The Price County Board of Supervisors approved a $14.2 million property tax levy, adopted a revised employee handbook, and committed $285,050 in opioid settlement funds at its November 10 meeting. All three resolutions passed 12-0. The board’s next scheduled meeting is February 16, 2027.
The meeting also produced the county’s first public acknowledgment of a specific data center inquiry. Board Chair Brian Ernst reported that he, County Administrator Nick Trimner, and Zoning Administrator Evan Lund met with Price Electric on October 27 regarding what Ernst described as “a portable containerized equipment facility” — not a large server farm. “Currently it’s only in the initial inquiry stage,” Ernst said. “Price Electric just wanted us to be aware of what was being talked about.”
Quick Answer: At its November 10, 2026 meeting, the Price County Board of Supervisors passed the 2026 property tax levy of $14,275,048 (payable in 2027), adopted a revised employee handbook, and approved $285,050 in opioid remediation funding across four categories through 2038. The board also received its first briefing on a data center inquiry from Price Electric. All three resolutions passed 12-0. The next meeting is February 16, 2027.
The levy: $14.2 million, no discussion
Resolution 28-26 formally levies $14,275,048 against the tax districts in Price County, payable in 2027. The number matches the budget the board’s Executive Committee approved October 13, which raised the total levy 5.23 percent while the mill rate fell 0.06 percent — a function of equalized property value rising 5.29 percent.
No board member spoke against it. The motion by Supervisor Sherman, seconded by Supervisor Ulrich, carried 12-0. Supervisor Paula Hodak was initially marked excused but joined the meeting online before the vote, bringing the board to full attendance for the vote.
Employee handbook: mechanic certification, clothing proration, two new benefits
Resolution 29-26 adopted revisions to the county employee handbook, effective November 10. County Administrator Trimner walked the board through four changes:
Mechanic certification sponsorship. The county has struggled to hire certified mechanics because private-sector pay scales do not include public-sector benefits. Under the revised handbook, the county will sponsor an employee’s certification if it is required for the job — the same approach already used for social workers and deputies. A service-time requirement is written into the individual employment contract to prevent employees from getting certified at county expense and immediately leaving.
Clothing allowance proration. Regular part-time employees will now receive a prorated clothing allowance, a clarification that aligns the handbook with how the county already handles part-time positions in highway and forestry.
Income Continuation Insurance (ICI). A voluntary benefit offered through the Wisconsin Retirement System. If an employee becomes disabled, ICI pays approximately 75 percent of salary for a defined period. The program is currently free to employees and self-sustaining, though Trimner noted the county would reevaluate if costs shift.
Basic life and accident insurance. The county covers every employee for $10,000 of life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance at a cost of roughly $800-$1,000 annually — funded through savings generated by the county’s self-funded health insurance program.
The motion by Supervisor Sherman, seconded by Supervisor Warcho, passed 12-0.
Opioid funds: $285,050 committed, committee disbanded
Resolution 30-26 authorizes $285,050 from the county’s opioid abatement fund across four categories:
- $92,500 — prevention of misuse (largest single line)
- $76,600 — overdose death prevention and harm reduction
- $65,000 — treatment and recovery support
- $50,950 — pregnant and parenting women and families, including babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome
The fiscal impact is listed as $0 because the money comes from settlement funds, not the levy. The resolution covers 2027 through 2038.
Trimner told the board that with this approval, the ad hoc opioid committee that prepared the spending plan will dissolve. The county will continue receiving roughly $14,000 per year in ongoing settlement payments for another 10 to 15 years. Future spending decisions below $25,000 will be handled at the Health and Human Services Board level; anything above that threshold returns to the full County Board.
Supervisor Kopisch asked whether future opioid spending would flow through the regular budget process. Trimner confirmed it would, with the HHS Board directing how funds are allocated within the five settlement categories. The county must report spending to the state annually.
The motion by Supervisor Copeland, seconded by Supervisor Ulrich, passed 12-0.
Data center inquiry: Price Electric meeting
The most consequential discussion of the morning was not on the agenda. It came during the Board Chair’s report under Committee of the Whole.
Ernst said the October 27 meeting with Price Electric was informational. “This is not the media-cover type installation,” he said. “It’s a portable containerized equipment facility.” He said Price Electric told the county they would “be very transparent about what’s going on and if it’ll affect anything.”
“I’m not concerned right now,” Ernst said.
Trimner then gave the most detailed public update to date on the county’s data center ordinance work. Key points:
- The county has initial draft ordinances for data centers and battery energy storage systems (BESS), developed with the Land Use Committee and zoning staff.
- Under current ordinances, a data center would be approved under a conditional use permit with no specific conditions tailored to the use. The updated ordinance would change that.
- The county is working with an outside law firm to draft the regulations. Trimner referred to the firm as “Toll-less Law” in the transcript; the firm’s name has not been independently verified.
