County Board - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everybody. I'm gonna call the county board meeting to order, so please take your seats. And then the clerk will call the roll. You gotta be in your seats for the roll.

Smith. Smith here, Trucios. Trucios here. Trucios here, Veldren. Veldren here, Weigleitner. Weigleitner here, Welsh. Welsh here, Yang. Yang here. Oh, Yang. Yang here. Okay. Andre. Andre here. Rushuk. Here. Rushuk here. Blazwitz.

Here.

Blazwitz here. Boettcher. Here. Boettcher here. Bollig.

Bollig here.

Bollig here. Brandmeier. Brandmeier. Brandmeier. Brower. Brower. Chavala. Chavala here. Chavala here. Dantzler.

Dantzler here.

Dantzler here. Doolin. Doolin here. Doolin here. Downing. Downing here. Downing here. Eicher.

Eicher here.

Eicher here, Engelberger. Engelberger here, Erickson. Erickson here, Freese. Freese here, Furman. Furman here, Glazer. Glazer here, Gray. Gray. Heuselman.

Heuselman here.

Heuselman here, Jackson.

Jackson here.

Jackson here, Kemp. Kemp here, Crowning. Crowning here, Larson. Larson here. Larson here, Lewis. Louis here, Marin.

Marin here.

Marin here, Obese.

Obese here.

Obese here, Peterson. Peterson, Epson, Postler. Postler here. Postler here, Ritt.

Ritt.

Ritt here, Rylander. Bylander here. Bylander here. Miles. Miles here. Miles here. We have a quorum.

All right. Quorum being present, we shall move on to the inspirational message this evening being delivered by Supervisor Smith.

Thank you. I'm going to keep it pretty short this evening. I thought I would just read a passage from On Tyranny, 20 Lessons from the 20th Century by Timothy Snyder. So as you can see, this is a relatively well-loved book. In 2016, after and election. I bought several copies for everyone I know. So I think there's an updated version to this book, but I haven't read it. I don't know. But this is a good one. Recommend it. Good to peruse if you need a little motivation. So I'm just going to read one of the chapters. There's 20 chapters, each one with tips based on his historical research of how to maintain a community and overcome tyrants. So chapter 12 is Make Eye Contact and Small Talk. This is not just polite. It is part of being a citizen and a responsible member of society. It is also a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down social barriers, and understand who you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life. Tyrannical regimes arose at different times and places in Europe of the 20th century, but memoirs of the victims all share a single tender moment. People who were living in fear of oppression remembered how their neighbors treated them. A smile, a handshake, or a word of greeting, banal gestures in a normal situation, took on great significance. When friends, colleagues, and acquaintances looked away or crossed the street to avoid contact, fear grew. You might not be sure today or tomorrow who feels threatened in the United States, but if you affirm everyone, you can be sure that those people will certainly feel better. In the most dangerous of times, those who escape and survive generally know people whom they can trust. Having old friends is the politics of last resort, and making new ones is the first step toward change. I'll now say the Pledge of Allegiance, and I welcome those to join me who would like to. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you, Supervisor Smith. All right. We're on to special matters and announcements. And before we proceed with this, I would like to give space for a moment here, a moment of silence for the passing of Michael Johnson. So if you wouldn't mind. Okay, thank you. Okay. So under special matters and announcement, our first item here is 2026 resolution 61, recognizing June, 2026 as LGBTQIA2S plus pride month.

uh so presenting that this evening is there you are okay supervisor erickson and trucius great thank you good evening everybody and happy pride um we have the special matters resolution recognizing june 2026 as lgbtqia2s plus pride month i did practice that So with that, whereas June is nationally recognized as Pride Month, a time to celebrate the diversity, impact, and resilience of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and two-spirit, that's the LGBTQIA2S plus community, and whereas prior to and during the events of the Stonewall Uprising, LGBTQIA2S plus individuals were frequently subjected to discrimination, criminalization, and harassment through the enforcement and interpretation of laws and policies such as the three article rule that targeted gender expression and identity and contributed to a broader system of exclusion and injustice.

Whereas transgender women and gender nonconforming individuals and other members of the LGBTQIA2S plus community played a critical role in resisting state sanctioned discrimination during the Stonewall uprising, helping to inspire a movement for dignity, equality, and human rights that continues today and Whereas, in the early mornings of June 28th, 1969, LGBTQIA2S plus patrons of the Stonewall Inn at New York City resisted a police raid, sparking several days of demonstrations that became a catalyst for the modern LGBTQIA2 plus movement. One year later, in June 1970, the first pride marches were held to commemorate the uprising and demand equal rights and... Where am I, right here?

Whereas in 1999, President Bill Clinton issued the first presidential proclamation declaring June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. In 2011, President Barack Obama expanded the official recognition to include the full LGBT community And whereas, the demands for Madison's Queer Liberation March this year were defending bodily autonomy with a focus on protecting trans youth, ensuring health care for all, and empowering queer workers. These demands resist discrimination and celebrate the power, resilience, and joy of LGBTQIA2S plus communities. This theme affirms that LGBTQIA2S plus communities have always existed. We will not back down and deserve to live and celebrate freely, end.

