Winnebago’s Lucky Lanes is in the process of being sold to Dillion and Kateri Johanson. Their purchase of the business from its current owners, Bob and Penny VanNote, is expected to be finalized at the end of the first week of October.

The Winnebago City Council called a special meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 26, to take care of some miscellaneous matters which could not wait until the next regular council meeting on Oct. 10.

A presentation by Leah Davis, a CPA and partner at Abdo, occupied the bulk of the meeting’s time. Davis attended the meeting to answer questions about an upcoming compensation study which Abdo will conduct on behalf of Winnebago.

Compensation studies are implemented to determine whether an employer – in this case, the city of Winnebago – is compensating its employees fairly for their work.

“I think there’s this conception that (the study) is to go in to raise pay, but there are a lot of other components that drive the need for a compensation study,” Davis explained to the council.

She said the study is a useful tool for updating job descriptions and for annual budgeting, and it is a way to ensure that employees’ wages are competitive within the labor market.

Additionally, cities are issued steep fines by the state if their compensation structure is found to be out of compliance.

Davis noted that many small Minnesota cities – including Winnebago – have never felt the need to conduct a compensation study before. However, in the last three or four years, market pressure has caused organizations to make unusual changes in their pay compensation, causing unprecedented changes to their compensation structures.

“We’re seeing a lot of cities who have never done (a compensation study) say, ‘Well, now we need to,'” Davis said.

She informed the council that once the study has been completed, Winnebago’s compensation structure should not need to be updated for about 10 years.

Throughout the course of the study, Abdo will analyze Winnebago’s job descriptions and assign each position a score based on factors such as know-how and problem solving skills needed to perform the position’s duties, the position’s accountability and any special conditions under which the position’s duties are performed.

“If positions are similarly scored, they should be similarly paid,” Davis explained. If any positions are found to be out of compliance, the city will need to adjust employees’ pay to return to compliance.

Davis estimated the study will take 60 days to complete. Currently, Abdo is in the process of requesting data from Minnesota cities of a similar size and location to Winnebago. The data will be used as a basis of comparison to assign accurate scores to positions.

In the event that the study is not completed before the end of the year, and Winnebago is found to be noncompliant in January, Davis assured the council there is no reason to panic.

“You will be able to confirm you are working on (a study) right now, and that will be sufficient,” Davis said.

In other business, the Winnebago City Council: 

• Set the 2024 preliminary tax levy at $958,423, which represents a 20.97 percent increase over last year’s levy.

“It can come down, but it can’t go up,” city administrator Judi Hynes reminded the council. “When you can’t raise (the levy), and you can only lower it, you really want to cover yourself.” 

She added, “There are areas in there where we can make cuts to bring (the levy) down.” 

• Approved new liquor licenses for Lucky Lanes, which is in the process of being sold to Dillion and Kateri Johanson.

The sale is expected to be finalized in the first week of October.

The Johansons had applied for an On-Sale 3.2 Percent Liquor License and an On-Sale Wine and Strong Beer License, which are the same licenses held by current Lucky Lanes owner Bob VanNote.

• Received an update about the ongoing search for new officers for the Winnebago Police Department.

Hynes said a new candidate has been interviewed for a police officer position. There are several other candidates for police officer positions who are at various stages of the background check process.

Hynes reminded the council that the post for the vacant police chief position will run until Oct. 13.

• Conducted a public hearing for an interim ordinance authorizing a study and imposing a moratorium on the operation of cannabis businesses in the city of Winnebago, for which there was no public comment.

The council approved the ordinance following the hearing.

• Approved a South Central Drug Investigation Unit Joint Powers Agreement. The unit is responsible for investigating narcotic-related and violent crimes in the area.