Dayton candidate says town needs to pay for maintaining infrastructure
Jeff Barlow, a candidate for Dayton town supervisor and Dayton town chair, said claims by three other candidates only tell a partial story of what is happening on the town board.
In an article that ran in the March 30 edition of the Waupaca County Post, the three candidates running together as the Dayton Deserves Better coalition criticized the town board for never having an internal audit by an independent CPA.
Barlow said Dayton is not required to have an independent audit because it has two separate people who are elected to the positions of town clerk and town treasurer.
Towns where the position of clerk and treasurer are held by a single person require an independent audit in order for there to be checks and balances.
Former Dayton Town Clerk Judy Suhs said the question of whether to have an independent audit was brought before Dayton electors at the town’s last annual meeting. Dayton electors voted against having an independent audit.
“Janssen Accounting does the Form C financial statement that has to be completed for the state,” Suhs said.
Barlow also noted that Dayton has parks and boat ramps that the town must budget expenditures for maintaining and mowing.
In the town of Dayton, parks include Waupaca County’s Nelson Park on the Crystal River, Hartman Creek State Park and the Ice Age National Scenic Trail are in Dayton, Jake Peglow Legacy Park on Round Lake, the kayak park on County Trunk K and the Wau-King Trail that passes through a portion of Dayton. There are also 10 boat launches in Dayton.
“We have to spend considerable money this year,” Suhs said, regarding upkeep of the launches.
Barlow further criticized the candidate meet and greet held at the town hall.
He said he and Jim Peglow could not attend that meeting because it would have created a quorum in violation of the open meetings act because the town chair did not post a public notice of it,
Another issue that Barlow and Suhs raised is regarding internet service in Dayton.
Suhs said the town has committed to working with Amherst Communications on high-speed internet at a cost of $262,000 for fiber optic cable.
She also noted that Dayton has considerable expenditures on infrastructure in the near future.
“Just on Rural Road, we have three culverts that need work,” Suhs said. “Dayton will need to pay for it.”
Dayton’s box culverts “were built in the early 1900s to 1940s,” Barlow said.
Barlow said he refused to respond to the questionnaire from the Dayton Information Group (DIG) because they have refused to identify who they are.
He also did not like some of the questions they asked.
A copy of the questionnaire that DIG emailed to Barlow included questions such as “What would your worst enemy say about you?” and “What would people be surprised to learn about you?”
The Dayton town election will be held on Tuesday, April 4.