Whereas LGBTQIA2S plus individuals continue to face discrimination and barriers to healthcare, education, and public expression, including restrictions on access to gender-affirming healthcare and efforts to limit the recognition and representation of LGBTQIA2S plus history, experiences, and contributions in public spaces and educational settings. These challenges have been reflected locally through decisions affecting access to gender-affirming care for transgender youth and continue to impact LGBTQIA2S plus residents throughout Dane County and beyond.

Whereas Dane County has consistently elected LGBTQIA2S plus leaders to all levels of government, including the Dane County Board, the Wisconsin State Legislature, the US House of Representatives, and the US Senate, including former County Board Chair Dick Wagner, who was one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S., as well as the first openly gay U.S. Senator, Tammy Baldwin, and Congressperson Mark Pocam, both of whom served on the Dane County Board and...

Whereas Dane County's LGBTQIA2S plus community has a long and proud history of fighting for equality and justice and has made significant contributions to society in all areas of life, including the arts and sciences, education, law, medicine, sports, community service, business, and government. That's you.

I need yours.

Sorry about that. And whereas the Dane County Board of Supervisors affirms that all people deserve to be treated with dignity, equity, and respect regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. And whereas the Dane County Board of Supervisors recognizes the valuable work at the Center for Patient Partnerships at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a medical-legal partnership that advances healthcare access through advocacy, education, research, and systems change, and whose work has assisted many LGBTQIA2S plus individuals in navigating healthcare systems and securing access to medically necessary care.

Now, therefore, it be resolved that the Dane County Board of Supervisors commits to ensuring all LGBTQIA2S plus residents of Dane County have equal standing and access to housing, employment, education, health care, and other essential services and opportunities. Be it further resolved that the Dane County Board is committed to protecting LGBTQIA2S plus friends from bullying and harassment and combating all forms of discrimination and violence against LGBTQIA2S plus people and promoting LGBTQIA2S plus visibility and acceptance in the community.

Be it finally resolved that the Dane County Board of Supervisors recognizes June 2026 as LGBTQIA2S Plus Pride Month in Dane County and celebrates the diversity, resilience, and contributions of LGBTQIA2S Plus residents.

Move by Erickson, seconded by Trucios.

All in favor of the motion, say aye. Aye. Opposed, say no. Motion carries.

Thank you, I just wanted to say briefly, thank you to everybody for your support and supporting this resolution support in the past, right now it's kind of some dark times in terms of LGBT Q is plus I can say that by heart. Issues right now, and I one thing I look at is our history and where we've been here here we've always had a supportive community. and had elected officials here going way back, and we mentioned some of those. So with that, I just wanted to introduce, or have Supervisor Turow speak, and we have a guest from the Center for Patient Partnerships here as well, thank you.

Yeah, I want to say thank you to Levi Katz, who is the LGBTQ health justice coordinator for the Center for Patient Partnerships. I'll try to keep this brief because I don't have anything really prepared. I did want to emphasize that while it's definitely a mouthful, we have all letters of the statement used in our resolution represented as elected officials in Dane County. I believe it was Verona's school board that recently had a two-spirit elected win their election in the April election. Yeah, as a trans and non-binary person, know deeply that there's a lot of uncertainty and fear about the situation that we're in. I think it's important that we recognize the facts of those things, most of which are not fully publicized in our media. Multiple states have created, over many past years, registries of transgender people. When somebody goes to do a name change or update sex markers, Their states have internally flagged, both under Republican and Democratic administrations, that somebody is transgender, which has facilitated legislation in recent time. An example that comes to mind that's immediately evident where this kind of came to light was Kansas repealed, essentially made it so that any driver's license that did not show your sex assigned at birth was considered fraudulent. People were given 24 hours notice that their driver's licenses were no longer valid. They had to go to the DMV within a day. Many had ended up having to go with expired licenses to drive to the DMV to receive new documentation. Some people had not changed the sex marker on the driver's license. They had instead updated their names and chosen not to update the sex marker on their licenses. But since the state had created a broad system, the flag individuals, that's kind of how it proceeded and that's how people actually discovered that Indiana has a similar internal system to track people. Texas is just yesterday, Texas's majority party included in their partisan platform the banning of all gender-affirming care for people 26 or under. The bans that we've seen over the last decade that began with bathroom bans and then sports bans and then youth gender-affirming care bans, it's always been meant to be a wedge to open a door that they can rail as much anti-LGBT legislation through. It always starts with the trans community, always starts with trans kids in the most bipartisan, difficult-to-combat kind of ways, rhetorically advantageous. and it always inevitably cascades further along. It will never stop with us, but at the same time, it's important to recognize that we've been here before, that they have tried to get rid of us. The word eradicate has been used a lot in the last five years in particular. They have tried to eradicate us, and they have never been successful, and they won't be successful again. So it's a matter of how bad things will get in the near term before we come out the other side. And I'm going to introduce Levi now. Sorry to hand it off to you on a dark note, but I'll let you speak to the organization. But I know many, many people who have been served by the Center for Patient Partnerships, myself included, many of my friends. So thank you for coming, Levi.