- Even without a finalized ordinance, the county could apply draft conditions to a conditional use permit in the interim. “We would just take those conditions and put them on this conditional use permit,” Trimner said.
- No moratorium is needed. “There’s no fire right now that we’re trying to put out,” Trimner said. “Everybody’s playing nice.”
- The timeline problem: the Land Use Committee could review the draft this month or next, but once an ordinance passes the committee and a public hearing is held, state law requires a 30-day waiting period before it takes effect. The board does not meet again until February 16, 2027. The earliest an ordinance could be on the books is roughly March 2027.
- A special board meeting in January is possible if urgency develops, but Trimner said there is “not a sense of urgency” among legal counsel, zoning staff, or the board chair.
The discussion also touched on the radio communication project. Trimner noted that the county’s consultant, TUSA, is expected to deliver its needs-and-wants report around Christmas. If the board wanted to act on both the radio project and data center ordinances before February, a January special meeting could cover both.
Budget hearing: no public comment
The 2027 budget public hearing opened at 9:05 a.m. No one spoke in the gallery or online. The hearing was closed at 9:06 a.m.
Committee reports
Forestry and Parks — The 2027 Annual Work Plan passed 12-0. The Lower Steve Creek Dam bid was awarded for $656,757.25, with construction next year. Timber stumpage is running 43 percent behind last year, though last year’s pace was unusually early. Bids for the second-half timber sale are due December 7, with Forestry committee review December 8.
Highway and Transportation — Price County received a $2.2 million RIP grant for County Trunk X (the road into Beaver), covering 89 percent of the $2.5 million project. Crews have completed winter readiness for both county and state equipment. American Asphalt overlaid rutting areas on County Trunk I with 800 tons of asphalt. The shop mechanic position remains open.
Land Use and UW-Extension — The shooting range conditional use permit in the Town of Cannon is on hold pending town action; the town does not meet until December. A short-term rental CUP in the Town of Worcester was approved. Taylor County’s move to make its extension agent full-time has accelerated Price County’s effort to hire its own 4-H educator, estimated to cost the county $10,000-$12,000 after a UW credit.
Law Enforcement — The radio project consultant TUSA completed on-site meetings with fire departments, schools, and other stakeholders. Taylor County offered use of a tower at Camp Forest Springs that could improve coverage in the southern half of Price County. Supervisors raised the question of whether town and village highway departments should be included in the radio system; Trimner said he would have the project lead extend the survey to all municipalities. No cost to the county for additional users — municipalities would buy their own radios and pay a prorated share of maintenance.
Administration — Two meetings since the last board meeting. Insurance rates were set October 15. The employee handbook resolution approved today was passed at yesterday’s meeting. The committee also discussed changing how recruitment is reported, after public confusion about multiple open positions that are actually a single vacancy creating a chain of internal promotions.
Executive — Supervisor Hodak chaired the October 29 meeting in Ernst’s absence. The 2022 REM parcel auction first round concluded with all but three properties sold; the remaining three now have bids in a re-auction with minimum bids set to taxes owed rather than CMA values. Register of Deeds reports $6 million in transaction value.
Bug Tussle: both parties agreed to discontinue
Erst reported that the county and Bug Tussel have “mutually agreed to non-continuation of the project” but are still working on the specific details of the separation. Bug Tussel has identified two counties where its projects will not proceed, and Price County is one of them. “At least they’re admitting that we’re moving forward to that no project,” Trimner said. “It’s just a matter of getting the paperwork and everything done.”
New supervisor sworn in
District 5 Supervisor Preston Sherman, elected November 5, attended the meeting under his previous term, which concludes November 12. He will be officially sworn in November 12 after the three-day election certification waiting period. Ernst congratulated him: “You ran a good campaign, Preston.”
What this meeting means for data centers
The Price Electric inquiry is the first concrete indication that a data center — even a small, containerized one — is being discussed for Price County. Until now, the county’s ordinance work has been precautionary. The July 23 Land Use Committee meeting framed data centers as something the county should prepare for but did not expect. “We’re not a hot spot for it,” staff said then.
The November 10 discussion does not change that posture, but it gives it a deadline. If Price Electric’s inquiry advances, the county’s options are to apply draft conditions to a conditional use permit, call a special board meeting, or wait until the regular February meeting — by which point the ordinance could be close to adoption if the Land Use Committee finishes its work this month or next.
Trimner’s assessment was that none of those options requires urgent action. “There’s no moratorium needed,” he said. “Everybody seems to be on the same understanding.”
The Land Use Committee meets this month. Its agenda had not been posted as of November 12.
Source: Price County Board of Supervisors Meeting, November 10, 2026. Transcript obtained from the county’s YouTube channel (@pricecountywigovernment). Agenda posted October 29, 2026; amended October 30. The meeting video is available at https://youtu.be/3mqwSzK-Z4A.