OC executive committee approves UW-Extension restructuring

The Oneida County executive committee has approved a restructuring of the county’s UW-Extension office operations in a bid to create flexibility for the office’s full-time administrative support staff.

Specifically, the plan calls for the UW-Extension office manager to assist other county departments when workloads allow. The move, described as a “trial” and a “fluid” approach to resource sharing, is intended to preserve UW-Extension programming while leveraging existing staff capacity.

“I think it’s going to be a step forward and we’ll keep learning and figuring it out as we go on kind of trial and error, but I’m hoping it doesn’t really affect our programming,” Extension director Amber Rehberg told the committee on January 14. “But as long as we can continue to meet the needs of our community, I feel really good about it. I want to be able to support other departments.”

The committee unanimously approved the plan.

The restructuring emerged from discussions during the 2026 budget process, when the executive committee asked the UW-Extension office to reevaluate services and staffing needs. According to a memo by Rehberg and by county clerk and administrative coordinator Tracy Hartman, the restructuring aims to enhance service to Oneida County residents while ensuring responsible use of taxpayer funds.

“During the 2026 budget process, the executive committee requested a reevaluation of current UW-EX services and staffing needs to identify opportunities to increase flexibility within the office manager position,” the memo states. “This restructuring aims to create capacity for the office manager to support other county departments without compromising essential UW-EX programs and operations.”

Rehberg said the idea came from a recognition last year that, at certain times, UW-Extension administrative support staff could be deployed elsewhere.

“As we went through the budget process and discussing ways that we could look at our budget and continue to help the county, one of the things that came forward is we do have a full-time administrative support [person] who does an incredible job,” Rehberg told supervisors. “And so wanting to ensure that we can continue to keep that support, it really helps our office, but they’re also recognizing that at certain times of the year or at different places within our programming structure, there may be some capacity.”

Rehberg said the Extension alway wants to efficiently utilize resources and be a part of the solution.

“Last year we did it with some other entities, … so we generated a little bit of revenue that way,” she said. “And so that’s kind of how it all got started, the conversation and then the executive committee asked Tracy [Hartman] and I to kind of work on a proposal.”

Rehberg said they had office manager Jessica Young go over the proposal and give feedback before finalizing it.

“We have a Google form that department heads will be able to fill out, a kind of intake form for opportunities that may be available for her to work on some projects when time allows,” Rehberg said. 

Revised office hours

Rehberg told supervisors that the proposal meant that the UW Extension’s public office hours would have to change.

Under the approved plan, which the department was scheduled to start implementing on February 1, the UW-Extension office at Nicolet College will adopt revised public office hours of Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to noon, with appointments available as needed.

The administrative support schedule will be structured so that the hours of 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday will remain dedicated to UW-Extension office work and projects. From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on those days, administrative staff will become available for assisting other county departments. Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. will also available for county department support.

Rehberg acknowledged that adjusting office hours is part of the transition.

“We meet people in a lot of different ways,” she said. “Now the foot traffic into Nicolet, in the basement of the Northwoods Center, we have some, but I think people also schedule around what your availability is. So I think if we promote the hours we are available or Jess is available by appointment, we can work with most community members to meet their needs.”

Supervisor and committee chairman Billy Fried asked how, beyond office hours, the change might impact the program.

Rehberg said the agency already had limited staff doing incredible programming, but even so she envisioned the biggest impact would involve her and Hartman.

“I would hate that just moving into this we wouldn’t be able to support the educators and the work they’re doing,” she said. “So I’m super sensitive. I think it will be, in full transparency, probably the biggest lift for Tracy and me. Who knows how many requests will come in? As those requests come in, Tracy and I will look at them, review them, determine whether or not there’s capacity within the timeline that’s been shared and then move forward. … As long as we can continue to meet the needs of our community and the way we’re doing it, I feel really good about it.”

Rehberg said there would be adjustment challenges for everyone.

“So I think there’s a big learning curve for all of us in the county, including the department heads to even acknowledge or recognize it as a resource,” she said. “Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think it’s going to be a big burden.”

No added cost

The office manager position is fully budgeted at 40 hours per week in the 2026 UW-Extension budget. Under the proposal, as outlined in the memo, 20 to 24 hours per week (55 percent–70 percent) will be dedicated to UW-Extension programming, while 16 to 20 hours per week (30 percent to 45 percent) will be available to assist other county departments. The memo also stresses that there will be periods throughout the year when the office manager is required full-time by UW-Extension, such as in major program cycles, and fiscal or reporting deadlines.

Departments will be asked whether internal funding is available to help offset the office manager’s time, the memo stated, but, because the UW position is fully funded, supplemental funding will not be required, at least not yet.

Hartman addressed that point during the meeting.

“During budget hearings that was part of a discussion — can we bill other departments? Can you bring in more revenue?” Hartman said. “I don’t see that we’re at the point where that’s how we want to start it.”

Hartman said convincing other department heads that this is a good resource for them to use is going to take some finessing. 

“We all are very proprietary of our offices and are hesitant to ask for help from other offices,” she said. “So this was a good way I think to introduce it and give them an opportunity to use the services without having to come up with a budget. Their budgets are tight, but if there’s a vacancy and they’re like, ‘Hey, we have a vacancy and can Jess sit in our office Monday through Thursday from one to four for two weeks,’ then can they transfer some funds? I sense most of it’s going to be no, we’re not going to ask for funding from departments and this is going to be using the UW-Extension’s fully funded position.”

