[Code 1982, § 13.03; Ord. No. 1036, 11-23-2004; Ord. No. 1036, 11-23-2004; Ord. No. 1483, 12-13-2022; Ord. No. 1496, 7-25-2023; as amended 7-23-2024 by Ord. No. 1516]
(1)
Created. There is hereby created a Marshfield Utility Commission which shall take entire charge of and manage the Marshfield water and electric utility and the communications utility, appoint a manager or superintendent and fix his compensation and supervise the operation of the utility under the general control and supervision of the Council.
(2)
Membership. The Commission shall be composed of seven members of the public within the area served by the electric and water utility, however, a majority of the Commission must be residents of the City. Two of the members shall also be members of the Common Council while serving on the Commission. If a member is appointed at the time he or she is a resident of the City, he or she will be deemed to have vacated the appointed office in the event he or she loses resident status. The Commissioners shall be elected by the Council for a term of seven years and until their successors are elected and qualify, beginning on October 1 of each year, except that the terms of the Commissioners first elected shall expire successively one each year on each succeeding October 1.
(3)
Organization and operation. The Commissioners shall select a president and a secretary. They shall have the services of the City Engineer and may employ and fix the compensation of such subordinates as necessary. The Commissioners shall make rules for their proceedings and their department and keep books of account as prescribed by the Public Service Commission, which shall be available to the public. They shall keep full and accurate minutes of their proceedings, to be presented to and placed on file by the Common Council.
(4)
Compensation. The Commissioners, with the exception of those concurrently serving on the Common Council, shall be entitled to compensation set at $600 annually.
(5)
Powers. The Commission shall have such general powers in the construction, extension, improvement and operation of the utility as designated by ordinance or resolution of the Council or by the laws of the state, and shall have the authority to expend up to $1,000,000 on any specific utilities construction project without approval of the Council. No project, regardless of its nature, scope, or value, shall be divided into smaller projects or phases with the intention of circumventing the Council approval threshold requirement.
(6)
Departmental expenditures. Departmental expenditures shall be audited monthly by the Commission, and when approved, a voucher schedule shall be prepared and certified to the City Clerk by the president and secretary that the claims listed therein have been authorized for payment. There shall be further certifications on the schedule whether or not funds are available for payment of the claims as listed. Order checks shall then be prepared by the utility and entered upon the books of the utility, after which they shall be signed by the utility manager and transmitted to the City Clerk and Finance Director for their signatures as provided by § 66.0607(4) Wis. Stats. The Mayor's signature shall not be necessary to validate such order checks.
(7)
Receipts. All funds due and owing to the utility from all sources shall be paid directly to the utility.