Outagamie County Veterans Services and the Veterans Service Commission

Outagamie County’s six-person CVSO office on South Walnut Street - a two-time VSO Excellence Award winner for mobile outreach - works with a three-member veterans service commission whose aid runs on the 45.86 levy.

Also called: CVSO, Kelly Bales, Appleton, Veterans Service Commission, 45.86, care of veterans graves, Operation Green Light, honoring veterans plaque.

For: Veteran or service member, spouse, child, survivor.

Where it applies

Written for the jurisdictions listed here.

Outagamie County, WICounty

Outagamie County Veterans Services is at 320 S. Walnut Street, Appleton (the Health and Human Services wing), phone (920) 832-5697, email [email protected], open Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The CVSO is Kelly Bales, with two senior benefits specialists, two benefits specialists and an office assistant. The office is a two-time Tyler Technologies VSO Excellence Award winner, most recently for 2025's "Innovative Community Support" - a portable records kit (power bank, laptop, scanner, printer) that lets staff work with veterans off-site. The commission. County code section 2-705 creates the commission under section 45.81 - three veteran residents, terms staggered to 2026, 2027 and 2028 (Breitzman chair, Strong, Huelsbeck reappointed 36-0 on January 13, 2026) - and it may furnish aid under 45.86 out of the annual levy. No amounts or application are published; start at the office. The code's section 2-653 carries the CVSO duties. The county's standing veteran costs are written into its resolutions: care of veterans graves under sections 45.85 and 157.11(7)(a) (a $126 overage transfer adopted December 9, 2025), and the campus lit green for Operation Green Light, November 4-11, 2025, the fifth year. The parks department runs an "Honoring Veterans" plaque program - up to two county veterans a year on a bench or picnic-table plaque, deadline September 30. The CVSO certifies the free Wisconsin state park pass for veterans rated 70 percent or more (the DNR form wants it "signed and stamped by the CVSO") and verifies the property tax credit under 71.07(6e). The register of deeds, Sarah Van Camp ((920) 832-5095), records discharges free under section 45.05, though the county's recording pages do not say so. The regional veterans treatment court - the Northeast Wisconsin Veterans Treatment Court, opened March 2012 - serves Outagamie and six other counties of the Eighth District, with Outagamie's own judges John A. Des Jardins and Gregory B. Gill Jr. among its listed judges.

Thresholds

Thresholds for Outagamie County Veterans Services and the Veterans Service Commission
Gate	Rule
Any veteran or family member	The office assists Outagamie County veterans and their families with claims and county aid. No rating is required, so the rating filter never hides this benefit.

Sources

Updated

Last updated 2026-10-08.

What changed then:

First published.

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Disclaimer

VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.