Hello, thank you and happy Pride. My name is Levi Katz. I am a resident of Dane County and I coordinate the LGBTQ plus health justice program at UW Madison Center for Patient Partnerships or CPP as you may. hear folks refer to it. We are deeply honored to receive recognition from the Dane County Board of Supervisors for our work supporting the LGBTQIA2S plus community. At CPP, our mission is to ensure healthcare works for everyone. This recognition highlights our team's dedication to helping individuals navigate the complexities of gender-affirming care, assisting with essential identity paperwork, and fostering collaboration through a statewide LGBTQIA2S Plus Health Equity Coalition. Behind every piece of paperwork we file and every care plan we navigate is a person looking to be seen, safe, and respected for who they are. It is a profound privilege to walk alongside our clients during these deeply personal and life-changing moments, ensuring no one has to navigate the healthcare system alone. Our work wouldn't be possible without the generosity of our donors, the trust of our clients, and the collaboration of healthcare professionals across the state. We share this honor with the clients, healthcare professionals, community members, and students who inspire our work every day. Thank you.

Just so that you all know for your own constituents, the Center for Asian Partnerships provides help assistance to all people, not just LGBTQ people. Levi is the head of the LGBTQ health group. But if you have any constituents that have difficulties accessing health care appeals in particular or anything in that vein, send them CPP's way.

Next up, we have 2026, resolution 62, recognizing Juneteenth on June 19, 2026 in Dane County. Supervisor Lewis, did you want to go here or on the other side? Okay.

Thank you, Chair Miles. As Chair Miles said, I am honored to read the resolution recognizing Juneteenth on June 19th, 2026 in Dane County. Whereas Juneteenth recognizes the date when enslaved African Americans in Texas learned of their emancipation almost two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and whereas Juneteenth is a defining moment in American history, symbolizing both the end of slavery and the unfulfilled promise of liberation, which has caused African Americans to continue to endure barriers to education economic opportunity, and healthcare, and to experience disproportionate and harmful interactions with law enforcement and the criminal justice system. And whereas in Dane County, the Juneteenth celebration was founded by Annie Weatherby Flowers and co-led by her and Mona Adams Winston, two women who sought to create a space for black and African American communities to reflect, celebrate, and experience joy through music, storytelling, art, and cultural education. Their vision has grown into annual community traditions, including the city-county Juneteenth flag raising and the Juneteenth parade. And, whereas, Juneteenth 2026 marks Dane County's 37th annual Juneteenth celebration, themed Black Resilience, celebrating our history and presence. Organized by the Kujaquilea Center for Self-Determination, this year's observance included the 37th Annual Juneteenth Parade, held in Madison on June 20th, 2026. and provided an opportunity to honor the contributions of African Americans to the United States while bringing the community together in a joyful celebration of culture through dance, music, storytelling, drama, and other forms of creative expression, and whereas there are many black leaders in key government positions throughout Dane County. including Sheriff Calvin Barrett, District Attorney Ishmael Ozan, Judge Everett Mitchell, Judge Nia Trammell, Representative Sheila Stubbs, and current Dane County Board of Supervisors members, Barouchak from District 1, Gray, District 14, Obese, District 16, Lewis, District 22, Jackson, District 26, Kemp, District 32, and Dantzler, District 33, and Whereas recognizing Juneteenth is a day to reflect on how we can collectively create a better, more equitable future for all members of our community, Dane County has designated June 19th as a holiday for all Dane County employees. And whereas, Dane County employees are encouraged to make June 19th a day on, not a day off, by volunteering, attending one of the many Juneteenth celebrations, supporting black-owned businesses, and advancing their knowledge of systemic racism. Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the Dane County Board of Supervisors recognizes the importance of Juneteenth in Dane County and commits to continue fighting for systemic change so that black and African-American members of our community can fully realize the freedom and equality first promised by the Emancipation Proclamation. Oh, well, I move to accept this resolution. Okay.

Moved by Lewis, seconded by Kemp.

And then I'll- Advisor Lewis, did you wish to make any remarks, or are we going to turn it over to- I would like to say that I heard something just the other day that I wasn't aware of. In 2016, when the National Museum of African American History and Culture was opened, the woman who opened it was the daughter of an enslaved person. I mean, that was 2016. And we always think of slavery as something that happened. a very long time ago. But there are people today who have those they love and people they know and who have experienced that directly. They've been directly related to someone who lived through that and experienced that tragedy. So I just want to say that it's still present, even though, of course, it's not anything that's happened, but it still happens. It's still affecting people, and it's still prominent. It's something we shouldn't forget. It has shaped the lives of many people in this country, and it's important to acknowledge that, to know about that, to grow from that, and to use that knowledge to do better in the future. And thank you all for your support. And I would like to introduce Ms. Annie Flowers. I don't know if she wants to be over there, since you're closer over there.

