(1) GENERAL. The
department shall award an annual staffing grant to the county land conservation
committee in each eligible county. With the department's written permission, a
county conservation committee may reallocate staffing grant funds to another
agency of the county, or to a city, village, town, county drainage board, lake
district, or tribe operating in the county.
Note: The department may award annual staffing
grants from applicable appropriations under s.
20.115(7),
Stats. The department may not use bond revenue funds for county staffing
grants.
(2) GRANT CONTRACT.
The department shall distribute an annual staffing grant under sub. (1)
according to an annual grant contract with the county. The contract shall
comply with s.
ATCP 50.36 and
shall include all of the following:
(a) The
total grant amount under sub. (1) .
(b) The subtotal amount allocated from each
relevant fund source under s.
ATCP 50.28(1)
(a).
(c) Grant terms and conditions, including
conditions required under this section.
Note: Grant contracts, including grant amounts
and fund sources, must conform to the grant allocation plan under s.
ATCP
50.28. Bond revenues may not be used for staffing
grants.
(3) USE
OF ANNUAL STAFFING GRANTS; GENERAL. A county may use an annual staffing grant
under sub. (1) in the year for which the grant is made. The county may use the
grant for any of the following purposes, subject to the terms of the grant
contract:
(a) Employee salaries, employee
fringe benefits, and contractor fees for county employees and independent
contractors performing soil and water resource management activities for the
county land conservation committee.
Note: Soil and water resource management
activities may include activities under this chapter, ch. 91, Stats., and s.
93.90,
Stats., the CREP program activities and projects funded by DNR under ss.
281.65
and
281.66,
Stats., and activities related to DNR notices of discharge under ch. NR
243.
(b) Training for
county employees and land conservation committee members to the extent
authorized under sub. (3m).
(c)
County employee support costs under sub. (4).
(d) Landowner cost-share grants, to the
extent authorized under sub. (11).
(3m) TRAINING COSTS. An annual staffing grant
may pay for any of the following county employee and land conservation
committee member training costs, including registration fees, travel, and
materials:
(a) Training in conservation
planning and management, technical standards implementation, clerical
assistance, computer usage, and communications.
(b) Courses building skills to perform
current responsibilities or develop professionally in the field of soil and
water management.
(c) Other
training costs identified in the grant application for the grant year in which
the funds are to be expended.
(4) STAFF SUPPORT COSTS. An annual staffing
grant may pay for any of the following county employee support costs identified
in the grant application:
(a) Mileage expenses
at the state rate. A staffing grant may not be used to lease or purchase a
vehicle.
(b) Personal computers,
software, printers, and related devices.
(c) A proportionate share of the costs for
required financial and compliance audits.
(d) Costs for information and education
materials, newsletters, office supplies, maps and plats, photocopying,
printing, and postage. This does not include rent or capital
expenditures.
(e) Other staff
support costs that the department identifies, in the grant application form, as
being reimbursable for all counties.
(5) GRANT AMOUNTS.
(a) The department may award different grant
amounts to different counties under sub. (1) , based on a consideration of
factors identified in s.
ATCP 50.30.
Note: Subject to the availability of funds,
the department may offer each county a minimum staffing grant amount specified
in the annual grant application. See s.
ATCP 50.26. In
lieu of offering a minimum grant award, or in addition to such an award, the
department may base awards on the grant priorities in s.
ATCP 50.30. The
department has legal discretion to adjust grant awards from year to year, based
on any of those factors.
(b) The total grant amount reimbursed to a
county for training and support costs may not exceed 10% of a county's annual
grant allocation.
(6)
GRANT PAYMENTS.
(a) The department shall make
grant payments under sub. (1) on a reimbursement basis. The department shall
pay reimbursement within 30 days after the county land conservation committee
files a valid reimbursement request under sub. (7). The department shall pay
reimbursement, at the rate provided under sub. (8), on reimbursable
expenditures identified in the reimbursement request. Total payments may not
exceed the total grant award under sub. (1) .
(b) The department may reimburse eligible
costs that are incurred during the grant year and paid by January 31 of the
year following the grant year. The department may not reimburse any costs
incurred after December 31 of the grant year, or paid after January 31 of the
following year. Unspent funds remain with the department, for distribution
under a future annual allocation plan.
(c) If a county redirects the unused portion
of an annual staffing grant for cost-share payments to landowners, as provided
in sub. (11), the department shall reimburse county cost-share payments to
landowners according to s.
ATCP
50.34.
(7) REIMBURSEMENT REQUESTS.
(a) To obtain a reimbursement payment under
sub. (6) (a), a county land conservation committee shall file a reimbursement
request on the form provided by the department. A county may file a
reimbursement request on or after November 1 for costs incurred before November
1. A county may file a second reimbursement request for costs not covered by
the first request. A county may file no more than 2 reimbursement requests, and
shall file all reimbursement requests by February 15 of the year following the
grant year.
