appointments are noncontroversial, Supervisor Lombard voted against the appointment of Joan Fordham as a citizen member of the Sauk County Library Board. Her objection was that a supervisor should not hold a position that a citizen of the community could. A simple search of Joan Fordham reveals that she has been active in a number of ways and is considered a gem in the community. Her position on the Library Board occurred outside of her election to the Sauk County Board of Supervisors and is not viewed as a result of being a county supervisor. Public service should be commended not condemned on some made-up standard. The vote to appoint her was 26 to 1.

The board voted unanimously authorized Sauk County administration to execute an endorsement letter in support of Bertram Communications LLC Broadband Equity Access Deployment (BEAD) funding application to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC). Bertram Communications is seeking funding for ten service project units with 108 service locations in Sauk County.

The board voted unanimously to amend the 2025 budget to appropriate $90,259 pursuant to an intergovernmental agreement between Sauk County and the Ho-Chunk Nation. This stems from a previous agreement that provides an annual payment from the Ho-Chunk Nation. The county may use these funds for any purpose unless that purpose is considered a prohibited purpose that diminishes the Nation’s governmental jurisdiction or has an adverse financial impact on the Nation.

As always, any opinions expressed here are my opinions and do not represent the Sauk County Board.

At the bottom of all the tributes paid to democracy is the little man, walking into the little booth, with a little pencil, making a little cross on a little bit of paper–no amount of rhetoric or voluminous discussion can possibly diminish the overwhelming importance of that point.

-Winston Churchill