And I ran all the way over here. She's coming up.

Sorry. If I could, Chair Miles, really quickly, I'd be remiss. There was one name that I, if we can add it, I'd be in trouble if I didn't. So Judge Mario White was not included in the list. I don't know if we can do that now.

All right, we'll get that corrected.

Thank you.

I can speak? Go ahead. Hi, everybody. Hi, everybody. I was listening to the response from the last proclamation, and I'm always a thinker. And so when the young men were talking about historical things in their lives as it related to LGBTQ folks, Just imagine if you were black and LGBTQ, how different that would be. And so when I think about, I'll tell you what I got involved with Juneteenth, because I grew up in Milwaukee and Juneteenth was the homecoming time where the community came together, the churches and all people from the community. It was really a place of warmth, collective celebration. You know, I once saw Smokey Robinson singing in a vacant lot. on 3rd Street at Juneteenth. Now that was, for me, I'll never forget that. And that is kind of what stood out in my mind when I came to Madison and I worked for the medicine inner city council on substance abuse. And that's when the AIDS and the crack cocaine epidemic was rampant in communities of color. We were separated in Madison by geographic, there was Somerset, you know, so we were separated geographically, educationally, socially. And I was talking to, because I did community organizing in Milwaukee, and I was talking to my boss, I said, we need a Juneteenth here. One thing that could bring us all together. So no matter what walks of life you come from, slave, as an African American, slavery was probably in your history. I worked with all of us, and I found out that all four of my third great-grandfather were white slave owners. My sister and I have Paget's, which is a white male disease. So when you see people Dark-colored black folks, however you want to identify, we're all collective in America due to slavery. So I would like folks to think about it in the broad sense, in the collective sense. And that's why our theme is Harambee, which means pulling together, but also black resilience. And Kujichagulia is self-determination. And I've watched all of those in my community. And so those are why they're ingrained in what we do. And I thank you. I've been doing this for 37 years. I'm 67 years old and I'm trying to pull back. But our young people, if it's not on their phone and they're not in their friend groups, they don't see the collective. So I've been staying in the background to help them learn the collective. Because it all, even with LGBTQ, the Civil Rights Act protected all of us. And we all march for that. And so we can't forget that we all are free because of the collective. And so I'm going to be quiet. Thank you for the resolution. But under the new political climate, we lost $45,000 this year. So we didn't have as big a Juneteenth as we usually do. And across the nation, I'm on the national Juneteenth committee, and it's happening across the nation. So you have political... to look at how to help support Juneteenth, because sponsorship is not doing it anymore. So with that, don't just applaud, send money, I'm from Milwaukee.

I was remiss. I took the motion in a second and then didn't call the vote. And we'll recognize that there's a correction in the resolution to include Judge White. So with that, all in favor of adoption of the resolution, say aye. Aye. Opposed? With that, Resolution 62 is adopted. Thank you. All right, so now we're on to announcements. Are there any announcements from anybody? Announcements and disclosures. Supervisor Engelberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just have a couple of events to announce down in Stoughton that are coming up. The Stoughton Fair, July 1st through the 5th. It's a full-blown fair with... future farmers, animals, and all that kind of thing, and amusements, family stuff, food. So come on down for that, July 1st through the 5th. And then Catfish River Music Fest, which is July 3rd through the 5th. It's a three-day music festival with food, beverages, and it is the, that one's at Rotary Park and Gazebo in Stoughton, and it's the annual fundraiser for the Stoughton Opera House. So thank you. Thank you.

Supervisor Eicher.

Thank you. I just wanted to take the opportunity to recognize an outgoing park commissioner. Nan Bogue has served on the Dane County Park Commission for the last eight years and has an incredible history with the environment and conservation and those efforts in Dane County. And I think actually ran for the county board at one point. But Nan is terming off of Parks Commission, and we recognized her last night at our Parks Commission meeting. She was always the person to give thanks and recognize all of our incredible friends groups and really dig deep into the questions about why folks were there, what they were doing, and finding the details. And I just wanted to give Nan a little bit more recognition here on the board floor. And, you know, remind folks that the folks that are the citizen members of our boards and commissions are absolutely incredible and give so much of their time and energy to making our county and our communities that much better.

Thank you. Supervisor Postler.

Thank you, Mr chair, it is festival season, and that is also true in the village of Dane this weekend actually starting this evening. The Dane firefighters festival begins, and it is a special year this year their department is celebrating 125 years since they started protecting the Community from the risk of fire back in 1901 so. Come on out, food, burgers, brats, hot dogs, live music. There's a softball tournament going on and then all sorts of family fun on Sunday. There'll be a parade, face painting, water balloon fight, bounce house, a whole bunch of good stuff out in the village of Dane. So that's the Dane Firefighters Festival this weekend, the 25th through the 28th. Thank you.

