New town clerk is familiar to the chairman

The Town of Belgium has a new town clerk, and this time it’s a relative of a different public official.

Town Chairman Tom Winker’s wife Holly was appointed to clerk on Monday. Tom sat in the audience during the  discussion and didn’t vote.

Holly was the only candidate after Anne Nord, the daughter of Town Zoning Administrator Charlie Parks and Town Treasurer Dayle Parks, announced she was resigning last month.

“There weren’t too many people that jumped at the chance,” Supr. Bill Janeshek said.

Janeshek said he and Supr. Tom Bichler looked over Holly’s resume.

“She’s qualified in my eyes,” Janeshek said.

“Very well qualified,” Bichler said.

Nord agreed.

“Holly is super qualified. She has a strong background in budgets and numbers and reconciliations. She is very active in government meetings being married to Tom. She’s a good fit, a good candidate and she was interested in doing it,” she said.

The 2026 salary for the clerk is $32,500, up from $25,500 for 2025. The board approved a raise for Nord last year.

Resident Dan Large asked to keep the job posting open “so you don’t get accused of things” given the clerk and chairman are married.

Nord said Wisconsin Towns Association Attorney Joe Ruth said “legally there’s nothing that we’re doing wrong.”

There is also precedent for the scenario. Town of Grafton Chairman Lester Bartel’s wife Bonnie had been the town clerk, and Tom Winker mentioned another town in Wisconsin with the same setup.

Winker said he is sad to see Nord go.

“I need to thank Anne. I will say this with tears in my eyes: you were a true professional. You were the best clerk I ever had. I had two. You were the best one. You really were. It’s sad to see you go,” he said.

“Our new clerk is not only going to be our clerk, she’s going to be part of our team sitting up here at the head table, and she’s also my wife for 48 years, and that’s enough said right there. I’m sorry I didn’t defend Anne more. I should have taken more heat off of her. It’s going to be a little bit different scenario coming up now.”