Note: The department does not provide paper
copies of its grant forms. To obtain the most current program grant forms,
including the form to request reimbursement from the department, counties
should refer to the program's working manual on the department website at:
https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/ATCP50.aspx.
(b) An authorized county representative shall
sign each reimbursement request. The request shall certify that the county has
fully paid the costs for which the county seeks reimbursement, and that those
costs are eligible for reimbursement under this chapter and the grant
contract.
(c) A reimbursement
request shall specify the nature and amount of costs on which the county seeks
reimbursement. If the county seeks reimbursement of employee salaries, employee
fringe benefits, or independent contractor fees, the request shall specify all
of the following for that employee or independent contractor:
1. The position number of the employee, or
the contract number of the independent contractor.
2. The total amount of salaries and fringe
benefits, or the total amount of contractor fees, on which the county seeks
reimbursement.
3. Whether the
employee or independent contractor is a first, second, or subsequent position
for purposes of s.
92.14(3)
and (5g), Stats.
4. The amount of applicable matching funds
provided to cover the county portion of salary and fringe benefits.
Note: Counties can use various funding sources
to meet their match requirement, including county levy, permit fees, private
grants, federal grants, state funds other than those under chs. 92, 281, and
283, Stats., or any other qualifying source.
5. The share of the employee or independent
contractor costs that are attributable to other land and water resource
management activities.
(d) If a county reallocates grant funds to a
local government or tribe under sub. (1) , the county shall submit
reimbursement requests on behalf of that local government or tribe. The county
shall submit and certify each reimbursement request according to this
subsection, based on information that the local government or tribe certifies
to the county. The department may reimburse the local government or tribe based
on a valid county request under this paragraph.
Note: A county land conservation committee
need not submit documentation supporting its certification under sub. (7), but
must keep that documentation on file as required by sub. (9). The committee
must make the documentation available to the department and grant auditors upon
request.
(8)
REIMBURSEMENT RATE.
(a) The department shall
reimburse eligible county costs for employee salaries, employee fringe
benefits, and independent contractor fees at the rate provided under s.
92.14,
Stats.
(b) The department may
reimburse eligible county employee training and support costs at 100%, subject
to sub. (5) (b).
(c) For the
purpose of determining reimbursement rates under s.
92.14,
Stats.:
1. A county may choose which
employees or independent contractors are considered the county's first, second,
and subsequent staff persons.
2.
The department may reimburse eligible costs for the county's first designated
staff person at 100%.
4. Except as
provided under subd. 2., the department may reimburse eligible staffing costs
at the rate prescribed in s.
92.14(5g)
(a), Stats.
(d) A county receiving an annual staffing
grant under this chapter shall maintain its annual soil and water resource
management expenditures at or above the average annual amount that the county
expended in the years 1985 and 1986, as required by s.
92.14(7),
Stats. A county may count, as part of its contributions under this paragraph,
county expenditures for employees and independent contractors who work for the
county land conservation committee. A county may not count capital improvement
expenditures, or the expenditure of grant revenues that the county receives
from other governmental entities.
(9) RECORDS.
(a) A county land conservation committee
shall keep records related to annual staffing grants under this section. The
records shall document that the county used grant funds according to this
chapter and the grant contract. The county shall retain the records for at
least 3 years after the end of the grant year.
(b) If a county reallocates grant funds to a
local government or tribe, that local government or tribe shall also keep
records under par. (a) .
(10) BOND REVENUES MAY NOT BE USED FOR COUNTY
STAFFING. Bond revenue funds may not be used for an annual staffing grant under
sub. (1) .
Note: Bond revenues are those appropriated
under s.
20.866(2)
(we), Stats. The Wisconsin constitution
limits the use of bond revenues.
(11) REDIRECTING STAFFING GRANTS FOR
COST-SHARE PAYMENTS TO LANDOWNERS. A county may redirect a portion of its
annual staffing grant to fund cost-share grants to landowners under s.
ATCP
50.34 if all of the following apply:
(a) The department approves, in writing, the
total staffing grant amount that the county may redirect.
(b) The county uses the redirected funds in
the year for which the funds are allocated.
Notes
Wis. Admin.
Code Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer
Protection
§
ATCP
50.32
CR 01-090: cr.
Register September 2002 No. 561, eff. 10-1-02; CR 08-075: am. (7) (a) Register
April 2009 No. 640, eff. 5-1-09; CR 13-016: am. (3) (b), cr. (3m), r. and recr.
(5) (b), am. (7) (b), r. and recr. (7) (c) 4., am. (8) (b), (c) 2., r. (8) (c)
3., am. (8) (c) 4. Register February 2014 No. 698, eff. 5-1-14.
Amended by,
correction in (7) (a) (Note) under s.
13.92(4)
(b) 6, Stats.,
Register
August 2016 No. 728, eff.
9/1/2016.
Amended by,
CR 16-083: am. (7) (a)
Register
January 2018 No. 745, eff.
2/1/2018
The department will pay approved cost-share
reimbursements according to the procedure in s.
ATCP
50.34.