Thank you. Supervisor Brandmeier.

Oh, I just wanted to mention on 4th of July, if you have nothing better to do and it's a hot day, you might want to come down to the Token Creek Parade. It's like the biggest little parade in the world. And well, it's essentially devolved into a water fight, but it's really a lot of fun. There's, you know, all the trucks come by and all the people on the sidelines have these little water fights and throw out candy. And there's a big dance party at the end. And I'll be selling raffle tickets and all the proceeds from the raffle tickets go to the Friends of the Token Creek Conservancy, and they're all the volunteers that help keep the conservancy nice, you know, free labor, picking up sticks and pulling invasives and all that kind of stuff.

So come on down. It's kind of fun.

Supervisor Welsh.

Thank you, Chair. Well, if you want to go out the night before that, though, you can come to District 7. Westmoreland Neighborhood Association and Midvale Heights Neighborhood Association are hosting their summer nights, followed by a drone fireworks show. I saw it last year. It was really cool. It looks like fireworks, except there's no loud boom. And they have a really great show.

Dog-friendly.

Dog friendly. So summer nights, we'll have David Landau, The Whiskey Farm, followed by VO5. It fills Westmoreland Park. So if you want to have a good show, followed by a drone fireworks show, come check it out.

Unique. All right, thank you. There being no one else on the board, I just want to welcome our new summer interns here with us tonight, two of the three. Go ahead and stand up. We have Delaney on the left here is working with the policy team and Maddie. is working with the legislative services team. They're both recent college graduates looking to go on to law school and will be working with board office through the summer. And then we do have a third person that started today. He'll be at our next meeting, Benson, also working with the legislative services team. He's splitting his time between board office and the treasurer's office.

So welcome.

Thank you. All right, okay, on to, let's see, approval of payments. We have before us the bills over $10,000, is there a motion? Moved by Erickson, seconded by Croning. Discussion, questions on bills? Seeing none, all in favor of approval, say aye. Aye. Opposed? If that motion carries, the bills are approved for payment. On to approval of county board minutes. We have before us the June 4th county board minutes. Is there a motion? I'm sorry. Moved by Trucio, seconded by Kemp. Questions, discussion, any corrections to the minutes? Hearing none, all in favor of approval, say aye. Opposed say no. That motion carries. The minutes are approved. We're on to consent calendar. We have 12 items before us. I'm going to separate item three as we have a registrant wishing to speak on that. Any other requests for separation? No other requests for separation. So on the balance of items. Oh, sorry. Supervisor Weiglein.

I just would like to be recorded as voting no on 12.

Item 12. Okay. Thank you. All right. Okay. So on the balance of items F12. one and two, four through 12. All in favor of community actions say aye. Aye. Opposed, say no. With that, motion carries. So on to F3, 2026, resolution 37, accepting SS4A grant funds from the City of Madison for the County Highway Comprehensive Safety Action Plan. What is before us is Public Works and Transportation Committee recommendation for approval. Wishing to speak in favor is Steve Books. Welcome, Steve.

Hi, thank you, Chair Miles. Hi, Supervisors, and I see some new faces, so I want to say welcome to the new Supervisors. Yes, I'm in support of this Resolution 037. I don't have any issues with it. Besides, I'd like to advocate, I hope there's some public input for this in conjunction with the Greater Madison MPO Regional Safety Action Plan. So I hope there's some way to comment on this. As the public, Dane County, a lot of areas from Dane to Stoughton, to Mount Horeb. All of Dane County, I hope, is under consideration for this. And I hope it would be used for a lot of things regarding safety and school crossings, pedestrian crossings. And I have some things I noticed with roundabouts that it's hard for a pedestrian to cross a roundabout area. So where a roundabout is, I think with pedestrian crossings around roundabouts, I hope that would be considered too. So I guess that's all I would have for this. You know, Madison has had two pedestrian deaths so far this year. So I hope that gets addressed too. And one was a student. So very troubling. And I hope speed limits get addressed. Anything for safety. So thank you.

Thank you. Any questions for Steve? Hearing none. Thank you, Steve. As I mentioned, what's before us is Public Works and Transportation Committee recommendation for approval. So all in favor of approval, say aye. Aye. Opposed, say no. Motion carries. Resolution 37 is adopted. We're on to H, reports on zoning petitions. One item before us. So I guess I don't have to ask for separation. What's before us is ZLR action on that zoning petition. So if there's no discussion or questions, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say no. That the zoning petition is adopted. We're on to K resolutions and on K one, which is resolution 2026, resolution 36, authorizing a contract for excuse me, our LEN voice assistant platform. What is before us is first committee action was public protection and judiciary committee recommendation for approval. There was a substitute approved at PNF, but before we get into that, we do have a registrant wishing to speak in opposition. One moment here, I'll get to that person. Wishing to speak in opposition online is Anthony Olson. Anthony, you have been promoted, so you have up to five minutes to address the board.

