Polk County board approves updated rules of order after rejecting amendment to remove committee vote tally requirement
May 20, 2026 | Polk County, Wisconsin
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Polk County supervisors approved Resolution 2026 on May 20 to amend the Polk County Code of Ordinances (Chapter 2, Article 2) governing Supervisors Rules of Order. The board defeated an amendment to strike Section 2‑57.1.F, which would have removed a requirement about how committee vote tallies appear on resolutions.
Supervisor Fran, who proposed the amendment, said her intent was not to disenfranchise citizen committee members but to make sure the elected board knows how county supervisors serving on committees voted. "My goal is simply to say that ... we know as a board, as an elected board, how those board members voted," Fran said during debate.
Corporation counsel Cass Jewel explained the statutory framework for citizen members serving on committees: some appointments are to the County Human Services Board or the local Board of Health under different statutes, and whether a citizen member is voting can depend on the specific statutory appointment. Jewel said in practice Polk County has typically appointed citizen members with voting authority except in narrow circumstances tied to local Board of Health authorities.
Board members discussed procedural options (calling roll call votes, recording tallies in minutes or on screen) and whether a uniform approach should apply to all committees. After a roll‑call amendment vote failed to remove letter F, the main motion to adopt the revised rules of order passed on a voice vote.
The board approved the rules changes and will implement them according to the amended ordinance language.
Supervisor Fran, who proposed the amendment, said her intent was not to disenfranchise citizen committee members but to make sure the elected board knows how county supervisors serving on committees voted. "My goal is simply to say that ... we know as a board, as an elected board, how those board members voted," Fran said during debate.
Corporation counsel Cass Jewel explained the statutory framework for citizen members serving on committees: some appointments are to the County Human Services Board or the local Board of Health under different statutes, and whether a citizen member is voting can depend on the specific statutory appointment. Jewel said in practice Polk County has typically appointed citizen members with voting authority except in narrow circumstances tied to local Board of Health authorities.
Board members discussed procedural options (calling roll call votes, recording tallies in minutes or on screen) and whether a uniform approach should apply to all committees. After a roll‑call amendment vote failed to remove letter F, the main motion to adopt the revised rules of order passed on a voice vote.
The board approved the rules changes and will implement them according to the amended ordinance language.
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