Bartel is seeking re-election as Supervisor 1 on the Farmington Town Board. Engebretson, who served 12 years on the town board before losing to Bartel in 2009, is seeking to return to his former seat.
Trinrud said Farmington needs a town supervisor who is able to commit the time necessary to do the job.
"Eugene served on the town board for 12 years, and he missed one meeting and that was for his mother's funeral, Trinrud said. "Joel has been on the board for two years and has missed at least half a dozen meetings."
"Joel missed the budget workshop that was held in October specifically to meet his schedule, then he voted against the budget in November," Trinrud said. "He attended the 2009 budget workshop and voted for the 3 percent levy increase that year."
"We had no levy increase for three years in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Then we had a 3 percent increase in 2009 and 2010," Trinrud said. "The board thought it would be better to have a modest increase now, not knowing what future revenues would be."
Bartel has told Farmington voters that since he was elected he helped reduce Farmington's overall budget from $1.1 million in 2008 to $910,000 in 2010.
"We took some money from our reserve funds to pay for the projects," Trinrud said. "That's the reason we have the reserve funds. If we have projects come up, we can pay for them without borrowing."
In 2000, Farmington's mill rate was $1.99 per $1,000 of assessed value. In 2010, the mill rate was $1.36 per $1,000.
"Since 2007, Farmington's fund balance has grown from $618,000 to $907,000 in 2010," Trinrud said.
Trinrud also took issue with Bartel's proposal to separate the clerk and treasurer position in order to cut costs.
Bartel said the town is currently paying its clerk-treasurer $62,000 a year "for a 25-hour workweek position."
Bartel has proposed separating the two positions and paying the average compensation for an elected clerk and an appointed treasurer for a town the size of Farmington. He estimates his proposal could save Farmington $21,500.
Adding up the salary, health insurance costs, retirement benefits and the town's share of her Social Security and Medicare withholdings, Trinrud said Farmington paid Town Clerk-Treasurer Sandy Grenlie a total package of $56,759 in 2010. He noted that Grenlie also contributed $6,600 toward her health insurance costs.
"Sandy has 21 years of experience with the town of Farmington. She handles $6 million in property taxes a year. She oversees the elections. As the town has grown, so have her responsibilities," Trinrud said, adding that Farmington is the largest township in Waupaca County.
Trinrud said Grenlie is responsible for three cemeteries, state voter registration, acts as secretary for the Plan Commission, takes care of all the mailings, public notices and bid proposals, purchases town signage, prepares road construction reports and town asset reports for the state, updates the town's website, keeps records for the water patrol and pays the town's bills.
"The town hall is open to the public Monday through Friday and she works an average of 37 hours per week, besides being available daily by phone or in person to the residents of Farmington," Trinrud said.
Trinrud explained how Farmington came to have one person taking on both roles as clerk and treasurer. Originally, both positions were elected.
"In 2002, Sandy was a part-time treasurer and the clerk at that time planned to retire," Trinrud recalled. "The town board felt it was a good time to combine the two part-time positions into one full-time position."
On Oct. 21, 2002, at a special town meeting of electors, 30 residents voted unanimously to combine the two positions. Grenlie began working as clerk-treasurer in December 2002.
At a meeting of electors on Nov. 20, 2006, 18 residents voted to change the clerk-treasurer from an elected to an appointed position.
Trinrud said Grenlie is a state-certified municipal clerk who spent three years in classes in Green Bay to earn her certification.
He also questioned Bartel's interpretation of the auditors' annual report to the town of Farmington.
Trinrud said that while the auditors noted that having a single person complete all financial and record-keeping duties does not allow for a proper segregation of duties for internal-control purposes, the report also recommends that the board "continue to monitor the transactions and the financial transactions of the town."
He pointed to the auditors' statement that two roles were combined due to the size of the town and the limited number of employees. He said the majority of the board believes the cost to segregate the two positions would outweigh the benefits.
Caroline Murphy is running unopposed for the Supervisor 2 seat on the Farmington Town Board. She said she was completely comfortable with the town clerk and treasurer's positions being combined.
"Sandy is very knowledgeable and very professional," Murphy said. "She is an asset to the town."
Murphy, who declined to endorse either of the other candidates for supervisor, said she had been especially irritated when Bartel failed to attend the budget workshop, then spoke against the budget at the hearing.
"We always ask Joel what date would be best for him because we know that he works," Murphy said. "He set the date for the workshop and did not show up. Then, he came to the meeting and was negative, which was his right."
Bartel responds
"I'll be the first to admit that I missed some workshops and committee meetings over the last two years," Bartel told the County Post. "But I did not miss one monthly board meeting when decisions were made for the township. In fact, I have taken vacation days over the last two years to conduct road tours and take educational classes related to the township."
Bartel said one of the problems with local government is that many of the meetings are held during the day when most residents are at work.
"By having more meetings at night, it would allow more people to be involved in local government," Bartel said. "If re-elected, I will continue to do the best I can to make all meetings, but knowing that I have to support my family first by working my job."
Bartel defended his proposal to separate the clerk and treasurer positions and make them both part time.
"Why is the township of Dayton paying their part-time clerk $20,000 a year and their treasurer $8,000? We're overpaying by $34,000 compared to Dayton," Bartel said.
Bartel said the size of the township does not matter when it comes to the workload.
"When you look at the reports the clerk and the treasurer have to submit, it's the same number regardless of the size of the township. The duties are the same," Bartel said.
Bartel said the functions of clerk and treasurer need to be separated in order to have more accountability.
When asked why he voted to increase Farmington's 2010 property taxes, Bartel said, "In 2010, I was wrong. I should not have voted for that budget."
He said he would continue to vote against any budget that increases taxes.
"Dale (Trinrud) has done an excellent job for the town of Farmington and I have worked with Dale to solve many issues in the town over the last two years," Bartel said. "So, I'm very disappointed to hear that Dale is supporting my opponent and doesn't want increased accountability with the clerk and treasurer's position, and lower taxes for our residents."
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