Members of the county board, my name is Anthony Olson. I will soon be starting my 13th year with Dane County Public Safety Communications. These are my personal opinions as a public safety employee and a citizen of Dane County. They are not the opinions or policies of Dane County PSC. I enjoy working with the comm center management and always try to respect our working relationship when dealing with opposing views. Aurelian AI and the non-emergency line. My job cannot be simplified into emergency and non-emergency calls. Citizens use the comm center as a first point of contact for local government. True emergencies are reported on non-E lines and conversely 911 calls are initiated with, well, it's not really an emergency. Grandma will call Nani with chest pain because she doesn't want to bother us. Assault victims will call asking to speak with the reporting officer, only to discover that the suspect is outside their door. We get asked the phone number for a fire department, then discover that a CO alarm was activated. While Aurelian would have eventually forwarded these non-E calls to a human call taker, it would have introduced an unnecessary delay, and I am skeptical of what our callers would have reported if faced with an AI attendant instead of a compassionate human. How many times can you expect the victim of a sexual assault to repeat their story, especially when their first interaction for the report is talking to a robot? Aurelian will fight back against callers who are asking to speak to a human. Management has advised that this resistance level will start at two attempts to push back. I would prefer it be lowered to one or none. We are at risk of disenfranchising a large percentage of the population who are hesitant or even hostile toward artificial intelligence. Our current phone tree has options to transfer straight to a human. This needs to be continued so that nonverbal callers can quickly get to a dispatcher in order to use our telecommunications device for the deaf or TDD texting options. We also need to ensure that Aurelian would respond appropriately and quickly transfer someone simply saying the word emergency. There are numerous ways we could streamline our non-E calls to improve our existing phone tree. A simple update to include options for the jail and police records could relieve a major burden without replacing our jobs with AI. The 911 Center could also benefit from a renewed focus to put non-Es on hold to answer waiting 911s. I understand that this is the current expectation for management, but honestly, it doesn't often happen in practice. Aside from operational efficacy, I have concerns as a taxpayer regarding the board's fiscal responsibilities. This year, a grant will cover a substantial portion of these operating costs, but what about following years? Executive Agard confirmed that we are in a budget crisis. She has already attacked our benefit package. Rumors persist of further pay cuts and more benefit reductions. Our wage is not keeping up with increasing costs of living while we are asked to embrace more programs and technological knowledge. If this continues, our agency could face a retention problem for senior dispatchers. It takes months of training to become a call taker and years to become a good dispatcher. An expensive AI system and its associated liability should not be welcomed in Dane County. With this vote, you are introducing a substantial non-human barrier and time delay from when your citizens first connect to non-E, engage with AI, to when a human reviews the call for policy compliance, and finally copies and pastes that information into our computer-aided dispatch system. That is correct. As it stands today, our call takers must copy and paste Aurelien's calls from a web application into our CAD. There is no current integration. i am a certified trainer a former quality assurance specialist our staff are being asked to babysit this ai bot and review its call taking while also being asked to provide feedback and refinement to the aurelian company this is the definition of supervision and quality assurance improvement recently our in-house quality assurance team was reclassified at a higher pay grade than our communicators who do the hard work and receive the most vicarious trauma We are now being asked to verify and monitor an AI bot for no additional compensation, an AI bot that is not beholden to any consequences for its failures. I ask the board carefully consider the secondary order effects of this major change to our call handling process. I will now present the six options from the current non-ePhone tree so that everyone understands what verbiage could be improved and what we are replacing. You have reached the Dane County Public Safety Communications non-emergency line, Para Español, La Prima Trace. If you have a life-threatening emergency, press 1 now. To report a parking violation in the City of Madison, say parking, or press 5. To report and ask for a situation occurring now, say occurring now, or press 6. To report or ask about a situation that has already occurred or to reach a non-duty officer, say already occurred or press seven. To reach a specific public safety department, say department or press eight. For information on a topic not listed, say information.

Anthony, you have five seconds.

Yep. Thank you to the board members for your time and commitment to both public safety. I'd be happy to answer questions from the board. Otherwise I yield the floor. Thank you all.

Thank you. Are there any questions for our speaker? Hearing none. All right, on resolution 36, as I said, what's before us is Public Protection Judiciary Committee recommendation for approval. Is there anybody wanting to move the PNF substitute? Moved by Chavla. Is there a second? Seconded by Tussauds. Discussion, explanation on the sub is attached on the agenda. So any discussion on sub one? Hearing none, oh, sorry. Vice-Chair Alderman.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can I ask a question for Director Bixler?

Is Director Bixler with us? Yes, he is. Go ahead with your question.

Yeah, hi, sir. Can you just sort of explain to the board what this will do, why it's needed right now, and then if there's any issues that, I don't know if you were present at the PNF, I imagine you were, to go over the substitute. Is there anything in that that you'd like us to focus on or just look at?

