MONROE — County officials are eying a plan to add a chief deputy coroner to the county office, citing increased demand for services in Green County.
The item appeared on the Aug 8. County board agenda.
County Board Chairman Jerry Guth said the idea has been considered, studied and recommended in county board committee discussions. It is a response to increased demand for services throughout Green County— including related to the significant paperwork and office duties that go along with providing those services.
“The job is just too much for one person,” Guth said in a phone interview. “The personnel committee has been looking at this for about the past year.
Under a resolution considered by the board, the position would pay between $25.75 to $32.96 hourly. That comes out to a maximum annual salary of just under $100,000. With other funding resources, the impact on the tax levy would be just under $30,000 for 2024.
“After that (2024) we’re not sure how we would fund it, but we are talking about that,” Guth said.
Meanwhile, the board also moved to convert an existing post in the veteran’s service office to an expanded role. The new role will be for an experienced veteran but will have little impact on the office’s budget, according to Guth.
“The year 2023 was a busy year for the Veterans Service office,” Veteran Service Officer Clayton Ruegsegger wrote to the county board.
In another matter, the board at the Aug. 8 meeting agreed to accept a $200,000 grant, derived from American Rescue Plan Funds, to help create “replication tools” for a new dementia stabilization unit for county seniors. The O’Rourke Dementia Stabilization Unit is at N3150 Wis. 81, just outside of Monroe.
The O’Rourke facility offers short-term respite for the caregivers of dementia patients, while also giving medical assessments and evaluations of the patient. After about a month, the stabilization team meets with the caregiver, educated them on changes, and releases the dementia patient back home.
The success of the program has led to a need to study and create a program for other counties to follow and implement.
Within 28 days at O’Rourke, the stabilization team learns important details about the individual — giving keys to what their behavior means. The resident then receives assessment from multiple experts — including medical, social, psychiatric, psychological and life enrichment resources. Once the resident is stabilized, they can go back home and the caregivers are given all the information and trained to better perform care.