Rehberg did point out that the department did, in its budget, increase the revenue it generates.

“So there’s a little bit of a need to do some more of that in the year,” she said. “Like Tracy said, if a department has the resources because they have a vacancy or they budgeted for a special project and couldn’t get to it, then we would. Again, it’s internal in a way. So it’s like taking from one to put toward our budget, but at the same time it’s not really changing the bottom line for the county in those particular cases.”

Language concerns

Supervisor Steven Schreier expressed concern about the proposal’s repeated use of the word “will” in describing departmental obligations.

“When we use the word ‘will’ as opposed to ‘may,’ I don’t like ‘will’ unless I’m certain that we’re saying that’s what will happen, that we will dedicate X amount of percentage of time, because you just made it sound like that may not happen, and a ‘will’ and a ‘may’ can’t occupy the same space,” Schreier said. “I need to know that you’re going to make the best effort to accommodate what you’re proposing, but it needs to be understood that the priority will be for the Extension programming and then whatever we can provide outside of that.”

Schreier cautioned against creating language that could later be interpreted as mandatory commitments.

“I don’t want to go back to this at some point in the future and say, ‘Well, it says right here you will do this,’” he said.

Rehberg agreed to revise the wording.

“I’m going to change the ‘will’ to ‘may,’” she said. “I think that is really good. As we propose it to department heads and others, I think having that clarity around the language just protects the process.”

Schreier said he viewed the project as a step forward, and he credited the creation of the administrative coordinator position as central in making it happen.

“I also want to recognize that since we’ve established an administrator coordinator position, these are the kind of functions we are benefiting from in having this position, which we really did not have previously,” he said. “This is creative problem solving in my opinion that we didn’t really have before.”

Schreier said the executive committee had been looking at UW Extension, looking at the structure, looking at how it was being financed, and what the payback was.

“I think this is a solution right now with the caveat that it’s also new,” he said. “It is going to be a new way for other departments to look at this and hopefully take advantage of it in some way, shape, or form.”

Protecting the employee

During the discussion, committee members repeatedly emphasized concern about overburdening the office manager.

“Jess [Young] is a great county employee,” Rehberg said. “[I’m super sensitive to] not wanting to overburden her to the place where she doesn’t want to work for Oneida County anymore and we lose a really great employee.”

Schreier also raised a broader human-resources concern: whether the restructuring relies too heavily on Young’s particular skill set rather than on the position itself.

“I feel like a lot of this is based on the skill set of the individual and not what should be the skill set of the position,” he said. “Meaning if this individual goes away, do we continue to obligate this position to what we’re establishing here and how do we know that that incoming person will have that skillset? Or are we going to have to look at that position’s description and make sure that this is also in that position.”

Rehberg responded that the tasks outlined are consistent with standard administrative support functions.

“I don’t think the things that we’re asking are outside of the scope of her work,” she said. “They are within the job description…. But I think as a position, if Jess decided this wasn’t a good fit anymore and decided to move on or went to another department, we would evaluate with HR and with our committee, and whether we needed it full time. And I think at that point we would discuss whether or not we would move forward and then probably we would build some more additional language into the position description around this piece.”

Rehberg said Schreier had asked a great question, but she didn’t think any job function that was listed would be any different if they posted a new position for somebody else to fill. 

“We were not necessarily only catering to her skills,” she said. “They’re — I don’t want to say basic because I think that minimizes the incredible work that administrative support does — but they are typical administrative support functions that they will be filling in for.”

According to the memo, the office manager may assist departments with such things as general clerical support; data entry and records maintenance; meeting preparation and document organization; filing and digital file management; basic graphic design; proofreading and editing; social media; creating surveys and reports; database management and data analysis, and more.  

Periodic review

The memo specifies that a review of the new structure will occur after three and six months .

“I would like them to establish some time in the future to bring it back for review,” Schreier reiterated at the meeting. “Even if I may not be here [Schreier is not running for re-election], I can trust that whoever is here will look at it and give it all the due diligence that it deserves.”

Hartman acknowledged that adjustments may be necessary.

“We’ve come up with what we think the plan will be, but three weeks in, four weeks in, five weeks in, are we going to find, okay, it’s actually not that easy for Jess to leave Nicolet and come over here for two hours here and there,” she said. “Or maybe it is easier and so great, and if the department needs her on Monday morning from eight to 10, we can make that happen. So I do caution that I think that we’re going to see this as a benefit and in three months we’re going to say, ‘okay, great. There was some wonderful resources that were used and projects were completed and office time was filled in.’ But this is a new concept.”

Fried added that the project in the end might not work and there might be things to tweak, but all in all he thought it was a great starting point.

The committee voted to approve the restructuring 6-0. The matter does not have to go to the full county board.

Hartman and Rehberg did include some notes about expectations with their proposal.

“Departments will play a key role in setting clear expectations and providing essential resources — such as photos, summaries, and other materials — to support tasks like social media posts and reports,” their memo stated. “This proactive approach will help streamline workflows and maintain quality.”

Likewise, they wrote, when specialized tools like specific records databases are involved, departments may need to offer additional training to build confidence and capability.

“UW Extension administrative support will thrive under a clear supervisory structure, with the area Extension director serving as the primary point of guidance,” they wrote. “Maintaining this chain of command ensures consistent support for the office coordinator and smooth navigation of responsibilities as this opportunity evolves.”

Richard Moore is the author of “Dark State” and may be reached at richardd3d.substack.com.