Certainly. So I can definitely address why it's needed at this time right now. Our current IVR, or interactive voice response, is end of life. Exactly what Tony had mentioned, the pick one for an option, pick two, pick three. That's an antiquated system. It's out of life, so it's no longer maintained. That diverts about 12% of our non-emergency calls. Now, most counties the size of Dane County have a 3-1-1 system. Dane County doesn't have a 311 system, so we cannot divert calls asking for what time is garbage pickup, what time is our visiting hours at the jail. I need a report from Madison Police. All of these calls come in to the 911 center, answered by a 911 communicator, who then has to either route the call to the correct location or uh determine if it's something that can be resolved um on its own um through them this takes 53 of our calls being not emergency tape away from 911 calls that need to be answered um by uh by industry standard by uh um within 15 seconds um so what it really is able to do is it's able to um interact with those callers so we get fewer disconnects a lot of times what we're getting is people get frustrated with the with the uh pick one, two, three. By the time you're on your fifth iteration of that, lots of people hang up and then they just tend to dial 911. Increases 911 call volume. And additionally, we're not able to get any information off of our non-emergency system because we don't log those calls. Aurelian's able to not only divert up to potentially 40 to 60% of those calls so that we have more time for communicators to spend between calls, either being able to decompress from a particularly difficult call, and just as importantly, being available for the next call that holds. Since we have gone onto a new IP-based phone system, we no longer have a limited number of lines that come into 911. Before, we only used to have eight lines. If you were the ninth caller, you got a busy signal. Now, obviously, we don't want that. That wasn't ever what was desired with the IP-based system. We're able to get an unlimited number of calls in. What that means, though, is with most of our calls being mobile calls, once they come into the center, we can see 20 or 30 calls on hold at once. So we need those communicators available to handle that upsurge of calls. With the sub for this, for the Aurelian system, I really want to thank both the PP&J and P&F, as well as the EGR, we've worked together to, one, make sure that we are addressing it, both as labor and management, to make sure that the system is meeting the the desired outcomes and services. One of the important things to remember is this is a closed system, not an open system. So it's not like it's not like chat GPT where it goes out of the network into the public looking for answers. This is just simply a system that continues to learn based on the calls that are coming in in our area, not based on other calls in other cities or states. So I hope that helps answer your question, Supervisor Beltran. All right, thank you.

All right, so on, okay, Supervisor Doolin.

Yeah, I do have a question. So it looks like the sub itself addresses some of the concerns about what this does and what it doesn't do and the importance of involving staff and people. Am I correct about that?

And reporting after a period of time to PNF. Okay, thank you. All right. With that, the motion to amend Resolution 36 with Sub 1, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say no. With that, motion carries. And so now what is before us is 2026 Resolution 36 is amended by Sub 1. Any further discussion? Okay, all in favor of Res 36 as amended, say aye. Aye. Opposed, say no. Motion carries. Resolution 36 as amended is adopted. We're on to item two, 2026, Resolution 40, approving an intergovernmental agreement between Dane County and the City of Madison for an emergency shelter for adult men. What is before us is Health and Human Needs Committee recommendation of sub one. Discussion, Supervisor Betcher.

Yeah, I'd like to ask a procedural question on the sub one, the 440,000 and the $2 million. Based on my reading of that, those would require further action later once there is an actual designation and a contract. So really, we're just this resolution does not bind us on those programs. Rather, it's just setting up an intent, correct?

It's an agreement between the county and the city. Supervisor Wegleitner, you want to address it?

Sure, thank you. What this resolution is really about is approving the intergovernmental agreement between Dane County and the city of Madison for the new purpose-built men's shelter at Bartillon Drive. Last... In the 2026 budget, we approved additional funding for that shelter. We also approved funding for the $440,000 for an overflow shelter that RFP process has already is underway, there's a notice of intent to award, and efforts with the county and the provider right now to site a location. And the $2 million for a land purchase for a campground, that was budgeted in the 26 budget. That RFP I don't think has been released yet, but will be forthcoming soon. The language in there, the additional language in the sub is to make sure folks understand what the new shelter will do and what else also needs to be done to address growing unmet needs for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. This shelter is is an important step forward. We've never really had a shelter for men that was intended to be a shelter. And it's a really, neat, state-of-the-art facility, trauma-informed, it's gonna be really nice for the folks that are there, and I'm excited for when it opens, hopefully later this summer. But because the planned capacity for that shelter is, does not meet the existing need, we've had to come up with other resources to help meet those other unmet needs. When we started to plan the shelter, 250 beds was gonna be enough. It's not. Homelessness has increased. and that's why we added this language so folks really understood what this shelter meant, but that really we need a system to serve people and understand where the gaps are, and we keep working on helping address those unmet needs as well. So that language is, we've already funded the stuff, and when there is a contract, a major contract for us to award, because the county has negotiated that, that would be coming before the county board unless it's added to a, you know, the operating budget or something like that. So that would come forward as well as if there was additional agreements around the funding for the land purchase. So I hope that clarifies your questions, Supervisor Butcher. But really this is about the, intergovernmental agreement, that other piece is just to make sure folks remember those other commitments and allocations we've already made and that work is ongoing to address a lot of homeless needs right now.

Okay, thank you. That did clarify that if there is a land purchase, that contract would still have to come back here and we would have to prove it, especially the part about working with another group or agency that's gonna oversee that. I'm gonna vote for this as it stands, but I'm also gonna raise the issue that Buying that land is not a solution. Buying that land creates a new budget item because you're gonna have to operate it. Just like the part on Derry Drive had to be paid for operating costs. This one's gonna have to too. And they're very significant. I can tell you running practically a homeless encampment center at the Capitol for a month of Walkerville The unions provided a ton of money for that. And most of the residents there were homeless people, honestly, who use that as a homeless center. And the costs and just the fact that people coming in and out being that open is actually more expensive than running a controlled facility. because it is totally unpredictable what happens from one day to the next and you have to be able to handle all of it so the concept of opening up a two million dollar campground just buying some land sounds nice but the operational costs for that are going to be really high and i think that's something we have to be really very wary of when we get to that point okay there being no further

All in favor of HHN recommendations say aye. Aye. Opposed say no. Okay, and with that, resolution 40 sub one is adopted. On to K3, 2026, resolution 46, accepting funds from the housing and urban development. I'm sorry, from housing and urban development. What is before us is Health and Human Needs Committee recommendation for approval. Any discussion on resolution 46? Hearing none, all in favor of approval, say aye. Opposed say no. Opposed say no. That motion, resolution 46 is adopted. We're on to L, appointments. What is before us is 2026, resolution 54, county executive appointments. What's before us is executive committee recommendation of approval done earlier this evening. Any discussion on resolution 54? Hearing none, all in favor of approval say aye. Aye. Opposed say no. With that, resolution 54 is adopted. We're on to M, items requiring more than a simple majority. We have three items here, but I am separating M1 because there may be, yeah, I'm separating M1. Any other requests for separation of the other two? Hearing none, on M2 and 3, I'd like to record those as having passed unanimously, if there's no objection. Hearing no objection, it will be so recorded, those two items are adopted. M1 is 2025 Resolution 336, Award of Contract to Weiser Brothers General Contractor, Inc., for construction of Dane County R&G Maintenance Shop and Office Building. What is before us now, because this was re-referred to PWT, and they took further action, so what is before us is a first standing committee action of personnel and finance, a recommendation of approval. Supervisor Engelberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would... You can't hear me, huh?

I can hear you.

I thought you could. We can hear you. I would like to make a motion to deny this resolution.

You have to vote on the approval.

Do you have to move it?

You have to move the approval. It has to be voted down first, then you can move to deny it.

Well, it could be a vote for what, not voted down, but vote on it.

Vote on it.

And fail.

And if it fails, then they can move to deny it. Well, if it passes. Then it passes.

All right, apparently we have to first act on the Personnel and Finance Committee before we entertain that motion. Okay. Can I speak on this? How about we hold that for, because this does require two-thirds majority vote. Given the re-referral and the subsequent committee action, I would expect that there would not be sufficient votes to approve it. Do we have to do a roll call then?

Could I just speak on the resolution, though? I mean, just on the... You may. Just on voting on this particular one. Sure, go ahead. Yeah, I would recommend to my colleagues that we vote no on this resolution so we can take further action on it. Thank you.

All right, so with that, all in favor of resolution 36, say aye. Opposed, say no. No. No. So it fails.

Supervisor Engelberger, your motion now. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just would like to make a motion to deny this.

Move by Engelberger, seconded by Chavla. All right, so on the motion for denial of resolution 36, Supervisor Engelberger, go ahead.

Yeah, this came to our committee. We originally approved it. It went to personnel. They approved it, came to the board. We asked to have it referred back for reasons that I would like to have our director of administration waste and renewables, explain. It was a contract that we were going to approve and then some things came up. So I'd like to have our director explain the situation.

Okay, John, you wanna go ahead and provide that explanation?

Yes, thank you, Chair. This was moving through. We had put this bid out and were prepared to award this contract. And at about the same time, we started to have some operational efficiency challenges within the plant. The R&G plant is, believe it or not, about eight years old now. And so we also started at the same time an engineering study to evaluate whether we need to do upgrades to the plant, what those could include. Those could include wholesale replacements of systems in the plant and or even the entire plant. And with that, we did not feel it was prudent to move forward with this contract, which could have taken up a large amount of available land at the site, which may be needed for what this engineering study is going to recommend as well. We are recommending denial of this until we get more information from this engineering study and be able to make a more informed decision about the future of the facility. Great, thank you any.

OK, any further discussion? All right, I would, well, I guess all in favor of denial of resolution 336 say aye. Aye. Opposed say no. That motion carries and resolution 336 is denied. So that takes us on to any other such businesses allowed by law? Nope, nope, okay, good. Is there a motion to adjourn? Supervisor moved by Supervisor Erickson, seconded by Supervisor Furman to adjourn. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed?