[3:09] meeting. Uh I will call it to order. Uh

[3:12] welcome and thanks everyone for coming.

[3:15] Uh roll call will indicate all five

[3:18] commissioners are present. Uh please

[3:20] rise for a moment of silence and the

[3:22] pledge of allegiance.

[3:36] I aliance to the flag of the United

[3:40] States of America and to the republic

[3:42] for which it stands. One nation under

[3:45] God, indivisible, with liberty and

[3:48] justice for all.

[3:56] » [snorts]

[3:56] >> Okay, our first item is the agenda.

[3:59] » Okay, our first item is the agenda.

[3:59] There is one addition. We'll call it M3

[4:02] and put it under administration. Does

[4:04] that work, Mike?

[4:05] >> Sure.

[4:06] » Sure.

[4:06] >> Okay. Uh with that, if there are no more

[4:10] » Okay. Uh with that, if there are no more

[4:10] additions or

[4:13] uh corrections to the agenda, I'm

[4:15] looking for a motion.

[4:16] >> So moved.

[4:17] » So moved.

[4:17] >> Thank you, Commissioner Clark.

[4:19] » Thank you, Commissioner Clark.

[4:19] >> Thank you, Commissioner Johnson. Any

[4:21] » Thank you, Commissioner Johnson. Any

[4:21] further discussion? Seeing none, all

[4:24] those in favor signify by saying I.

[4:26] >> I.

[4:27] » I.

[4:27] >> With your microphones on.

[4:30] » With your microphones on.

[4:30] Motion carried. Uh, next up is a consent

[4:33] agenda item. You can see there is 13 of

[4:37] those. Uh, is there anybody wishing to

[4:41] pull anything or have a discussion on

[4:42] any of those 13 items?

[4:44] >> I'll move the consent agenda, Mr.

[4:46] » I'll move the consent agenda, Mr.

[4:46] Chairman.

[4:47] >> Okay. Thank you, Commissioner Bertram.

[4:49] » Okay. Thank you, Commissioner Bertram.

[4:49] >> With one quick question. Okay.

[4:51] » With one quick question. Okay.

[4:51] >> Second.

[4:52] » Second.

[4:52] >> Thank you, Commissioner Clark. Uh,

[4:54] » Thank you, Commissioner Clark. Uh,

[4:54] question to you, Commissioner Bertram.

[4:56] >> E1. Uh, what district is Scott from on

[4:59] » E1. Uh, what district is Scott from on

[4:59] the dairy advisory committee?

[5:00] >> He would be in yours.

[5:03] » He would be in yours.

[5:03] >> Okay. Wasn't sure it wasn't identified,

[5:05] » Okay. Wasn't sure it wasn't identified,

[5:05] so I didn't.

[5:06] >> Yeah, he lives uh northeast of Eden

[5:09] » Yeah, he lives uh northeast of Eden

[5:09] Valley.

[5:09] >> Got it. Thank [snorts] you.

[5:11] » Got it. Thank [snorts] you.

[5:12] >> Okay.

[5:13] » Okay.

[5:14] Any other discussion on the consent

[5:15] agenda?

[5:17] Seeing none, all those in favor signify

[5:19] by saying I. I.

[5:20] >> I. Opposed.

[5:22] » I. Opposed.

[5:22] >> Motion carried.

[5:24] » Motion carried.

[5:24] Just to uh for the general public, this

[5:29] past pay period, there was what $85

[5:32] million that the county had put out. So,

[5:36] I mean, it's there's a lot. You know, we

[5:39] get a we get to view the

[5:42] uh payments that are made. uh they send

[5:44] out a list to us and and most of it was

[5:47] the property tax the settlements on the

[5:51] first half.

[5:53] All right. So the first item on our

[5:56] agenda is public works.

[6:04] » Good morning commissioners.

[6:06] >> Morning Chris. So item F1 in the agenda

[6:09] » Morning Chris. So item F1 in the agenda

[6:09] starting on page 130 in your packet is

[6:12] to award a construction contract to

[6:14] Design Electric. This project

[6:17] SP073070-032

[6:21] is our rural intersection lighting

[6:23] project. There are 10 intersections

[6:25] throughout the county that have

[6:26] identified uh having a need to be lit

[6:29] for uh increased safety at those

[6:31] intersections. Um we received two bids.

[6:35] Design Electric was the low bid, but

[6:38] they're significantly over our estimate.

[6:40] That's why I wanted to take some time

[6:41] today to talk about this a little bit.

[6:44] Uh we had estimated it to cost about

[6:47] $230,000. The low bid was $44,317.

[6:53] So that's a 75% almost 76% over our

[6:57] estimate. So what's happening here? Um a

[7:01] couple things. One thing, our estimate

[7:04] might have been uh a bit low. This is a

[7:06] type of project that we do not construct

[7:09] every year. In fact, the last time we

[7:11] did a similar project was four years ago

[7:14] in 2022. And to put that in perspective,

[7:18] back then um the bids came out to be

[7:20] about $27,000

[7:22] per intersection for very similar

[7:25] things. You put up two poles kind of

[7:27] diagonal from each other on the

[7:28] intersection. Now we're looking at

[7:31] $40,000 per intersection uh for this

[7:34] type of lighting. So that's a 50%

[7:37] increase in just four years of costs.

[7:39] Before putting on the agenda, we did

[7:41] reach out to the low bidder to get some

[7:43] kind of insight on why uh these costs

[7:47] were what they are. And basically the

[7:49] response was everything's higher. Labor

[7:51] [snorts] is higher. Copper is almost

[7:53] twice the price it was per foot four

[7:56] years ago. Steel is more. the [snorts]

[7:58] grass seed is more expensive. The

[8:00] controller cabinets where all the

[8:01] electrical circuitry is, uh, he said

[8:04] those are specifically are three times

[8:06] the cost that they were [snorts] when

[8:08] this was a similar project was last bid

[8:10] in Sterns County. Um, so, uh, that tells

[8:15] us that it was a fair bid. It just

[8:17] that's what it is. U, the next lowest

[8:19] bid was over $500,000, which would have

[8:22] been 117%

[8:24] increase over our estimate.

[8:26] This project is receiving um federal

[8:29] funds. Um it's receiving um about 80%

[8:34] well based on our estimate about 80%

[8:36] federal funds.

[8:38] And we had set aside about $27,000 or so

[8:42] of local money levy dollars to go to

[8:45] this. But based on this low bid, we

[8:48] would need an additional $144,317

[8:51] of levy uh to to fund this project if we

[8:55] award it. [snorts] The good news is we

[8:58] have other levy funded projects that we

[9:00] already awarded construction costs or

[9:02] construction contracts to this year that

[9:04] have come under what we are budgeting.

[9:07] One project in particular, County Road

[9:09] 161, was part of our countywide

[9:11] resurfacing project. We had budgeted

[9:14] that to be $850,000

[9:18] and the bids came in at $613,000.

[9:21] So that right there that had a pro uh

[9:24] that right there saved us $236,664

[9:27] of levy. So we have additional levy that

[9:31] was budgeted for construction this year

[9:33] that uh savings from other projects that

[9:35] could cover the overage on this project.

[9:39] >> [snorts]

[9:39] » [snorts]

[9:39] >> With that being said, it is still my

[9:41] » With that being said, it is still my

[9:41] county highway engineer recommendation

[9:43] is go ahead and award a construction

[9:44] contract to design electric for this

[9:47] rural intersection lighting project.

[9:51] >> Thanks for that update, Chris. Uh wishes

[9:53] » Thanks for that update, Chris. Uh wishes

[9:53] of the board,

[9:56] [clears throat]

[9:56] Mr. Chairman,

[9:57] >> Commissioner Bertram.

[9:58] » Commissioner Bertram.

[9:58] >> Uh Chris, you know, obviously that I

[10:01] » Uh Chris, you know, obviously that I

[10:01] think that caught all of our eyes uh

[10:03] when it comes in over uh over uh the bid

[10:06] comes in that much higher. Have we done

[10:08] anything to recruit other potential

[10:10] biders? I mean, typically if something

[10:12] comes in that much higher, we rebid it.

[10:14] Um, I would assume there's been a

[10:17] discussion on that or a thought about

[10:19] that.

[10:19] >> Yeah, that is always something that we

[10:21] » Yeah, that is always something that we

[10:21] consider. Um, you know, our bidding

[10:23] process is a sealed bid process. We

[10:26] advertise it um on the county website.

[10:28] We have an online bidding. We had a n

[10:31] number of plan holders. Some of them

[10:33] were material suppliers and stuff. uh

[10:35] and so yeah we received two bids. So we

[10:38] always consider when it comes to

[10:39] overestimate should we rebid it. In this

[10:41] case the volatility in the market uh

[10:44] especially steel supplies even though

[10:47] it's required to be domestic foreign

[10:49] steel is going up as well foreign metals

[10:52] which drives the cost of domestic

[10:54] materials up as well. We felt like there

[10:56] was probably a greater risk or even if

[10:59] we rebid it again in the future by the

[11:01] time we rebid it we're not going to see

[11:02] any reduction in price. Uh, one other

[11:05] alternative to rebid it is do we cut

[11:07] something from the project? And when we

[11:09] look at the 10 intersections, it's

[11:11] really it was really difficult to

[11:12] determine which intersection was more

[11:14] important than the other to sacrifice

[11:16] one to get a lower bid price. So, yeah,

[11:19] that's always a consideration, but all

[11:21] things considered, uh, um, I'm still

[11:23] recommending we should probably go

[11:24] forward with this at this time.

[11:26] >> And, Mr. Chairman, just maybe we should

[11:28] » And, Mr. Chairman, just maybe we should

[11:28] think about like recruiting in the

[11:30] future when we do this a year from now

[11:32] to see if there's other folks that might

[11:35] be interested in getting involved in

[11:36] this because that certainly probably

[11:38] would help to some degree.

[11:39] >> Yeah, we we and to these type of

[11:42] » Yeah, we we and to these type of

[11:42] projects, traffic signal, electric

[11:44] lighting, the biders are a lot less than

[11:46] we see on typical other road

[11:47] construction projects. So, if we could

[11:49] find other biders out there, we could

[11:51] benefit from that in the future.

[11:55] Okay.

[11:56] Commissioner Clark,

[11:58] >> I'm going to make a motion to approve. I

[12:00] » I'm going to make a motion to approve. I

[12:00] certainly share uh I think we all

[12:01] probably share the concerns uh the

[12:03] Commissioner Bertram brought up, but

[12:05] also, you know, in talking to you, I

[12:07] mean, it doesn't seem like this is going

[12:08] to go down and there is only so many

[12:12] potential biders at this point anyways.

[12:14] So, clearly safety is paramount.

[12:19] » Okay, we have a motion. Do we have a

[12:21] second?

[12:22] >> Second. Thank you, Commissioner Johnson.

[12:24] » Second. Thank you, Commissioner Johnson.

[12:24] Any further discussion?

[12:28] Seeing none, all those in favor signify

[12:30] by saying I.

[12:30] >> I.

[12:31] » I.

[12:31] >> I.

[12:32] » I.

[12:32] >> Opposed. Motion carried.

[12:34] » Opposed. Motion carried.

[12:34] >> All right. Thank you.

[12:35] » All right. Thank you.

[12:35] >> That's all I had for the agenda unless

[12:36] » That's all I had for the agenda unless

[12:36] there was any questions. I'll step aside

[12:38] then.

[12:38] >> Okay. Any questions for Chris?

[12:40] » Okay. Any questions for Chris?

[12:40] Otherwise, thank you.

[12:43] [snorts]

[12:43] >> Okay. With that, uh, we will recess our

[12:45] » Okay. With that, uh, we will recess our

[12:45] regular meeting and open the human

[12:47] services board meeting. Morning,

[12:50] Melissa.

[12:54] All right. Good morning, uh, Mr. Chair,

[12:57] Commissioners, Melissa Huberty. I'm the

[12:58] human services administrator. There's

[13:00] only one item on the human services uh,

[13:02] regular agenda today, and it's H1 on

[13:05] page 133. Um, so what we're going to do

[13:09] is present today that we've had the

[13:11] largest transformation in Minnesota's

[13:13] child welfare system in [music] decades.

[13:15] That's happening right now. So, this is

[13:17] exciting that we're all living through

[13:19] this right now. Um the good news is is

[13:21] that it's not only a focus on prevention

[13:24] but a requirement of prevention

[13:26] activities. Um so we're going to go

[13:28] through that as well as the impacts of

[13:30] some of major uh systemic and legal

[13:34] changes, legislative changes in the

[13:37] Minnesota child welfare. It's the

[13:39] Minnesota African-American

[13:41] Family Preservation and Child Welfare

[13:43] Disproportionality Act, which we've been

[13:45] calling the act to shorten it, as well

[13:47] as the changes in age of delinquency and

[13:49] some other changes at the federal level

[13:51] that we felt we should do information

[13:53] sharing now because these changes are

[13:55] going to significantly impact uh

[13:57] services at the county level as well as

[13:59] county budgets. Um, so I have with me

[14:01] today um, one of our six human services

[14:04] directors, Nick Henderson, and I'll let

[14:06] him um, introduce his team and take it

[14:08] from there.

[14:11] >> Good morning, Commissioner or Good

[14:12] » Good morning, Commissioner or Good

[14:12] morning, Mr. Chair, commissioners. Um,

[14:14] Nick Henderson, human services director

[14:16] of the family and children's division.

[14:18] Um, as Melissa stated, we are here to do

[14:19] a presentation. I will ask my supervisor

[14:22] team who has joined me, three of our

[14:24] seven supervisors in family and

[14:25] children's to introduce themselves, and

[14:26] then we'll go ahead and get going.

[14:30] Good morning, Mr. Chair. Good morning,

[14:31] commissioners. My name is Jenna Laterno.

[14:33] I supervise our children's mental health

[14:35] team.

[14:37] >> Good morning, Mr. Chair and

[14:38] » Good morning, Mr. Chair and

[14:38] commissioners. I'm Michael Hein and I

[14:39] supervise the child protection unit D,

[14:42] which is the intake, after hours, and

[14:44] rapid response.

[14:46] >> Good morning, Mr. Chair, commissioners.

[14:48] » Good morning, Mr. Chair, commissioners.

[14:48] My name is Shannon Ericson, and I

[14:49] oversee the prevention unit.

[14:52] >> All right. Well, Mr. Chair and

[14:54] » All right. Well, Mr. Chair and

[14:54] commissioners, we appreciate this

[14:55] opportunity to discuss these important

[14:57] changes with you this morning. Um, there

[14:59] are several significant child welfare

[15:01] reforms that will impact Sterns County,

[15:03] the state of Minnesota, and potentially

[15:04] the entire United States. When most

[15:07] people think of public safety, they

[15:08] think of law enforcement, emergency

[15:10] public safety systems,

[15:12] community corrections, and emergency

[15:14] response. However, the child welfare

[15:16] welfare system is a critical component

[15:18] of our public safety system. Every day,

[15:21] child protection workers make difficult

[15:23] decisions involving the safety of

[15:25] vulnerable children, the rights of

[15:27] parents, and the stability of families.

[15:30] The work we do helps prevent abuse,

[15:32] neglect, and reduce future involvement

[15:34] in the juvenile and criminal justice

[15:36] systems, and strengthen families and

[15:39] strengthen families before a crisis

[15:41] arises. Unlike many other public

[15:43] systems, child welfare carries a unique

[15:45] level of accountability. Our workers are

[15:48] expected not only to make the best

[15:49] decisions possible with the information

[15:51] available at the time, but also

[15:53] demonstrate they have made sufficient

[15:55] efforts to prevent harm, preserve

[15:57] families, and achieve positive outcomes.

[16:00] These expectations are evaluated hours,

[16:03] days, weeks, months, and even years

[16:06] later against the standards that

[16:08] continue to evolve. It's also important

[16:10] to acknowledge the increasing complexity

[16:12] of the families we serve,

[16:14] including higher rates of mental health,

[16:16] substance use disorder, trauma

[16:18] histories, housing instability, poverty,

[16:21] and poverty related stressors. At the

[16:23] same time, we continue to face

[16:24] challenges related to limited or delayed

[16:27] access to appropriate services,

[16:29] workforce shortages, and gaps in

[16:31] community- based resources. In addition,

[16:33] system outcomes are influenced by the

[16:35] values, beliefs, biases and practices

[16:38] and approaches of multiple system

[16:39] partners, including schools, law

[16:41] enforcement, courts, attorneys, guardian

[16:43] at items, and our service providers.

[16:46] Each of which plays an important role in

[16:47] how our families experience the system

[16:49] and the timeliness and consistency of

[16:51] supports that they receive. Today,

[16:53] Minnesota is undertaking the most

[16:55] significant child welfare reforms we

[16:57] have seen in decades. These include the

[16:59] age of delinquency change, the Minnesota

[17:01] African-American family preservation and

[17:03] child welfare disproportionality act,

[17:05] the federal family first prevention

[17:07] services act, and finally the federal

[17:10] the newest federal initiative known as a

[17:12] home for every child. Each of these

[17:14] reforms is re rooted in one common goal.

[17:16] improving outcomes for children and

[17:18] families by preventing system

[17:19] involvement whenever possible,

[17:21] strengthening family preservation

[17:23] efforts, reducing disparities, and

[17:25] ensuring children have a safe, stable,

[17:27] and permanent home. These changes will

[17:29] require significant adjustments to our

[17:32] practices, staffing, service delivery,

[17:34] technology, community partnership, and

[17:36] the resources we utilize. Our goal today

[17:38] is to provide an overview of these

[17:40] changes, discuss the opportunities, and

[17:42] they present and help you understand the

[17:44] impacts they'll have on our county and

[17:46] our ability to continue to protect the

[17:48] children and families in our community.

[17:50] So, a little bit of an overview for

[17:52] today. Um, we will go over give a broad

[17:55] overview of the family first prevention

[17:56] services act, talk about the act, uh,

[17:59] the Minnesota age of delinquency change

[18:01] which goes into effect August 1st. the

[18:03] newest initiative which Minnesota signed

[18:04] on to at the end of June, I believe it

[18:06] was June 28th, a home for every child.

[18:09] And then finally, understanding the uh

[18:11] impacts and budget implications. One of

[18:13] the things that I think is important to

[18:15] note as we talk about this is child

[18:17] welfare reform has really been something

[18:19] that has been happening for five decades

[18:21] at the federal legislature and it has

[18:22] been a bipartisan. When I went back and

[18:24] looked at all of the different uh law

[18:26] changes that have occurred over the

[18:28] years, um it has been bipartisan. It was

[18:31] about 50/50. 50% Democrats, 50%

[18:33] Republicans that uh were involved in uh

[18:36] child welfare reform starting back in

[18:38] 1978 with the Indian Child Welfare Act

[18:40] and then moving forward uh to 2018 with

[18:43] the Family First um family or the Family

[18:46] First Preservation Services Act. So, I'm

[18:49] going to turn it over to General who

[18:52] will begin um talking about Family

[18:54] First, which began in 2018.

[18:57] >> Good morning again. Uh, Families First

[19:00] » Good morning again. Uh, Families First

[19:00] was a or is a federal child welfare

[19:03] reform that came into um play in 2018.

[19:06] Minnesota did not implement this until

[19:08] September 30th of 2021.

[19:11] The family's first um preservation

[19:15] services act represents one of the most

[19:16] significant changes to child welfare

[19:18] funding um that we've had in decades.

[19:21] Historically, federal funding was

[19:22] primarily available after a child

[19:24] entered into foster care. And now

[19:27] counties and states are able to capture

[19:29] some of those monies um before the child

[19:32] enters into care.

[19:34] Legislation or this legislation reflects

[19:36] a national shift towards strengthening

[19:38] families and preventing child

[19:40] maltreatment whenever it's safe to do

[19:42] so. Some key things are not all states

[19:45] are able to draw down these prevention

[19:46] funds um as it requires approval of

[19:49] their prevention plan. Um Minnesota does

[19:51] have an approved plan. However, um there

[19:54] are limitations with that. As of right

[19:56] now, parents as teachers and

[19:57] motivational interviewing are the two

[19:59] approved programs that we are able to

[20:01] use.

[20:02] Title 4 E prevention funds in Stern

[20:04] County. We have two um motivational

[20:07] interview trained trainers within our

[20:10] family and children's division. Um and a

[20:12] majority of our staff are trained in

[20:14] motivational interviewing. Uh the

[20:16] exception to that would be our new hires

[20:18] who have been here six months or less um

[20:20] as they're doing other training. Um

[20:23] overall Minnesota's having some

[20:25] difficulty in drawing down some of these

[20:26] funds because the um only people who can

[20:30] um draw those funds are the child

[20:32] protection case managers and that is our

[20:34] area of highest turnover across the

[20:36] state. Um so not it's proving

[20:39] challenging to draw those those funds

[20:41] down.

[20:42] Um underneath families first, kinship

[20:44] care is prioritized because children

[20:46] generally experience better outcomes

[20:48] when they can remain connected to the

[20:50] family and community. Uh residential and

[20:52] congre um placements have more

[20:55] restrictions, require additional

[20:56] justification and oversight.

[20:59] Uh research consistently shows that

[21:01] children do better when they can safely

[21:02] remain with their families. Early

[21:04] intervention often prevents crises from

[21:06] escalating to the point of removal and

[21:08] families first provides an opportunity

[21:10] for more of those family based services

[21:12] and those long-term um outcomes. Um the

[21:16] law reflects a broader movement that

[21:18] you'll hear us talking about today

[21:20] towards prevention and similar changes.

[21:25] This leads us into the act which is the

[21:27] Minnesota African-American Family

[21:29] Preservation and Child Welfare

[21:31] Disproportionality Act. we've shortened

[21:33] it to just the act. Um, this will be

[21:36] going into effect on January 1st of

[21:38] 2027.

[21:40] This legislation is representing a

[21:42] significant practice shift for all

[21:44] Minnesota counties. The law is intended

[21:46] to address the disproportionate

[21:48] involvement of African-American children

[21:50] and other over representative

[21:52] populations in the child welfare system.

[21:55] Counties are increasing

[21:57] increased service demands, staff

[22:00] workload, documentation requirements,

[22:02] costs associated with meeting the active

[22:05] effort standards.

[22:07] Active efforts will require agencies to

[22:09] do more than just offer services.

[22:11] Counties must actively assist families

[22:13] in accessing and engaging services.

[22:16] Um while the implementation details

[22:19] continue to develop, the counties are

[22:21] preparing for substantial financial um

[22:23] costs with this.

[22:27] Some key requirements of the act. We

[22:30] must provide active efforts including

[22:32] safety plans to keep children safely at

[22:34] home. Support reunification when removal

[22:37] occurs.

[22:39] Emergency removals, foster care

[22:41] placements, and termination of parental

[22:43] rights are limited to prevent

[22:44] unnecessary family separation.

[22:47] There will be mandatory cultural

[22:49] competency training for all child

[22:51] welfare professionals and this includes

[22:53] our case workers, supervisors, judges,

[22:56] guardian at item attorneys. And lastly,

[22:59] there will be an annual review of the

[23:01] child welfare data to identify over

[23:03] representation across race, culture,

[23:05] ethnicity, income, and disability.

[23:12] All child protection cases going forward

[23:15] or when the act goes into play um will

[23:18] have to take rigorous sustained action

[23:20] to keep children safely with their

[23:21] families and avoid out of home

[23:23] placements.

[23:25] We will build trusted network chosen by

[23:27] the family to help create and carry out

[23:29] safety plans. Ensure the plan directly

[23:32] addresses the allegation and includes

[23:34] needed economic supports when neglect is

[23:36] involved.

[23:37] We will involve families with

[23:40] continuously uh planning decisions,

[23:42] selecting services and their providers.

[23:45] We will also inform families how they

[23:47] can report their concerns to DCYF for

[23:49] any non-compliance with the act.

[23:54] right now um the initial guidance from

[23:56] the state um is that the

[24:01] we're only going to implement implement

[24:03] [clears throat] the race and ethnicity

[24:04] portion um of this this for the first

[24:07] two years and then the state is going to

[24:09] do some studies and determine um other

[24:12] areas of disproportionality.

[24:15] Um so that is where we are right now. Um

[24:18] >> Mr. Chair commissioners, before we move

[24:19] » Mr. Chair commissioners, before we move

[24:19] forward, I think it is important to note

[24:21] um we have been hearing a lot of

[24:23] different conversations from the parent

[24:24] attorneys around the state. So, the law

[24:26] was written to implement that uh

[24:28] disproportionately represented children

[24:30] or race, culture, ethnicity, disability

[24:32] status, and low-income socioeconomic

[24:34] status. Um when the state gave their

[24:36] guidance, they did indicate that they're

[24:38] going to do a two-year study on the

[24:39] disability status and low-income

[24:41] socioeconomic status to determine

[24:43] disproportionality or what factors

[24:45] determine disproportionality. One of the

[24:47] things that we saw with the early

[24:49] implementation of the act uh in Henipin

[24:51] and Ramsey County as they were the early

[24:53] implementers of this law is that there

[24:55] was some legal challenges that did come

[24:57] forth. We do um anticipate because the

[25:00] law is written in the way that it um

[25:03] enacts the disability status and

[25:04] low-income status that the delay that

[25:07] the state is proposing through their

[25:09] guidance uh to all of the counties will

[25:11] be a legal challenge um that we will

[25:13] anticipate. We have even heard some of

[25:15] those rumblings here in our county.

[25:20] » I'd like to take an opportunity to

[25:21] explain in greater detail the difference

[25:23] between reasonable efforts and active

[25:25] efforts. For many years, child

[25:26] protection agencies have been required

[25:28] to make what's been considered

[25:29] reasonable efforts to prevent out of

[25:31] home placement and reunify families.

[25:33] Under the law with the act, the standard

[25:35] shifts to active efforts beginning

[25:36] January 1st of 2027. Active efforts will

[25:40] require a higher level of engagement by

[25:41] our social workers and our agency.

[25:43] Rather than simply providing a referral,

[25:45] a worker will need to assist with

[25:47] scheduling an appointment, coordinating

[25:48] services, addressing barriers such as

[25:50] transportation or child care, and

[25:52] maintain ongoing contact with families

[25:54] and providers. This approach is intended

[25:56] to increase family engagement, improve

[25:58] service participation, and reduce

[26:00] disparities in child welfare outcomes.

[26:03] While the goals are positive, active

[26:04] efforts will require a significant

[26:06] amount of additional staff time,

[26:09] increased service availability, enhanced

[26:11] documentation, and potentially

[26:12] significant financial investments by

[26:14] counties. Counties are still awaiting

[26:16] additional guidance from the state

[26:17] regarding the implementation

[26:19] expectations, definition, and compliance

[26:22] requirements. We anticipate the

[26:24] estimated cost increase per family could

[26:26] increase between 30% to 100% and could

[26:29] double our staff um time spent on each

[26:32] family. So, I'd like to provide a a

[26:34] caveat or a short story to help really

[26:36] kind of paint the picture of what this

[26:38] might look like. If we're working with a

[26:40] family who has a housing um issue,

[26:42] they're homeless or their current

[26:43] housing arrangement is not working out

[26:45] for them. In a reasonable effort, we

[26:47] would provide the family a list of

[26:48] housing resources, check in with the

[26:51] family a couple of weeks later, see if

[26:52] they were able to find an apartment on

[26:54] said list. They might say, "We're having

[26:56] a difficult time with a damage deposit."

[26:58] And then we'd work to potentially um

[27:01] help them with the damage deposit. That

[27:03] would be a reasonable effort. In an

[27:04] active effort situation, we would we

[27:07] would follow up with the family. Um we

[27:08] would make those phone calls with that

[27:10] family. We would call the landlords. We

[27:12] would call the companies with them.

[27:13] Let's say they found three apartments

[27:15] that had openings that fit their

[27:16] family's needs. We would drive them to

[27:18] see those apartments. We would help them

[27:20] fill out the apartment application. We

[27:21] might pay the the the $30 application

[27:24] fee. We might look for resources to

[27:27] furnish the apartment. We might

[27:29] transport them to the food shelf to get

[27:30] their first groceries um opportunity. Um

[27:33] and we also may assist with a damage

[27:34] deposit. So, as you can see, it's a

[27:36] significant difference between

[27:38] reasonable efforts and active efforts

[27:39] and what our staff are going to be

[27:41] required to do um come January 1st.

[27:44] >> Mr. Chair, commissioners, just to be

[27:45] » Mr. Chair, commissioners, just to be

[27:45] clear, this is required starting January

[27:48] 1st. And so, it will um the first year

[27:51] it'll be at least half of our cases and

[27:53] I believe the second year nearly all of

[27:55] them.

[27:56] >> And and this for clarification and this

[27:59] » And and this for clarification and this

[27:59] this isn't just the ethnicity race part.

[28:02] This is everybody. anybody who fits into

[28:04] the category of disproportionality. And

[28:07] let's face it, child welfare is a

[28:09] poverty situation largely. And there are

[28:11] many disproportionate groups and they're

[28:13] not just race and ethnicity, but for the

[28:15] first year starting January 1, they're

[28:17] going to zero in on race and ethnicity.

[28:19] And thereafter, it'll be all the other

[28:21] groups as far as we know, which will

[28:23] cover all of our cases. So the the the

[28:26] active efforts that um she's describing

[28:29] we will have to do basically on at least

[28:31] half the cases maybe a little more than

[28:33] half starting January one and then the

[28:35] next year on all of them.

[28:36] >> Wow. It's basically handholding.

[28:39] » Wow. It's basically handholding.

[28:39] >> Yes. Yes. Significant um support

[28:42] » Yes. Yes. Significant um support

[28:42] wraparound services with families. Yes.

[28:45] >> Okay. Thanks. One of the important

[28:47] » Okay. Thanks. One of the important

[28:47] pieces, Mr. chair and commissioners that

[28:48] I'd like to highlight with that is the

[28:50] ultimate goal is to keep the children

[28:52] connected to their families, the

[28:54] children connected to their communities,

[28:55] which will hopefully reduce some of the

[28:56] traumas and reduce some of our auto home

[28:58] placement impacts.

[29:03] So, the act is going to be a large shift

[29:06] for us. Um the the other large shift

[29:08] which starts August 1st is the law

[29:11] regarding the age of delinquency which

[29:13] has been raised from 10 years old to 13

[29:16] years old. The goal of the legislation

[29:19] is to ensure younger children receive

[29:22] developmentally appropriate

[29:23] interventions rather than juvenile

[29:26] justice involvement.

[29:28] Counties expect increased demand for

[29:30] family services, children's mental

[29:32] health services, school partnerships,

[29:35] and community supports.

[29:38] The change shifts responsibility from

[29:40] the juvenile justice system toward child

[29:43] serving systems and prevention focused

[29:46] interventions.

[29:47] Additional resources and service

[29:49] capacity will be necessary to

[29:51] effectively respond to the needs of

[29:53] youth and families impacted by this

[29:56] change.

[29:58] Currently, our local partners have been

[30:00] meeting for the last few months uh

[30:02] looking at the impacts of this law and

[30:04] how we will respond as community

[30:06] partners and that has included county

[30:09] attorney's office, human services, law

[30:12] enforcement, our medical community and

[30:14] therapeutic community among others

[30:16] including judges and guardian at items.

[30:19] This approach to address this change

[30:22] will take a multiple dis disciplinary

[30:25] approach and while we will be working

[30:28] together on these cases we do expect

[30:31] there will be some strained situations

[30:33] that will impact this process. Currently

[30:37] uh children that engage in serious uh

[30:40] crimes um have the option of going to

[30:44] secured detention for a period of time.

[30:46] that option will no longer exist for

[30:49] children between the ages of 10 and 13.

[30:52] Some uh examples that we've experienced

[30:55] here in Sterns County that will no

[30:57] longer uh be eligible for delinquency or

[31:00] detention are uh three examples. One, a

[31:04] 12-year-old child who brings a gun to

[31:05] school that law enforcement will

[31:08] respond, but that will be a large human

[31:10] services child welfare approach. uh

[31:13] working with partners to figure out how

[31:14] to keep that child in the community

[31:16] safe. Another example, 11-year-old child

[31:19] who sexually assaults a peer at school.

[31:22] Um so we'll be working together again

[31:23] with community partners to figure out

[31:25] how to keep that child in the community

[31:27] safe. We see a lot of situations with uh

[31:31] assaults in the within the family system

[31:34] and we anticipate situations with a

[31:35] younger child who perhaps assaults a

[31:38] sibling or uh stabs a parent with a

[31:40] knife. Uh these are situations that have

[31:43] happened. So we anticipate additional

[31:46] time with our after hours staff working

[31:48] with law enforcement, safety planning,

[31:51] trying to connect with that family,

[31:53] friends, neighbors to identify places

[31:55] for children to be safely um as we look

[31:58] at implementing those additional

[32:00] community- based services for children.

[32:03] Mr. Chair and commissioners, just a few

[32:05] things on this. Um we looked at the last

[32:06] 5 years data in regards to information

[32:10] or referrals that the county attorney's

[32:11] office had received and each year the

[32:13] children that were between the age of 10

[32:16] years and uh 12 years and 364 days of

[32:20] life um were were between 40 and 65

[32:24] children per year that were estimated to

[32:26] be in there. and there was over 25 uh on

[32:29] an annual basis that were estimated to

[32:31] be of the felony level of offenses that

[32:33] were served in that capacity. Um,

[32:35] [snorts] you know, from our officer's

[32:37] standpoint, it does leave um some angst

[32:39] and anxiety in regards to if we get a

[32:42] 12-year-old who brings that firearm to

[32:44] school, how will we ensure that the

[32:46] community is safe without some of the

[32:48] restrictive opport or restrictive

[32:50] resources that we're utilizing the other

[32:52] systems? And to be clear, those more

[32:54] severe crimes, we did go to the

[32:56] legislature this year, made a good uh

[32:58] case for trying to carve out the most

[33:00] egregious crimes for the 10 to 13 year

[33:02] olds. We weren't successful this year,

[33:04] but I do believe there's momentum for

[33:06] making change in the next legislative

[33:08] cycle. So, we do agree with this largely

[33:11] with the misdemeanor crimes and the

[33:13] lower crimes, but with those very

[33:14] serious crimes, what will happen now is

[33:16] when something very very serious

[33:17] happens, it's mostly with the

[33:19] 12-year-olds, but let's say something

[33:21] very, very serious happens, murder, um,

[33:23] a very big assault or something like

[33:26] that. Now, Nick's group in child welfare

[33:29] and social workers will need to do that

[33:31] instead of Becky's community corrections

[33:33] area being able to do anything about it.

[33:35] and um community corrections has more

[33:38] levers um in terms of securing

[33:40] juveniles, then Nick will have none of

[33:42] those resources.

[33:47] All right, the next piece that we're

[33:49] going to talk about is the a home for

[33:51] every child and that's putting the PIP

[33:53] on a PIP. So um every year u the states

[33:56] across the United States go through a

[33:58] child and family um review process um

[34:01] that is conducted by the feds who come

[34:03] on site um in all of the states and I

[34:06] can tell you that for the last 20 plus

[34:08] years no state in the United States of

[34:10] America has passed the child and family

[34:13] services review. Um, so this was our

[34:15] opportunity where our federal partners

[34:17] at the Administration of Children and

[34:19] Family Services have said there's got to

[34:21] be something wrong with this process and

[34:23] we need to do something different. Um,

[34:25] so they started rolling out basically

[34:27] the opportunity for counties to or

[34:29] states to elect into a new initiative

[34:33] that is being put on by the

[34:34] Administration of Children and Families.

[34:36] On on June 28th, the state of Minnesota

[34:39] signed on to a home for every child, uh,

[34:42] which is the new initiative. Um this

[34:44] action responds to the state's child and

[34:46] family services review performance

[34:47] improvement plan um that the state has

[34:50] been on for 20 plus years. It was

[34:52] another it's another unfunded mandate

[34:54] that pushes early intervention and

[34:56] prevention. One of the things that we do

[34:57] hope um I had an opportunity recently um

[35:00] to meet with some of our federal

[35:01] partners and part of the shift will also

[35:04] be an ability hopefully for us to

[35:06] continue to expand our prevention

[35:08] services and draw down those title 4E

[35:10] prevention services um through the um

[35:13] child welfare um gateway which they have

[35:16] the list of approved services. So

[35:18] they're really pushing for states to

[35:20] take on more um buy in more and invest

[35:23] more in those prevention services in a

[35:25] hope that they can draw down more of

[35:26] those prevention funds. So as stated

[35:28] earlier, we receive a lot of that title

[35:30] 4E federal funding when children go into

[35:32] auto home placement for reimbursement

[35:34] and the goal will be that we actually

[35:36] will be able to seek reimbursement for

[35:37] some of the services on the front end.

[35:39] And I think as we all know and the

[35:41] University of Chapen Hall um has

[35:43] demonstrated through some of their

[35:44] research investment on the front end I

[35:47] believe their study is that it's three

[35:48] times cheaper to invest on the front end

[35:50] than it is for the deep end services. So

[35:53] oftentimes if we're engaging with a

[35:55] family that is receiving uh therapeutic

[35:57] services oftentimes covered by insurance

[35:59] if not covered by insurance is about

[36:01] $200 per hour. and out of home placement

[36:04] costs uh can range anywhere between $440

[36:07] per day all the way up to $2,300 per day

[36:10] per child in the family.

[36:13] Um there are four goals um with this

[36:15] that the state has identified and so the

[36:17] state of Minnesota works with the

[36:19] federal partners and then they'll um

[36:20] because we're state administered uh

[36:22] county delivered or county administer or

[36:25] [snorts] state state run county

[36:26] administered if I can say it right um

[36:29] system here in Minnesota um the state

[36:31] will work with the feds and then we'll

[36:32] pass it down to the counties but there

[36:34] are four goals with it and one is to

[36:36] continue to improve casework practice

[36:38] and accountability enhance family

[36:39] engagement relationships and shared

[36:41] decision-m ensuring that the families

[36:43] ultimately have a voice and that is not

[36:46] the system partners who are telling them

[36:47] what they need uh because I think our

[36:49] families know what's best improve

[36:51] permanency planning and placement

[36:53] stability and then finally advance an

[36:55] equitable prevention focused and

[36:56] culturally responsive system

[36:59] real quick just to continue moving

[37:01] through here a home for every child is

[37:03] there is a bulletin through the

[37:05] administration of children and families

[37:06] it's technical bulletin 14 which gives

[37:08] the new guidance in regards to the

[37:10] initiative it talks about the priority

[37:12] areas is from the federal government.

[37:14] And then the key expectations, their key

[37:15] expectations is that we have one foster

[37:17] home available for every child in care.

[37:19] Right now, the estimated national

[37:21] average is uh there's 59 children uh for

[37:24] every foster home that is available in

[37:26] the United States. So, one of the goals

[37:27] is expanding that service. And one of

[37:30] the greatest ways that we can expand

[37:31] that is by uh placing children with

[37:33] their relatives and with kin and being

[37:35] able to license them. And then finally,

[37:37] the counties must expand prevention

[37:39] efforts and our foster care capacity,

[37:41] which we have been focusing on for

[37:42] several years.

[37:47] This next slide shows a snapshot of the

[37:50] numbers from 2025 for the family and

[37:52] children services division. Uh I wanted

[37:55] to point uh the last bullet there, the

[37:57] total number of individuals served. So

[37:59] that shows the number of families that

[38:01] we are working with uh throughout the

[38:03] year. You can see the different [snorts]

[38:05] levels of service there from child

[38:07] protection, children's mental health,

[38:08] our licensing of child and foster care

[38:11] families, um as well as uh children who

[38:14] are in the 18 to 21 year range receiving

[38:18] services to help them in early

[38:19] adulthood. And uh we also have a few

[38:22] other very um creative initiatives with

[38:25] the uh juveninal community action team,

[38:27] parent support outreach, rapid response.

[38:30] So within this um the percentages as we

[38:34] talked earlier about the act and the

[38:35] focus on reducing uh disparities for uh

[38:38] people of color in the system currently

[38:40] based on the 2025 numbers in the child

[38:42] protection and child welfare cases 53%

[38:46] of the individuals identify as people of

[38:48] color 17% identified as black and 23%

[38:53] identified as two or more races. Now the

[38:56] goal of the act is to reduce disparities

[38:59] as well as prevent uh unnecessary

[39:01] placement of children out of the home.

[39:04] We have seen a steady decline 7% per

[39:07] year less children experiencing out of

[39:10] home care on pace for a larger decline

[39:12] in 2026. We've seen a trend of less

[39:16] children entering care than exiting

[39:18] [clears throat] care. So we are making

[39:20] progress toward that goal but uh a lot

[39:23] of work yet to be done.

[39:26] As Michael had previously stated, we do

[39:28] have a number of creative um in

[39:30] innovative services that we are working

[39:31] to implement. Um a number of those

[39:33] services um are spread amongst our

[39:35] individual units and are also um across

[39:38] multiple divisions. Um I would like to

[39:41] highlight our internships. So that is an

[39:42] incredible recruitment tool for us. Um

[39:45] we will have three that will start in

[39:46] the fall. Uh SCSU, St. Kates, and

[39:49] Morehead. So, um, continue to be an

[39:51] internship, uh, place of choice for for

[39:54] a lot of these young students, which is

[39:55] really cool, um, to be able to train

[39:57] them and and grow. Um, goodness knows

[39:59] it's very difficult work and sometimes

[40:01] very difficult for, um, us to attract,

[40:03] um, individuals that that want to do

[40:05] this great work. So, um, we feel really

[40:07] excited about the internships that we've

[40:08] been able to have um, because I do think

[40:11] it's it's helped a great deal.

[40:16] the implementation of all of the

[40:17] requirements that you've heard about

[40:19] will increase demands on staff uh

[40:21] resources and our child welfare system

[40:23] in general. Um the state required

[40:24] training now exceeds 121 hours per

[40:27] employee. To put that into perspective,

[40:29] that's like a semester of college um for

[40:31] these uh individuals when they come to

[40:33] work for us. That's an extensive

[40:34] training um protocol that they're

[40:36] required by the state um to ensure that

[40:38] they've had that type of training. And

[40:40] I'll just add also the training that's

[40:42] currently available, unless it's

[40:43] changed, you can correct me if I'm

[40:44] wrong, Shannon, but um it is not

[40:46] currently offered in central Minnesota.

[40:48] So that means we also have to pay for

[40:50] our staff to go far away, spend the

[40:52] nights, several nights at like very

[40:54] frequently to pass their college level

[40:56] course over months. It is not offered in

[40:59] our area. So it's very expensive

[41:01] >> and it's required.

[41:02] » and it's required.

[41:02] >> Mr. Chair, commissioners, just to

[41:03] » Mr. Chair, commissioners, just to

[41:04] explain where those locations are. They

[41:05] are the Twin Cities, Duth, Detroit

[41:07] Lakes, and Marshall, Minnesota.

[41:10] And it's several days at a time each

[41:12] month. So it's sending staff mileage,

[41:16] hotels

[41:18] gone. They're out of the workforce also.

[41:20] So wait, go ahead. Sorry. Thank you.

[41:23] >> Yeah, it is extensive training um that

[41:25] » Yeah, it is extensive training um that

[41:25] staff are required to do. Um the complex

[41:28] cases frequently require coordination

[41:29] among multiple workers across a variety

[41:31] of units and divisions, increasing time

[41:33] and resources needed to achieve um

[41:35] positive outcomes. At the same time,

[41:37] statutory changes prohibit secure

[41:39] detention for youth under age 12 in

[41:40] these cases, limiting placement.

[43:05] must address the needs of the entire

[43:07] family. Not just the child who came to

[43:09] our attention. It is of the entire

[43:11] family. So includes mom, dad, brother,

[43:13] sister and at times if relatives are

[43:15] caring for them, aunt, uncles,

[43:17] grandparents and fictive kin. Some of

[43:20] the things that I think are important to

[43:22] note is that oftentimes if a family is

[43:25] coming through the family and children's

[43:26] door versus the delinquency system per

[43:29] se, um security detention costs $440 per

[43:32] day and for us to find a crisis

[43:34] placement, not have that child enter

[43:35] through the doors and be cared for here

[43:37] in the county administration building.

[43:39] Uh previously referred to as Nick's

[43:41] Pretty Good Daycare, um the cost for

[43:44] those crisis services are anywhere

[43:45] between $800 and $1,300 per day to serve

[43:48] those children. Active efforts, as we've

[43:50] stated before, will be required in all

[43:51] of these cases. And then those children

[43:53] who are under the age of 13 who enter

[43:55] our system, active efforts will apply to

[43:57] them uh if they are a disproportionately

[44:00] impacted youth beginning January 1st,

[44:02] 2027. There will be increased funding

[44:04] for community- based services, increased

[44:06] funding for group homes and non-secure

[44:08] placements because we cannot utilize

[44:10] secure placements. Additional staffing

[44:12] capacities may be of consideration, and

[44:14] then new technology to hopefully help us

[44:16] close a service gap and communication

[44:18] gap. I think everybody is well aware of

[44:20] the blue screen presentations that have

[44:21] happened in different areas and our

[44:23] state antiquated systems which lead to

[44:26] as we have increased documentation

[44:28] efforts and requirements with all of our

[44:30] system partners will be an additional

[44:32] burden. I just want to give a quick

[44:33] story on this. The other day Melissa

[44:35] called me asking me a quick question

[44:37] about a family. I said Melissa let me

[44:38] share my screen with you and show you

[44:40] how long this takes. I had to navigate

[44:42] three screens which would be three

[44:44] panes. So if you were on the internet

[44:45] basically three clicks through the

[44:47] internet. It took me 17 minutes just to

[44:49] figure out the address of where this

[44:50] individual lived.

[44:55] And with that, uh, we appreciate your

[44:58] time today, commissioners, and we will

[45:00] be open to any questions that you may

[45:02] have.

[45:03] >> Okay. Well, thanks for the presentation.

[45:05] » Okay. Well, thanks for the presentation.

[45:05] Um, I have kind of have one off the

[45:07] get-go here. You know, this is great,

[45:10] but this seems like the second half.

[45:13] Who's is there another group that's

[45:16] dealing with the first half which to me

[45:17] would be helping the parents either find

[45:21] employment uh you know raise themselves

[45:24] up to maybe prevent some of this?

[45:28] >> Um Mr. Chair, I think that's a great

[45:31] » Um Mr. Chair, I think that's a great

[45:31] question. Um you know that's where the

[45:33] prevention efforts come in where

[45:34] hopefully we can utilize some of those

[45:36] resources on the front end. There are a

[45:37] lot of community based services who are

[45:39] out there working with these families.

[45:41] And then also when they do come to the

[45:42] attention of our office, even if we

[45:44] don't screen them in, that is one of our

[45:46] goals is that we would be referring them

[45:48] to the services to hopefully support

[45:49] them before they would fully enter

[45:51] through the system.

[45:52] >> Okay. Thanks, Commissioner Johnson.

[45:54] » Okay. Thanks, Commissioner Johnson.

[45:54] >> Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[45:57] » Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[45:57] Um, I think the whole community deserves

[46:00] to offer you a big thanks for the work

[46:03] that you do, you and your staff. This is

[46:05] a heavy lift and most people aren't

[46:08] thinking about it on a regular basis.

[46:10] It's hugely important. Um, a couple of

[46:13] specific questions. One is, um, on page

[46:16] 139 mentions case review. I know there

[46:18] was discussion about whether or not the

[46:20] state would do that or or the county

[46:21] would do it. What's the decision on

[46:23] that?

[46:25] >> Go ahead,

[46:26] » Go ahead,

[46:26] >> Mr. Chair, Commissioner Johnson. That

[46:29] » Mr. Chair, Commissioner Johnson. That

[46:29] decision has not been finalized yet and

[46:31] actually will come out in the final

[46:32] guidance from the state. there is still

[46:34] a strong legislative position that the

[46:36] state will conduct those reviews in

[46:38] conjunction with the county so that we

[46:40] would assist them with any information

[46:41] that is missing. Um the state is the one

[46:44] who does have the systems to and the

[46:46] technology to be able to conduct those

[46:48] case reviews as they do in many other

[46:50] areas and so the hopeful ultimate

[46:52] outcome is that the state will take that

[46:54] on.

[46:54] >> Yes. And that would save us a little bit

[46:56] » Yes. And that would save us a little bit

[46:56] of time and effort. Um, you talked about

[46:59] expanding

[47:01] [snorts] um, foster care um,

[47:06] victim uh, kin or relatives?

[47:10] [clears throat] This may be silly, but

[47:12] is is there a way to recruit is there a

[47:15] way to vet more and more people and get

[47:18] people in the community interested in

[47:19] doing this kind of work?

[47:22] Mr. Chair, Commissioner Johnson, we're

[47:24] actually in the middle of a very strong

[47:25] recruitment effort right now. We are

[47:27] working with Town Square Media as well

[47:29] to get the information out there, tell

[47:31] the story of our foster parents and

[47:33] recruiting. We actually, it has been

[47:34] kind of a successful adventure over the

[47:36] past several months with our licensing

[47:38] department. Uh we have licensed seven

[47:40] new foster homes, which is a huge

[47:42] increase for us here in Sterns County.

[47:44] Um over the past several months, we also

[47:46] have worked with our communities of

[47:48] color. Um and one of the important

[47:50] pieces of that being is that we do have

[47:52] the um requirement from the state with

[47:54] the act to have culturally responsive,

[47:56] culturally available homes uh to the

[47:58] children that we serve. So we did work

[48:00] with uh local organizations in the

[48:02] community um to also recruit foster

[48:04] parents there. Um and those uh were also

[48:07] very successful events. Um, one of the

[48:08] areas that we don't have, um, you know,

[48:11] we don't have a lot of foster providers

[48:13] of color and, um, we actually were able

[48:15] to recruit, um, three foster providers

[48:18] of color recently, which was a huge

[48:20] success for us and, um, they have been a

[48:22] great asset to joining our team and

[48:23] being a resource.

[48:24] >> Yeah, congratulations. That's great. Um,

[48:27] » Yeah, congratulations. That's great. Um,

[48:28] in terms of all this staff education,

[48:31] other agencies like the technical

[48:34] college and SCSU are struggling to

[48:38] increase their strength and presence in

[48:40] the community. Is it possible to work

[48:42] with with colleges and universities

[48:45] locally

[48:47] to establish curricula that would would

[48:51] cover the needs of your staff relative

[48:53] this to the state requirements? Does

[48:55] that make any sense?

[48:58] >> Commissioner Johnson or Mr. Chair,

[49:00] » Commissioner Johnson or Mr. Chair,

[49:00] Commissioner Johnson, um I think that's

[49:02] a a wonderful idea. The Child Welfare

[49:04] Training Academy is the um group who

[49:07] puts on our training and that is

[49:08] associated with the University of

[49:10] Minnesota. I think that you make a very

[49:11] valuable point though of how could we

[49:14] connect to bring those resources here.

[49:16] We have St. Cloud State University, we

[49:17] have the technical college, we have St.

[49:20] Ben, St. John's. Um and u so we have

[49:23] many resources here locally Rasmmanson

[49:26] um many resources here locally where I

[49:28] think that that could be a good

[49:29] partnership and that's certainly

[49:30] something that we could carry forward uh

[49:32] to the state.

[49:33] >> I think the community would be willing

[49:35] » I think the community would be willing

[49:35] to help you with that whether it's

[49:37] center care or greater St. Cloud some

[49:39] other agencies throughout the community

[49:41] because I think it'd be really important

[49:43] to cut the costs to make it more

[49:45] efficient and to have the program be

[49:48] local you know that would be really

[49:50] helpful. Um, you guys presented a lot of

[49:54] information. Um, and I missed this. I

[49:57] think Jenna, you talked about um,

[50:00] drawing down funds and a relationship

[50:02] between that and staff turnover and I

[50:05] didn't quite understand that.

[50:10] » I'll I'll try to do a short and sweet

[50:12] version.

[50:12] >> Okay. Thanks. Um, so we're able to

[50:16] » Okay. Thanks. Um, so we're able to

[50:16] receive some funding for the work that

[50:18] we do through Title 4 E prevention

[50:20] funds, but that requires that they've

[50:22] meet they've met some standards that go

[50:24] with that, some training standards. Y

[50:26] >> um, and right now the only workers when

[50:30] » um, and right now the only workers when

[50:30] they're fully trained and fully eligible

[50:32] to click the button to get us some

[50:35] funding are the child protection case

[50:37] managers. So, our licensing workers, our

[50:40] children's mental health workers, um

[50:42] they're not eligible to draw down those

[50:45] funds even though they're doing some

[50:46] tremendous work with the families as

[50:48] well. We're hoping that will change in

[50:50] the future. Um but right now that is the

[50:53] Minnesota standard

[50:54] >> and what would cause it to change?

[50:58] » and what would cause it to change?

[50:58] >> I'm not entirely sure. I know that

[50:59] » I'm not entirely sure. I know that

[50:59] there's talks. I believe Nick, you might

[51:01] have more information, but uh uh Mr.

[51:04] Chair, Commissioner Johnson, in in

[51:06] regards to the changes that are

[51:07] occurring. Um, that has been one of our

[51:09] biggest advocacies to the Department of

[51:11] Children, Youth, and Family Services is

[51:13] that prevention work doesn't ultimately

[51:15] begin with our case managers. Case

[51:17] manager means that we have identified

[51:18] the point that the family needs case

[51:20] management, longerterm services being

[51:22] offered by our offices. And so, the

[51:24] state right now is looking at refining

[51:26] their plan. And so, that plan has to

[51:28] then be resubmitted to the federal

[51:30] government. Um I think there's some

[51:31] clarification perhaps that could also

[51:33] occur between the state of Minnesota and

[51:35] the federal government on that I think

[51:37] that it could apply um to the other

[51:39] areas. So one of the largest areas for

[51:41] us that we come into contact with

[51:43] families initially is at the

[51:44] investigation or assessment stage. So

[51:46] that's when Michael Heinen's unit

[51:48] receives that initial call of a child

[51:50] protection report and we're going out to

[51:52] assess the family. That's really where

[51:54] those services are needed. That's where

[51:55] the um heavy lift begins for our agency.

[51:58] And so we are advocating that to the

[52:00] state of Minnesota right now. And uh in

[52:02] my last conversation with them actually

[52:04] last week there is a strong momentum for

[52:06] that plan to be changed so that we can

[52:08] draw those funds down earlier. One of

[52:10] the things I really want to give a kudos

[52:11] to our department on uh in the entire

[52:14] state of Minnesota. We are the only

[52:17] agency with all of our staff who have

[52:19] been here 6 months or more to have them

[52:22] fully trained in motivational

[52:23] interviewing. Um Henipin County, Ramsey

[52:26] County have done a great job. um in

[52:28] their amount of staff and it's actually

[52:30] one of those things where the state is

[52:31] looking to us to say how did you guys

[52:33] get the buy in from your staff to be

[52:35] successful with this

[52:36] >> and that's one of those programs in

[52:37] » and that's one of those programs in

[52:37] which is required in order to draw down

[52:40] the federal funding you have to have

[52:42] them trained on that so it's hard to um

[52:44] get providers also generally I'll say

[52:47] generally to fit the federal guidelines

[52:50] so that we can use their services and we

[52:51] can draw down the federal funds it is

[52:53] never simple in human services in terms

[52:56] of financing so

[52:57] >> thank for answering the questions and

[52:59] » thank for answering the questions and

[52:59] thank you for the work. I mean, I can't

[53:01] say that enough. Thanks,

[53:03] >> Commissioner Clark.

[53:06] » Commissioner Clark.

[53:06] [clears throat]

[53:06] >> Thank you. Actually, building off of

[53:08] » Thank you. Actually, building off of

[53:08] what Commissioner Johnson was just

[53:09] talking about, I've been thinking

[53:11] something similar. I mean, besides the

[53:13] fact that it's kind of crazy that the

[53:14] state isn't offering any of the training

[53:16] locally given all the places you just

[53:18] brought up, right? Um but uh SCTCC and

[53:23] SCSU have really embarked on a new array

[53:27] of pathways and thinking about what

[53:30] potentially could be a next cohort. Um

[53:33] whether it is providing credentials that

[53:36] could be stackable working on

[53:38] technology. I was thinking about all the

[53:40] changes right the motivational

[53:42] interviewing talk about what's happening

[53:44] with your internships. there could be a

[53:46] great way

[53:47] >> to be expanding recognizing how hard it

[53:50] » to be expanding recognizing how hard it

[53:50] can be to make sure that the demand is

[53:52] such uh that they can have um steady

[53:56] class sizes. But there's some cool

[53:58] opportunities within customization. And

[54:01] part of the reason why I was bringing up

[54:02] the public ones is it gives the

[54:04] legislature yet another reason to

[54:06] actually be, you know, working and

[54:09] providing those those funds. But we we

[54:12] do have a lot of blessings with higher

[54:14] ed around us. And we have trainers,

[54:16] right? We have people who already know

[54:18] how to do all of this. And let's face

[54:20] it, once we finally get past the green

[54:22] or the blue screens, there's a whole lot

[54:24] more training there that's going to need

[54:26] to be done. Uh so just wanted to at

[54:29] least uh reinforce that piece of it. uh

[54:34] as well as what you all do is just

[54:37] amazing and our turnover is less than

[54:39] some places but the stress, the burnout,

[54:42] the challenges. You did such a great job

[54:45] talking about um reasonable and active

[54:48] efforts. One of the things to me as you

[54:51] were talking and been thinking about

[54:52] this a bunch is we got a bunch of areas

[54:54] where there isn't housing, where there

[54:56] isn't other opportunities. So you can be

[54:58] being as active as you want. You may or

[55:00] may not be able to help a family find

[55:03] find it. So getting the resources that

[55:06] we need, getting the legislature to be

[55:08] uh more reasonable and what expectations

[55:11] are and speeding up SSIS and the new

[55:14] version is going to be key to all this

[55:16] happening. So please thank your

[55:18] colleagues, too. I mean, it's just it's

[55:20] pivotal. So thank you.

[55:23] >> Mr. Chair, Commissioner Clark, if I can

[55:25] » Mr. Chair, Commissioner Clark, if I can

[55:25] add one thing real briefly. Um, you had

[55:27] mentioned staff turnover and that is a

[55:29] highlight that I'd like to highlight

[55:30] here in Sterns County. While the number

[55:32] may seem high, the national average for

[55:35] turnover in particular with child

[55:36] protection case managers is anywhere

[55:38] between 20 and 40% depending on the

[55:40] agency and the jurisdiction that has

[55:42] served in Sterns County and the Family

[55:44] and Children's Division. Our turnover as

[55:45] a whole, um, last time that we had

[55:47] received the numbers was 11%.

[55:52] » Mr. chair. That's that is certainly

[55:53] something to celebrate and

[55:54] [clears throat] it's just going to get

[55:55] harder for people.

[55:59] » Any other comments? I one quick question

[56:02] on guardian at lightum. Does the county

[56:06] license them or who license?

[56:08] >> Mr. Chair, um the guardian at lightems

[56:10] » Mr. Chair, um the guardian at lightems

[56:10] is a state-run program. So the state is

[56:12] the one who oversees the program. And

[56:14] then are they um how do they come about

[56:18] as far as being part of the Sterns

[56:20] County,

[56:23] >> Mr. Chair? Um the guardian items are

[56:25] » Mr. Chair? Um the guardian items are

[56:25] appointed in the child protection cases.

[56:27] So anytime that a child is removed from

[56:29] the home or the family becomes court

[56:31] involved um they are automatically uh

[56:33] appointed a guardian at item. They can

[56:34] also be appointed in other matters. Uh

[56:37] so if a family is going through a

[56:39] divorce or custody case, a guardian item

[56:40] can also be appointed by the court in

[56:42] those matters. Good and several other

[56:43] opportunities.

[56:44] >> All right. Thanks. Any

[56:47] » All right. Thanks. Any

[56:47] Commissioner Perski?

[56:48] >> Mr. Chair, uh first of all, thank you

[56:51] » Mr. Chair, uh first of all, thank you

[56:51] folks for your work. Thank your staff.

[56:53] Uh there's a lot of faces out there

[56:56] we're not seeing that are out there on

[56:58] the battlefield doing these things. This

[57:00] is not pretty business. Uh I've got page

[57:04] and a half of things I've written down.

[57:07] Uh but

[57:11] you know, we're not the immediate

[57:14] solution to this. The the problem we

[57:16] have is across the nation. The problem

[57:18] is across the world. It's poverty, it's

[57:21] affordability, it's housing, its wages,

[57:23] its nutritional needs, its violence, its

[57:26] abuse. And we're not just going to make

[57:29] that go away by putting people out there

[57:31] and trying to face it. It's it's

[57:34] something in the system and

[57:37] across the board things have got to

[57:39] change to make things better for these

[57:41] families so that they can afford a place

[57:43] to live that they can put afford to put

[57:46] uh food on the table and they can keep

[57:48] their kids in school and they have a

[57:51] safe place to live. Okay. Uh on January

[57:55] 1, the light switch isn't going to just

[57:58] come on and we're going to be able to

[57:59] solve these problems. It's going to

[58:02] take, you know, a lot of work and it's

[58:04] going to take some time to get these

[58:06] things realized. Um I it's it's

[58:11] overwhelming, but we're going to have to

[58:13] face it. Um what I'm concerned is,

[58:17] are we going about it the right way? Are

[58:20] we just putting a band-aid on it? We we

[58:22] know we talk about wishful thinking.

[58:24] Yeah, we don't we want to keep

[58:25] [clears throat] the child in the home,

[58:27] but if the child's threatened by one of

[58:30] the parents or the other parents or

[58:31] another sibling, how do we make that

[58:33] safe for them? How do you do that? You

[58:35] You're talking out of both sides your

[58:37] mouth about wanting to keep them in that

[58:38] environment, but that environment is not

[58:41] what's best for that child.

[58:43] I'm not giving us an a solution. I'm

[58:46] just talking about the problem. And I I

[58:49] wish I had better answers, but we we've

[58:52] got to do more. And and maybe across the

[58:56] departments though, too, we can do more.

[58:58] That it's just not your burden. You

[59:00] know, we in the criminal justice system,

[59:01] we can do more. Maybe in affordable

[59:04] housing, we can do more. Uh

[59:07] finding these folks, some working with

[59:08] the school districts, we can do more.

[59:11] But, uh I I I I it's it's overwhelming.

[59:14] And again, starting January 1, we're not

[59:16] going to be able to turn on on a switch

[59:18] and be able to address these problems

[59:20] and have all the answer. Maybe we need

[59:22] to take a look also as as how we're

[59:24] doing it and and and how effective we

[59:26] can be with the people that we have. And

[59:28] these again, the people that are on the

[59:30] front line, you can very much understand

[59:32] their burnout because of the things that

[59:34] they face when they go into a home or

[59:36] what when they talk to a a belligerent

[59:39] parent or uh one of the clients that's

[59:42] dropping the fbomb every other word on

[59:43] them and maybe being violent with them.

[59:45] That's tough stuff to see. But again,

[59:48] hope hopefully amongst ourselves, the

[59:51] school districts, the county, city, we

[59:53] can maybe make some improvements. I'm

[59:55] I'm sorry, that's all I got to say.

[59:56] >> Mr. Chair, Commissioner Persky, if I can

[59:58] » Mr. Chair, Commissioner Persky, if I can

[59:58] just add one thing. One, I really

[1:00:00] appreciate your comments and to your

[1:00:02] comments that you've alluded. I think

[1:00:03] we're very very fortunate here in Sterns

[1:00:05] County and central Minnesota with all of

[1:00:07] our partnerships. We have I I believe

[1:00:09] from the family and children's end, we

[1:00:10] greatly appreciate our partnerships with

[1:00:12] law enforcement, uh with Centricare,

[1:00:15] with the Central Minnesota Mental Health

[1:00:16] Center, with all of our local uh

[1:00:18] providers who are here locally.

[1:00:20] Everybody comes together and responds.

[1:00:22] And when we think about the age of

[1:00:23] delinquency and we pulled together our

[1:00:25] first meeting with all of our system

[1:00:27] partners, we met in room 499, had a big

[1:00:29] square up set up in that room and we had

[1:00:32] to pull more chairs in. So the community

[1:00:34] did did come together and I think from

[1:00:36] the family and children's end um

[1:00:38] gratitude to all of our system partners

[1:00:40] who come together when we make that

[1:00:42] difficult call to say we have a child

[1:00:44] that doesn't have a home right now. Can

[1:00:46] you help us out? There's always somebody

[1:00:48] who's willing to step up. When we have

[1:00:50] children that are acting out that are

[1:00:52] physically aggressive and um you know

[1:00:54] are being separated from their parents,

[1:00:55] our law enforcement partners come to the

[1:00:58] call. locally here recently. Uh the

[1:01:01] Sterns County Sheriff's Department

[1:01:02] assisted us in a in a critical situation

[1:01:05] and actually provided transportation

[1:01:06] assistance. They didn't transport the

[1:01:08] child, but they followed us all the way

[1:01:10] to Detroit Lakes, Minnesota to ensure

[1:01:11] the safety of our staff and those

[1:01:13] children were um you know, made it to

[1:01:15] their destination when there was a lot

[1:01:17] of risk with it. So, I think you make

[1:01:19] some very valid points and I appreciate

[1:01:20] you bringing those forward.

[1:01:24] >> Mr. Chairman, um it's too depressing to

[1:01:26] » Mr. Chairman, um it's too depressing to

[1:01:26] talk much about it. I I wrote down a lot

[1:01:28] of questions. I'll share some of those.

[1:01:29] But it's so unfortunate that this is all

[1:01:32] societal driven. I mean, this is not 50

[1:01:35] years ago this didn't exist. I mean, and

[1:01:38] people have a hard time if you haven't

[1:01:40] been exposed to it or you haven't uh

[1:01:43] either directly or indirectly have a

[1:01:45] hard time getting their arms around

[1:01:46] this. But when we say that a fourth of

[1:01:48] our residents are on some kind of

[1:01:50] assistance, people find that hard to

[1:01:52] believe. Um, and you know,

[1:01:55] [clears throat] uh, when you talk,

[1:01:57] Commissioner Perski, you know, who's

[1:01:58] going to solve this? Government's not

[1:02:00] going to solve it. This is

[1:02:01] communitydriven,

[1:02:03] family driven, societal, and, um, yeah,

[1:02:06] [snorts] it's overwhelming. It's

[1:02:08] depressing. Uh, when I hear that there's

[1:02:10] 800 kids in the St. Thought School

[1:02:12] District that are homeless, it's hard

[1:02:14] for me to comprehend that. I believe it

[1:02:16] because that's the information we're

[1:02:18] given, but I just can't believe it

[1:02:21] because I don't see it. and and I do

[1:02:23] believe it, but how unfortunate. Um, and

[1:02:26] it just makes me count my blessings that

[1:02:29] I grew up in a family structure the way

[1:02:32] uh I did and a lot of us did, but that's

[1:02:35] not always the case. And some of this is

[1:02:38] been a evolution of spiraling down of

[1:02:40] people not being involved in the

[1:02:42] community, not knowing their neighbor,

[1:02:43] not going to church. um all those things

[1:02:46] start tearing apart the family structure

[1:02:49] and um falls on our doorsteps and I I

[1:02:53] I'm a little shocked that all this

[1:02:55] happens with are such uh active

[1:02:58] participation with AMC and NO and all

[1:03:01] those things and you know that we we do

[1:03:03] have the ears of a lot of the

[1:03:04] legislators and federal and state

[1:03:06] legislators with the county uh

[1:03:08] involvement that you know people then

[1:03:11] sit down and say okay how's this going

[1:03:13] to work out what is you You said

[1:03:15] something about reasonable versus

[1:03:16] active. Uh again, what's reason? We

[1:03:20] aren't going to solve this. You know,

[1:03:21] getting to Commissioner Persky's point

[1:03:23] again, we're not going to solve this. I

[1:03:25] mean, we're it is a band-aid, but and of

[1:03:27] course, as you all know, the system does

[1:03:29] get used by people who are in a in a

[1:03:34] divorce situation where they're going to

[1:03:35] pit one parent again. Some of it is very

[1:03:38] legitimate, very unfortunate. Some of

[1:03:40] it's being manipulative as far as trying

[1:03:42] to make accusations to do and you got

[1:03:44] that widespread of how many cases did

[1:03:47] did you identify how many cases you

[1:03:49] have? If you did, I missed it. I'm

[1:03:51] sorry,

[1:03:52] >> Commissioner Bertram. Depending on the

[1:03:53] » Commissioner Bertram. Depending on the

[1:03:53] case numbers um specifically, we did

[1:03:56] serve just over 3,200 individuals. Um I

[1:03:59] just looked at the numbers um and and

[1:04:01] don't hold me to when I say this number

[1:04:03] and I can certainly provide it to you.

[1:04:05] Um but we had over 600 um active um case

[1:04:09] management cases and those are just case

[1:04:11] management cases because our numbers

[1:04:12] come in in in different ways. Uh they

[1:04:14] come in through intake and assessment.

[1:04:16] Uh so that's where we conduct an

[1:04:18] assessment investigation. So we

[1:04:19] determine does it meet the criteria of

[1:04:21] our uh 106 pages I believe of our child

[1:04:24] protection screening guidelines that we

[1:04:25] have to memorize. Uh if they meet that

[1:04:27] criteria that we screen them in, we

[1:04:29] investigate them. Uh meet with the

[1:04:30] families, determine what are their uh

[1:04:32] risk needs. So we kind of do a risk

[1:04:34] needs assessment and then um ultimately

[1:04:36] if they have a need for longerterm case

[1:04:38] management that's where we get into the

[1:04:40] cases and that's 600 cases. Now the

[1:04:42] cases don't identify exactly the number

[1:04:44] of individuals because they're all based

[1:04:46] on family size. We have family sizes

[1:04:48] that raise from you know from a mother

[1:04:50] and f or a mother or father and a child

[1:04:52] um all the way up to I think the largest

[1:04:54] family system that I've seen so far in

[1:04:56] my time is 12 children. Uh I believe two

[1:04:59] mothers and three fathers in that family

[1:05:01] system. So

[1:05:04] >> talk about societal. [snorts]

[1:05:07] » talk about societal. [snorts]

[1:05:07] [sighs]

[1:05:08] >> So that was a lot of information that we

[1:05:10] » So that was a lot of information that we

[1:05:10] presented today. We'll be back on August

[1:05:11] 4th for a work sessions. So questions

[1:05:14] that you have, you can think about this

[1:05:16] and we'll be back to answer those

[1:05:18] questions or talk more about this

[1:05:19] situation specific to the budget process

[1:05:21] as well the next board meeting.

[1:05:24] >> All right.

[1:05:24] » All right.

[1:05:24] >> Thank you, Chairman. I did have I've

[1:05:25] » Thank you, Chairman. I did have I've

[1:05:25] just thought of it. Uh, so was this was

[1:05:28] this one I know and we've heard about

[1:05:30] this for so long because we've been told

[1:05:32] to contact lead. Was it like one

[1:05:34] straight up vote for it or against it?

[1:05:36] What was how

[1:05:39] who voted for it? Who voted against it?

[1:05:40] I'd like to see that. Uh, if it was a

[1:05:43] straight up

[1:05:44] >> one issue, one bill kind of a vote.

[1:05:47] » one issue, one bill kind of a vote.

[1:05:47] >> Uh, Mr. Chair um and Commissioner

[1:05:49] » Uh, Mr. Chair um and Commissioner

[1:05:49] Bertram, I believe it was,

[1:05:52] um not a straightup vote. [laughter]

[1:05:56] Um I believe the chairs of the committee

[1:05:58] though were very strong and held a lot

[1:06:00] of power if I'm not mistaken and were

[1:06:02] unmovable on this. So, it didn't matter

[1:06:04] that there was a lot of and I even think

[1:06:06] bipartisan concern. This was not a one

[1:06:08] side party or the other side of the

[1:06:10] party. It was an all-out battle and I

[1:06:12] believe the chairs of the the the

[1:06:14] committee held strong no matter what the

[1:06:16] feedback was and some of you were

[1:06:18] involved in that. I think um so correct

[1:06:21] me if you have more information but it

[1:06:23] was not a straight up vote. Oh no.

[1:06:25] [laughter]

[1:06:25] >> And when I say straight Mr. Chairman

[1:06:27] » And when I say straight Mr. Chairman

[1:06:27] when I say who voted for it who voted

[1:06:29] against it and again some of this stuff

[1:06:31] are are issues in some areas and less of

[1:06:35] issues in other areas. And of course,

[1:06:37] it's always that attitude of we're going

[1:06:39] to fix this statewide, not understanding

[1:06:41] that the regions of the state are very

[1:06:43] different. And you know, at what point

[1:06:46] do we say that's enough or yes,

[1:06:48] >> you know, whatever. But that that's what

[1:06:50] » you know, whatever. But that that's what

[1:06:50] I'm trying to get at. But uh there there

[1:06:53] had to be uh and again I didn't follow

[1:06:55] it and maybe Matt can help with that.

[1:06:57] But what actual was was the vote that

[1:07:00] kicked this all in and who voted for it

[1:07:01] and who because again that

[1:07:03] accountability

[1:07:04] >> does need to again if I'm going to try

[1:07:06] » does need to again if I'm going to try

[1:07:06] to fix something in this area. I'm not

[1:07:08] just going to

[1:07:10] >> uh go to somebody on the street and say

[1:07:12] » uh go to somebody on the street and say

[1:07:12] let's have a cup of coffee and let's

[1:07:13] come up with something. I'm gonna sit

[1:07:14] down with folks like you and saying and

[1:07:16] certainly you guys Nick and Melissa, but

[1:07:19] you guys who really really are dealing

[1:07:21] with that's where I'm going to go and

[1:07:23] say, "Okay, how do we fix this? What do

[1:07:25] we do?"

[1:07:26] >> Yeah.

[1:07:26] » Yeah.

[1:07:26] >> And of course, that obviously didn't

[1:07:29] » And of course, that obviously didn't

[1:07:29] happen here. May have happened in Ramsay

[1:07:32] or Henipin. Didn't happen here to the

[1:07:35] degree that it should have. Otherwise,

[1:07:36] we wouldn't be dealing with this.

[1:07:38] Generally, I would say most people

[1:07:39] agreed with the value of the law, but

[1:07:41] not how it was going to be implemented

[1:07:43] and certainly not how it was resourced.

[1:07:45] So, the big battle was over. We all I

[1:07:47] think generally people agreed to do

[1:07:48] this. We all agree we should do

[1:07:50] prevention, but people did not agree on

[1:07:52] that. They didn't resource it. We don't

[1:07:54] have the providers. The reality on the

[1:07:56] street is we don't even have the

[1:07:57] providers to provide these services that

[1:07:58] we're now being required to have

[1:08:00] involved in cases. So, it was more

[1:08:02] around those arguments, not around the

[1:08:03] value of the law. So agreement around

[1:08:06] value, not around resourcing it.

[1:08:07] >> And I would say, Mr. Chairman, that

[1:08:09] » And I would say, Mr. Chairman, that

[1:08:09] easily 98% of the people in insurance

[1:08:11] county don't know this is going on,

[1:08:12] don't understand this. [snorts] You

[1:08:15] know, even if they're part of the

[1:08:16] system,

[1:08:18] they may not care that it's costing what

[1:08:21] it's costing to do this and uh you know,

[1:08:23] because they see themselves as victims

[1:08:25] or whatever. And of course, in the

[1:08:27] societal numbers that don't need by the

[1:08:31] grace of God these services and never

[1:08:33] will, you know. So, it's it's just a

[1:08:36] cesspool of

[1:08:38] >> issues.

[1:08:41] » Okay. [laughter]

[1:08:42] >> Well, thanks thanks for the

[1:08:43] » Well, thanks thanks for the

[1:08:43] presentation. Uh, it's greatly

[1:08:45] appreciated and we appreciate the staff

[1:08:47] and the time and effort you put into um

[1:08:51] helping the individuals that basically

[1:08:54] fall underneath your

[1:08:56] headings to take care of. You know,

[1:08:59] hopefully something comes about at the

[1:09:01] next session to kind of clear some of

[1:09:03] the mud up in the air. So,

[1:09:05] >> and make the load a little lighter to to

[1:09:08] » and make the load a little lighter to to

[1:09:08] lift.

[1:09:08] >> Yeah. Thank you.

[1:09:09] » Yeah. Thank you.

[1:09:09] >> All right. Thank you. Thank you.

[1:09:12] » All right. Thank you. Thank you.

[1:09:12] >> Okay. With that, we'll close the human

[1:09:14] » Okay. With that, we'll close the human

[1:09:14] services board and reconvene the regular

[1:09:16] county board. Is everybody okay if we

[1:09:18] run the public hearing before we take a

[1:09:20] break?

[1:09:21] >> Yep.

[1:09:21] » Yep.

[1:09:21] >> Okay.

[1:09:22] » Okay.

[1:09:22] >> Okay. So, we do have a a short um

[1:09:25] » Okay. So, we do have a a short um

[1:09:25] PowerPoint that Sarah and Jeff will go

[1:09:27] over and then of course open the public

[1:09:29] hearing and go from there.

[1:09:35] [clears throat]

[1:09:36] >> Good morning, Commissioner. Sarah O,

[1:09:38] » Good morning, Commissioner. Sarah O,

[1:09:38] finance director in the auditor

[1:09:39] treasures office.

[1:09:41] >> I'm Jeff Swson, the accounting

[1:09:42] » I'm Jeff Swson, the accounting

[1:09:42] supervisor in the auditor's treasures

[1:09:44] office. And

[1:09:45] >> we should have a presentation that's

[1:09:46] » we should have a presentation that's

[1:09:46] coming up about the fee schedule changes

[1:09:48] that we'd like to talk about this

[1:09:50] morning. So, we have a short

[1:09:51] presentation where Jeff will go over the

[1:09:54] uh proposed changes that the department

[1:09:56] and the auditor treasures office and the

[1:09:58] budget committee have all seen. Uh we

[1:10:00] will go through those changes briefly

[1:10:02] and then we'll request that you open the

[1:10:03] public hearing and uh take public

[1:10:05] comment on that.

[1:10:08] So, just to uh remind each of you, we go

[1:10:10] through this process every year and each

[1:10:12] year we we pick a quarter of the county

[1:10:14] departments to review their fees. This

[1:10:17] year the review was done in depth on the

[1:10:20] attorney's office, human services and

[1:10:22] parks, but we also allow all departments

[1:10:25] to come forward if they have fee changes

[1:10:27] that they feel are um reasonable or

[1:10:30] needed within their areas. And we had

[1:10:32] some of those come forward as well. So

[1:10:34] Jeff gets all that information from the

[1:10:36] departments. He looks at the average

[1:10:38] cost to provide the service and then we

[1:10:40] weigh that with the public private

[1:10:43] benefit of the service and uh kind of

[1:10:45] look at some comparable counties and

[1:10:47] such to see what's reasonable. So I will

[1:10:49] turn it over to Jeff to talk through

[1:10:51] those proposed changes.

[1:10:54] >> Good morning Mr. Chair commissioners. Um

[1:10:56] » Good morning Mr. Chair commissioners. Um

[1:10:56] well I'll go through each slide here to

[1:10:59] talk about the changes. Um environmental

[1:11:01] services had one little change or just

[1:11:03] changing the name of a fee. Um the next

[1:11:05] one extension is they're removing the

[1:11:07] pressure gauge testing. We got a notice

[1:11:09] from the University of Minnesota

[1:11:10] extension recommending that we remove

[1:11:11] that feed due to liability concerns.

[1:11:14] >> So that's why we're

[1:11:15] » So that's why we're

[1:11:15] >> Good. Good thing that one's getting

[1:11:16] » Good. Good thing that one's getting

[1:11:16] removed because gauge couldn't quite fit

[1:11:19] the gauge spelling.

[1:11:21] [laughter]

[1:11:22] >> Oh yeah.

[1:11:26] » The next one is we'll talk about the

[1:11:27] sheriff's department. The sheriff's

[1:11:29] department is proposing to increase many

[1:11:30] of the civil fees by $10 to be

[1:11:32] comparable with other counties. We

[1:11:34] surveyed other counties and they're

[1:11:35] charging $95 to $120 for the same civil

[1:11:37] process fees. The county was set at 70.

[1:11:40] We're proposing to increase to 80. Those

[1:11:42] increases are anticipated increase

[1:11:43] revenue revenues by about $55,000. We're

[1:11:47] also increasing the hourly wage wage

[1:11:49] rate for deputy services to increase

[1:11:51] with that increased cost or staffing

[1:11:53] costs. And then this is the proposed

[1:11:56] list of changes for the sheriff's

[1:11:58] office. So those are all the civil

[1:12:00] process fees that are going from 70 to

[1:12:02] 80.

[1:12:09] Um the next one we'll talk about is

[1:12:11] human services family and children.

[1:12:13] They're removing two foster care license

[1:12:15] fees and they're reducing the adoption

[1:12:16] study fee. Um the footnote here is

[1:12:19] starting April 1st, 2026, the state of

[1:12:22] Minnesota took over corporate foster

[1:12:23] care licensing and collection of the

[1:12:25] fees. The state charges $2,50 per

[1:12:27] corporate foster care facility and share

[1:12:30] 50% of that fee with the counties. So

[1:12:32] the county should collect 1,025 for each

[1:12:34] license renewal going forward. It's

[1:12:36] anticipated the county will collect more

[1:12:37] in foster care licensing fees than in

[1:12:39] previous years due to this change.

[1:12:45] And the next one is public health.

[1:12:46] They're proposing to increase two fees

[1:12:50] and remove six fees. Um the fees being

[1:12:53] removed were not being charged

[1:12:54] individual clients that were already

[1:12:55] receiving public assistance, which is

[1:12:57] the majority of the public health

[1:12:58] clients. Many of the clients that were

[1:13:00] charged did not pay in collection

[1:13:02] efforts were timeconuming and generally

[1:13:04] unsuccessful. Therefore, human services

[1:13:06] recommends removing the fees from the

[1:13:07] schedule.

[1:13:10] >> Mr. Chairman, that doesn't eliminate the

[1:13:12] » Mr. Chairman, that doesn't eliminate the

[1:13:12] cost of the service.

[1:13:13] >> Correct.

[1:13:14] » Correct.

[1:13:14] >> Uh and again, kind of a step spiral. So,

[1:13:17] » Uh and again, kind of a step spiral. So,

[1:13:17] there's a cost to the service I can't

[1:13:20] pay or won't pay. So, then we remove it,

[1:13:22] which is fine. Then you got the flip

[1:13:24] side of that where people are paying

[1:13:26] what the fee is. And again, it's a

[1:13:28] societal

[1:13:30] spiral. [snorts]

[1:13:31] >> Correct.

[1:13:34] » Correct.

[1:13:34] Um, the next department we'll talk about

[1:13:36] is parks. Parks is proposing to increase

[1:13:38] 12 12 fees, remove four four fees. Um,

[1:13:41] they're updating it facility reservation

[1:13:43] fees to address the increasing

[1:13:45] maintenance costs. Um, they're removing

[1:13:46] some wedding related search charges. Um,

[1:13:49] they're removing the firewood. We no

[1:13:51] longer sell it. They're increasing the

[1:13:52] fine for failing to purchase a vehicle

[1:13:54] permit at Corey Park. And calculating

[1:13:57] fees with the parks is challenging

[1:13:59] because the direct cost for park land

[1:14:00] and shelters cannot be easily measured.

[1:14:02] We know [clears throat]

[1:14:04] um here is the list of the park fees

[1:14:07] that are changing. They're changing the

[1:14:08] shelter permits from 60 to $75 per day

[1:14:11] at the various county parks.

[1:14:17] And then this is the the second section.

[1:14:21] Mr. Chair,

[1:14:22] >> Perski.

[1:14:23] » Perski.

[1:14:23] >> Yeah. Say and then on the on that chart,

[1:14:25] » Yeah. Say and then on the on that chart,

[1:14:25] can we just change that one on the uh on

[1:14:28] the sticker fee? Can you go back next?

[1:14:31] >> You know, see it says, you know, failure

[1:14:33] » You know, see it says, you know, failure

[1:14:33] for parking permit

[1:14:34] >> and it's got one at $10, one at 15. Now

[1:14:37] » and it's got one at $10, one at 15. Now

[1:14:37] they both go to 20. Y

[1:14:38] >> can that just be failure to

[1:14:40] » can that just be failure to

[1:14:40] >> Yeah.

[1:14:41] » Yeah.

[1:14:41] >> on a permit?

[1:14:41] » on a permit?

[1:14:41] >> Yep. I can combine them. Yep.

[1:14:48] Um, if you have any specific questions,

[1:14:50] the departments are here. Department

[1:14:52] directors are here if you have any spec

[1:14:53] specific questions on these fees that

[1:14:55] are being changed. Um,

[1:14:58] and then we need to hold a public

[1:15:00] hearing and then we'd like the board to

[1:15:02] take action and the fees would be

[1:15:04] effective January 1. These fees are

[1:15:07] reflected in the budget.

[1:15:08] >> Okay. Uh with that after that

[1:15:11] » Okay. Uh with that after that

[1:15:11] presentation I will open the public

[1:15:13] hearing.

[1:15:15] Is there anyone here wishing to uh

[1:15:18] address the board in regards to the fee

[1:15:20] changes for the public hearing?

[1:15:24] Anyone here wishing to

[1:15:26] come up to the podium and speak at the

[1:15:28] public hearing?

[1:15:31] Again, anyone here wishing to speak on

[1:15:34] behalf of these changes? Seeing no one,

[1:15:37] I'll close the public hearing.

[1:15:42] discussion board or a motion.

[1:15:45] >> Mr. Chairman, again, uh, nobody knows

[1:15:47] » Mr. Chairman, again, uh, nobody knows

[1:15:47] about this and they're not going to know

[1:15:48] about this unless they have to do one of

[1:15:50] the permits, but it's obviously we have

[1:15:52] to keep up with what our costs are and

[1:15:53] there's nobody can argue that, but uh,

[1:15:57] uh, nobody is aware of this. Uh, and

[1:15:59] that's why we have the public hearing,

[1:16:00] everything. I'm not surprised nobody's

[1:16:02] here. They're they're not affected until

[1:16:04] they go in to buy something and then

[1:16:06] they'll see that it is. And but again,

[1:16:08] we need to do what we need to do.

[1:16:11] >> Maybe a question. Are most of these um

[1:16:14] » Maybe a question. Are most of these um

[1:16:14] the fees like you go to Quarry Park, is

[1:16:16] it posted like when you come in the

[1:16:19] parking fee or is Okay, I see Ben's

[1:16:22] nodding his head. Does that apply too to

[1:16:24] like Two Rivers County Park or

[1:16:28] Sorry, Ben.

[1:16:30] >> [sighs and gasps]

[1:16:31] » [sighs and gasps]

[1:16:31] >> I'm just curious if there was a QR thing

[1:16:33] » I'm just curious if there was a QR thing

[1:16:34] they scan when they come if they didn't

[1:16:35] pay in advance.

[1:16:37] >> Yeah. No. So, Corey Park is the only

[1:16:38] » Yeah. No. So, Corey Park is the only

[1:16:38] park where we have a parking pass that

[1:16:40] is required. Anybody can walk in, bike

[1:16:42] in for free. We have a partnership with

[1:16:43] the Great River Regional Library that

[1:16:45] people can actually check out free

[1:16:46] passes to go to Corey Park. But yes, it

[1:16:49] is posted online. It's posted when

[1:16:51] people come into Corey Park. All of our

[1:16:53] reservation fees for our shelters are

[1:16:54] posted online. Those reservations have

[1:16:56] to be made online or they need to call

[1:16:59] the park office. So,

[1:17:02] >> okay. All right.

[1:17:04] » okay. All right.

[1:17:04] >> Yes, Mr. Chair. Yeah, that's true. And

[1:17:06] » Yes, Mr. Chair. Yeah, that's true. And

[1:17:06] and so we have no other fees within our

[1:17:08] parks. They're open to the public to be

[1:17:10] used. This is just a parking fee that we

[1:17:12] have at Corey Park.

[1:17:13] >> And the other ones are shelter if

[1:17:15] » And the other ones are shelter if

[1:17:15] they're going to have

[1:17:15] >> if they have a shelter,

[1:17:16] » if they have a shelter,

[1:17:16] >> birthday party or something.

[1:17:18] » birthday party or something.

[1:17:18] >> Correct.

[1:17:18] » Correct.

[1:17:18] >> Shelters are free to use. It's just if

[1:17:20] » Shelters are free to use. It's just if

[1:17:20] they want it reserved for them, then

[1:17:22] they we ask they pay the fee. Otherwise,

[1:17:23] if somebody shows up and nobody's in it,

[1:17:25] people can use it. So,

[1:17:26] >> okay.

[1:17:28] » okay.

[1:17:28] >> Okay. Uh, which is Well, I I do have one

[1:17:31] » Okay. Uh, which is Well, I I do have one

[1:17:31] other question. What What percent of the

[1:17:34] sheriff deputies cost is being actually

[1:17:37] recovered at the $80? [snorts]

[1:17:42] » I mean, if you don't know it now, that's

[1:17:44] just the sheriff's office. We didn't I

[1:17:47] didn't analyze their fees this year. I

[1:17:49] mean, dig down with it with their fees,

[1:17:51] but it's probably around, if I had to

[1:17:53] guess, it's 70 80% recovering, but I

[1:17:56] don't know for sure. So,

[1:17:57] >> okay, that just popped into my head when

[1:18:00] » okay, that just popped into my head when

[1:18:00] you were going through them before.

[1:18:02] Okay. Wishes of the board.

[1:18:05] So I'll just remind the board is of

[1:18:07] course fees are one of those things we

[1:18:09] don't necessarily like to do but it is

[1:18:12] uh the person receiving the service or

[1:18:14] the goods is paying for a big portion of

[1:18:17] that and this prevents it from going on

[1:18:19] to the levy. Right. So

[1:18:22] >> Commissioner Clark

[1:18:23] » Commissioner Clark

[1:18:23] >> and Mr. Chair to that for that reason I

[1:18:26] » and Mr. Chair to that for that reason I

[1:18:26] will move approval of the fe these as

[1:18:29] proposed.

[1:18:30] >> Okay we have a motion. Thank you

[1:18:32] » Okay we have a motion. Thank you

[1:18:32] commissioner Johnson for the second.

[1:18:33] Further discussion? Seeing none. Oh,

[1:18:36] Commissioner Johnson.

[1:18:38] >> Um, I just have a comment. I I think the

[1:18:40] » Um, I just have a comment. I I think the

[1:18:40] increases are modest.

[1:18:43] >> Um, if you compare shelter fees for the

[1:18:46] » Um, if you compare shelter fees for the

[1:18:46] county relative to some cities, they're

[1:18:48] quite a bit less. And uh so I think

[1:18:53] we're we're doing well by the the

[1:18:57] members of our community to to be

[1:19:00] moderate in our approach and and

[1:19:03] hopefully you know covering as much of

[1:19:04] the cost as we can in each situation.

[1:19:07] But

[1:19:10] okay, any further discussion?

[1:19:13] If not, all those in favor signify by

[1:19:15] saying I

[1:19:16] >> I

[1:19:16] » I

[1:19:16] >> opposed. Motion carried. Thank you.

[1:19:20] » opposed. Motion carried. Thank you.

[1:19:20] >> Thank you. Uh with that, we'll take a

[1:19:23] » Thank you. Uh with that, we'll take a

[1:19:23] short five minute break.

[1:28:12] All right, we'll call the board meeting

[1:28:15] back in session. Uh, next item is

[1:28:17] administration.

[1:28:18] >> Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[1:28:20] » Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[1:28:20] >> You have the performance measures first.

[1:28:22] » You have the performance measures first.

[1:28:22] You satisfied the requirements with the

[1:28:26] little state program last time by

[1:28:28] passing that resolution. Um, so we

[1:28:31] entered into the state program, get a

[1:28:33] little dollars back for doing that. Um,

[1:28:35] [snorts] but we didn't do the

[1:28:36] fullfledged presentation of uh our

[1:28:39] annual performance measures which are

[1:28:41] many more than what the what the state

[1:28:44] requires. So going to turn it over to

[1:28:47] deputy administrator Jill and you can

[1:28:50] take it from here. [snorts]

[1:28:51] >> Thank you, Mr. Chair, board members. Um,

[1:28:53] » Thank you, Mr. Chair, board members. Um,

[1:28:53] so as Mike said, this was um uh for on

[1:28:57] last uh month's agenda, but moved to

[1:29:00] this one, but we did get that um

[1:29:03] paperwork in time for the um state for

[1:29:06] the OSA office. So, they'll be sending

[1:29:08] us a check here. Um in addition to that,

[1:29:12] we do get levy limit protections if the

[1:29:15] state legislature decides to do levy

[1:29:17] limits. Doing that program prevents us

[1:29:19] from um having to do a levy limit. So

[1:29:22] good thing for us to do. Um so the

[1:29:25] performance measure system has been

[1:29:27] something we've been doing for a number

[1:29:28] of years. It's on our strategic plan um

[1:29:31] to evaluate what measures we're

[1:29:33] collecting. So um in the future this

[1:29:36] presentation might be looking a little

[1:29:37] bit different, but in the board packet

[1:29:40] you had um many dozens of different

[1:29:44] performance measures. This presentation

[1:29:47] um focuses kind of on services to the

[1:29:49] community measures. Um in addition, the

[1:29:53] state program has 24 different measures

[1:29:57] um for which you can submit 10 of those

[1:30:01] 24. Um and so we kind of subbed in some

[1:30:04] different measures this year due to what

[1:30:06] data that we could collect.

[1:30:10] All right. [snorts]

[1:30:11] So we're going to start off first with

[1:30:13] the county attorney's office and Mike is

[1:30:15] here to to pitch hit for attorney

[1:30:18] Kendall.

[1:30:21] Oops. Got the little chair. [laughter]

[1:30:24] I gotta feel like I'm a big boy. Good

[1:30:27] morning. Um, Michael Lee, chief deputy

[1:30:30] county attorney. Janelle sends her um

[1:30:33] regrets. She is enjoying her summer

[1:30:35] vacation. Um, in choosing uh our

[1:30:38] performance measures, the the county

[1:30:40] attorney's office uh is focused on

[1:30:43] measuring how we use the significant

[1:30:44] resources allotted to us to meet the

[1:30:47] county's mission, particularly assuring

[1:30:49] a safe community for all. As you might

[1:30:52] imagine, with the public law firm, uh

[1:30:54] the resources given to us consist mainly

[1:30:56] of personnel uh or attorneys who do the

[1:30:59] work of the office. We do not have

[1:31:01] things, we have people. understanding

[1:31:04] what is taking up their time is

[1:31:05] necessary to ensure uh the resources we

[1:31:08] have are properly directed to meet the

[1:31:09] county's mission. So the measures we've

[1:31:12] chosen provide a glimpse of the work in

[1:31:14] each of our three divisions uh criminal,

[1:31:17] juvenile, and civil. And they kind of

[1:31:18] give an overall snapshot of how we are

[1:31:20] using those resources. Uh the first

[1:31:22] slides that you see come from our

[1:31:24] criminal division who's primarily

[1:31:26] responsible for prosecuting our criminal

[1:31:28] offenses. uh and the most um resource

[1:31:33] intensive activity within that division

[1:31:35] uh is our trial work and you see the two

[1:31:37] slides before you. One shows the number

[1:31:40] of cases that are scheduled or set for

[1:31:41] trial and the number of cases on the

[1:31:43] right that actually do try. As you can

[1:31:46] see the number of cases set for trial

[1:31:48] has returned to basically a precoid

[1:31:50] level. Uh but the percentage of trials

[1:31:52] actually held uh has increased. The

[1:31:55] cases we are trying also look different.

[1:31:58] Law enforcement has new tools, body

[1:32:00] camera, phone searches, uh vehicle

[1:32:03] trackers, and other types of electronic

[1:32:05] data that we just never had access to

[1:32:07] for to before. Uh but with that comes

[1:32:10] additional work. Uh our prosecutors and

[1:32:12] our staff have to review um all of that

[1:32:15] information um before we get set uh and

[1:32:19] uh and are prepared for trial. So, um,

[1:32:24] and that's not a bad thing, uh, because

[1:32:26] as prosecutors, we like all the evidence

[1:32:28] that we can get. More evidence usually,

[1:32:31] uh, is a good thing. But the simple, uh,

[1:32:33] matter is that trying a case today takes

[1:32:36] more time and resources than it did, uh,

[1:32:38] even five years ago. Uh, and there's

[1:32:41] also just one little, uh, snippet on the

[1:32:43] bottom there. Um, kind of something

[1:32:46] that's happened uh, a lot more

[1:32:48] frequently in the last couple of years.

[1:32:49] We've had cases settle on the day of

[1:32:51] trial, which sounds like a good thing,

[1:32:52] but the reality is all the time and

[1:32:55] effort to prepare that case uh still had

[1:32:58] to be uh invested. So, it takes almost

[1:33:00] as much time to prepare those cases uh

[1:33:03] for trial as it does to actually try the

[1:33:05] case.

[1:33:07] Um and with some of those new tools, the

[1:33:10] chart on your left, uh those new tools

[1:33:12] that law enforcement has available, uh

[1:33:15] require additional work on our part. Um

[1:33:17] particularly uh some of those tools

[1:33:19] require additional search warrants. Um

[1:33:21] and we provide 247 uh on call coverage

[1:33:25] uh for law enforcement to call when they

[1:33:27] have legal questions and need to have a

[1:33:29] warrant review because we do review each

[1:33:32] and every warrant that is uh submitted

[1:33:34] to the court before the court gets it.

[1:33:36] Um so you can see from this chart we

[1:33:38] started and we recognize this additional

[1:33:40] work [clears throat] and started

[1:33:42] tracking it in 2024. Uh and you can see

[1:33:45] just based on our pace um for 2026,

[1:33:49] we're going to double the number of

[1:33:50] search warrants that we uh review from

[1:33:53] uh from 2025 to 2026.

[1:33:57] The middle chart um deals with our

[1:33:59] juvenile division and our juvenile

[1:34:01] division handles child protection

[1:34:02] matters and delinquency prosecution.

[1:34:05] uh as the legal adviser to human

[1:34:07] services and child protection cases in

[1:34:08] particular. Uh a lot of our work is uh

[1:34:12] consulting with social workers to assist

[1:34:14] them uh in determining whether to file a

[1:34:16] child protection matter uh or ensuring

[1:34:19] other legal legal requirements are met.

[1:34:21] I think you heard Mr. Henderson talk

[1:34:23] about the 106 page guide that the social

[1:34:26] workers have to fi uh have to uh review

[1:34:29] and be familiar with. we assist them in

[1:34:31] kind of working through um those

[1:34:33] particular cases. Uh and as you can see

[1:34:36] since COVID or 2020, the consults we've

[1:34:39] had uh have nearly doubled. Uh and I

[1:34:43] think as you also heard from uh the

[1:34:45] human services folks with the

[1:34:47] legislative changes, that's only going

[1:34:49] to increase. uh and as they get

[1:34:52] additional if or when they get

[1:34:53] additional staffing those additional um

[1:34:56] uh legislative requirements will require

[1:34:59] them to consult with us more often. So,

[1:35:01] uh it won't be as big a hu uh resource

[1:35:04] drain on us as it is obviously on human

[1:35:06] services. Um but when their work goes

[1:35:08] up, our work goes up as well. And the

[1:35:11] final chart you have there uh is from

[1:35:14] our civil division. Uh they provide

[1:35:16] legal advice to county departments. uh

[1:35:18] they handle civil commitments, child

[1:35:20] support uh amongst other uh duties. Uh

[1:35:24] but the one area that we do pride

[1:35:25] ourselves on is answering requests for

[1:35:27] legal opinions from the departments uh

[1:35:30] and others in the county. Uh we continue

[1:35:32] to encourage departments to ask for

[1:35:34] legal opinions to help guide decisions

[1:35:36] uh that may affect the county's

[1:35:38] liability or simply to understand what

[1:35:40] is or what isn't permitted under a

[1:35:42] certain statutory uh scheme or

[1:35:44] otherwise. uh the number of legal

[1:35:46] opinions requested has doubled uh since

[1:35:49] before COVID and again that's not a bad

[1:35:51] thing. Uh we think it reflects a

[1:35:53] positive movement where departments are

[1:35:55] asking uh for our advice uh or opinion

[1:35:59] to help guide their action. Uh and as

[1:36:01] lawyers we always prefer to be asked on

[1:36:03] the front end before the lawsuit uh

[1:36:05] comes in.

[1:36:08] >> Any questions?

[1:36:12] » Thank you.

[1:36:12] >> Don't see any. Thanks Mike. Right. Next

[1:36:15] » Don't see any. Thanks Mike. Right. Next

[1:36:15] we have the auditor treasures office and

[1:36:17] Ry's going to take those.

[1:36:20] >> So the first one is the uh payment plans

[1:36:24] » So the first one is the uh payment plans

[1:36:24] um quarterly and 10 months and these are

[1:36:28] for current taxes and we continue to see

[1:36:30] a steady increase in those electronic

[1:36:33] tax statements um people getting their

[1:36:35] TNT tax statement and valuation notices

[1:36:39] online and that continues to increase.

[1:36:42] So that makes it more convenient for

[1:36:43] them and also saves us time and money on

[1:36:46] postage and such.

[1:36:50] Um [clears throat]

[1:36:51] so the virtual services is a virtual

[1:36:54] license center. Um we continue to see a

[1:36:56] steady increase in that. We have all the

[1:36:58] services that we can provide online

[1:37:00] online in the virtual license center and

[1:37:04] um we probably have one of the most

[1:37:06] robust websites on that in the state.

[1:37:10] um number assess special assessment

[1:37:12] projects uh continue to go up. So this

[1:37:15] does not include uh the solid waste but

[1:37:18] everything else that comes from

[1:37:19] primarily cities and watersheds. Um so a

[1:37:24] lot of special assessment and a lot of

[1:37:25] dollars there.

[1:37:30] Don't know if we have any more. Thank

[1:37:32] you.

[1:37:33] >> Commissioner Commissioner Johnson,

[1:37:36] » Commissioner Commissioner Johnson,

[1:37:36] >> I can speak on

[1:37:38] » I can speak on

[1:37:38] >> Okay.

[1:37:40] » Okay.

[1:37:40] Commissioner Johnson, go ahead.

[1:37:41] >> Okay, Mr. Chair, thank you. Um Randy, in

[1:37:44] » Okay, Mr. Chair, thank you. Um Randy, in

[1:37:44] terms of quarterly and 10-month tax um

[1:37:47] payment plans,

[1:37:50] >> what is the incidence of delinquency and

[1:37:53] » what is the incidence of delinquency and

[1:37:53] and how much money might that involve?

[1:37:57] So the ones that uh are on those often

[1:37:59] have been doing a escrow and then now

[1:38:02] their mortgage is paid off and so they

[1:38:04] can sign up for that and we take the

[1:38:06] money directly out of their bank account

[1:38:08] so they don't have to do anything. They

[1:38:10] sign up for that automatically and that

[1:38:13] that success rate is very high. We

[1:38:15] rarely see um any sort of mispayment or

[1:38:20] or or in that area. The delinquency I

[1:38:23] can get you some numbers on that. you're

[1:38:26] seeing a little bit of a tick up in

[1:38:27] that.

[1:38:28] >> When it comes to forfeite though, that

[1:38:30] » When it comes to forfeite though, that

[1:38:30] number remains pretty low, less than 10

[1:38:33] a year.

[1:38:34] >> Yeah. In this economy, I was just sort

[1:38:35] » Yeah. In this economy, I was just sort

[1:38:35] of imagining that

[1:38:37] >> delinquency might be increasing and um

[1:38:41] » delinquency might be increasing and um

[1:38:41] you know, think things like Yep.

[1:38:43] >> even taxes are hard on people.

[1:38:45] » even taxes are hard on people.

[1:38:45] >> Yep.

[1:38:47] » Yep.

[1:38:47] >> Randy, was

[1:38:49] » Randy, was

[1:38:50] your presentation different than the one

[1:38:51] that's in the packet?

[1:38:52] >> It is.

[1:38:53] » It is.

[1:38:53] >> Okay.

[1:38:53] » Okay.

[1:38:53] >> Yes. I would say there's [laughter]

[1:38:54] » Yes. I would say there's [laughter]

[1:38:54] there's a lot more pages in here than uh

[1:38:57] what you just went through over there.

[1:38:59] [gasps]

[1:39:00] >> Yeah, Mr. Chair, the um PowerPoint is

[1:39:03] » Yeah, Mr. Chair, the um PowerPoint is

[1:39:04] just a subset of all the different ones

[1:39:06] that are in the packet. We didn't want

[1:39:07] to do um all all the measures. It would

[1:39:11] take a while. [laughter]

[1:39:12] >> Too many.

[1:39:13] » Too many.

[1:39:13] >> Certainly, if the questions on any of

[1:39:14] » Certainly, if the questions on any of

[1:39:14] those, I'm always available. So,

[1:39:16] >> okay. Thank you,

[1:39:18] » okay. Thank you,

[1:39:18] Shelley. Good morning.

[1:39:20] >> Good morning. Shelley Benson,

[1:39:21] » Good morning. Shelley Benson,

[1:39:21] environmental services director. um your

[1:39:23] favorite topic right issuing permits. So

[1:39:27] one of the things I think is is always

[1:39:29] interesting is how long does it take us

[1:39:31] to issue those permits and so we have

[1:39:33] started uh looking at that data and in

[1:39:36] the commercial industrial uh sphere what

[1:39:39] we're seeing is that the complexity and

[1:39:43] the time it takes has gone up uh for

[1:39:45] those days to issue. So, we're at even

[1:39:48] though we only had 19 last year, we had

[1:39:51] it took us 53 days on average to issue

[1:39:54] those. And that's because of the

[1:39:55] conditional use permit process because

[1:39:57] that we include that time um as well in

[1:40:00] there. Um the good news is the

[1:40:02] residential permits have gone down. So,

[1:40:05] even though during our peak time of the

[1:40:08] year, like now it's approximately 21

[1:40:10] days to issue a permit, on average, uh

[1:40:14] last year it was seven. So peak times is

[1:40:18] a little different than than our average

[1:40:21] uh over the [snorts] course of the year.

[1:40:23] Um and then permitting compliance.

[1:40:25] >> Shel, can I just ask on that the

[1:40:27] » Shel, can I just ask on that the

[1:40:27] residential one that that's just where

[1:40:31] >> the county is in charge, correct? If a

[1:40:34] » the county is in charge, correct? If a

[1:40:34] township has their own planning and

[1:40:35] zoning, that's a different

[1:40:37] >> right. Anything with a T any township

[1:40:39] » right. Anything with a T any township

[1:40:39] permits, [snorts] those are we don't

[1:40:41] track their days. We just get them and

[1:40:43] and uh record them so that they're all

[1:40:46] in the system so that if you go to the

[1:40:48] land services page, you can look it up

[1:40:50] online to see a township permit or a

[1:40:52] county permit. Uh but we don't track

[1:40:54] those days uh to issue.

[1:40:56] >> Thank you.

[1:40:58] » Thank you.

[1:40:58] >> And then permitting compliance. Um so

[1:41:01] » And then permitting compliance. Um so

[1:41:01] anything that falls within the scope of

[1:41:03] land use uh requires us to look at the

[1:41:05] statute. We have 60 days to issue a

[1:41:08] permit. We don't use those 60 days. Um

[1:41:12] very very rarely do we do that.

[1:41:15] Occasionally on certain conditional uses

[1:41:17] or um interim uses we'll have to extend

[1:41:21] those time frames to that 120 days, but

[1:41:24] most of the time we're we're getting um

[1:41:26] permits issued. But this is about

[1:41:28] compliance with that law, the 1099 and

[1:41:31] making sure we're doing things within

[1:41:32] that time frame. Um not just permits

[1:41:36] fall within that uh wetland compliance.

[1:41:39] So getting out to a site, making sure

[1:41:41] all those rules are met, uh feed lot

[1:41:43] compliance. So again, there's a lot of

[1:41:46] things that fall within the uh 1599

[1:41:49] requirements. And so this is the number

[1:41:52] of activities we had last year um was

[1:41:54] down a little bit, but the good news is

[1:41:56] we had compliance with everything that

[1:41:58] included variances and cups and the you

[1:42:01] know the processing of all of those uh

[1:42:04] permits and applications.

[1:42:07] >> Mr. Chair Shel. Then also with that

[1:42:10] » Mr. Chair Shel. Then also with that

[1:42:10] 60-day notice, often times it's it's not

[1:42:12] our issue. Often times it's the person

[1:42:15] that wants an extension and we grant

[1:42:17] them the extension because they're not

[1:42:19] prepared to move it forward. So,

[1:42:20] >> right. Yeah. So, our first um we make

[1:42:23] » right. Yeah. So, our first um we make

[1:42:23] sure the an application's complete in

[1:42:25] the first 10 days and then we have 60

[1:42:28] days once it's complete to issue that

[1:42:30] permit. We can extend it that 120 days

[1:42:34] for our own purposes, but often it is an

[1:42:36] extension uh request of a land owner

[1:42:39] because they haven't completed some part

[1:42:41] of a process, gotten the proper um storm

[1:42:44] water management is one of those areas

[1:42:45] where it sometimes it takes longer.

[1:42:47] Engineering of any sort or survey work.

[1:42:50] So those are things that often um

[1:42:53] instead of us denying something, they

[1:42:56] they put an extension or wave their

[1:42:58] their time frame. So we have that as

[1:43:01] well.

[1:43:04] » Mr. Chair,

[1:43:05] >> Commissioner Johnson.

[1:43:06] » Commissioner Johnson.

[1:43:06] >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Shelley, on the

[1:43:08] » Thank you, Mr. Chair. Shelley, on the

[1:43:08] the 53 days for the number of commercial

[1:43:11] industrial permits, you said it was

[1:43:13] pretty much a function of the the cup

[1:43:16] process.

[1:43:18] What What is it about that process that

[1:43:20] causes the the increase in length of

[1:43:23] time to get the permit? We are required

[1:43:25] to have Commissioner Johnson um

[1:43:28] public hearings. So we have to notice in

[1:43:31] the newspaper the newspaper is a day uh

[1:43:34] not a daily but a weekly. So we have to

[1:43:36] publish a week almost a week in advance

[1:43:39] for the paper. Then we have to have the

[1:43:41] two weeks. So it's almost three weeks of

[1:43:43] notice that add to the time and then the

[1:43:46] application goes in front of the

[1:43:47] planning commission. They do their

[1:43:49] hearing and then it comes to the board.

[1:43:51] and there's typically 12 days between

[1:43:52] our planning commission and our county

[1:43:54] board. So, it's all the timing for the

[1:43:57] process. Um, [snorts]

[1:43:59] by statute, we're required to hold

[1:44:01] public hearings on certain types of

[1:44:02] applications. So, that's what that

[1:44:05] that's what those times are.

[1:44:08] Um, I understand what you just said, but

[1:44:10] but if I look at previous years, um, the

[1:44:15] numbers significantly different, and

[1:44:17] that's kind of where I was going. Has

[1:44:19] something changed?

[1:44:20] more recently besides calendaring things

[1:44:25] and

[1:44:25] >> the good the interesting part about that

[1:44:27] » the good the interesting part about that

[1:44:27] some of those were things that were

[1:44:29] actually occurring a commercial property

[1:44:31] right so a commercial uh construction

[1:44:33] permit on a commercial property doesn't

[1:44:36] require a cup or a you know an IUP so if

[1:44:41] if it's just a zoning question I have a

[1:44:45] commercial property and I want to build

[1:44:46] a building I just come in the door I ask

[1:44:48] for it I don't have to go through the

[1:44:50] the longer process and we had more of

[1:44:52] those actually in 2023.

[1:44:55] Um quite a few.

[1:44:57] >> So it's the type of permit that people

[1:44:59] » So it's the type of permit that people

[1:44:59] are applying for.

[1:45:00] >> So the zoning district and the permit

[1:45:01] » So the zoning district and the permit

[1:45:01] type.

[1:45:02] >> Thank you.

[1:45:02] » Thank you.

[1:45:02] >> But if they're in the agricultural

[1:45:04] » But if they're in the agricultural

[1:45:04] district, most of those are commercial

[1:45:06] or not commercial. So that they are uh

[1:45:08] require conditional use or an interim

[1:45:10] use permit.

[1:45:11] >> Sure.

[1:45:11] » Sure.

[1:45:11] >> So

[1:45:11] » So

[1:45:12] >> thanks.

[1:45:12] » thanks.

[1:45:12] >> That's the difference. Yeah.

[1:45:13] » That's the difference. Yeah.

[1:45:13] >> Thank you.

[1:45:16] » Thank you.

[1:45:16] >> Thank you, Shelley.

[1:45:18] » Thank you, Shelley.

[1:45:18] Okay. So, next we have Highway with

[1:45:20] Engineer Bird.

[1:45:22] >> All right. Exciting. Does anybody love

[1:45:24] » All right. Exciting. Does anybody love

[1:45:24] graphs as much as I do? [laughter]

[1:45:26] >> Uh, so there's a lot of things I can

[1:45:29] » Uh, so there's a lot of things I can

[1:45:29] tell you about these graphs. So,

[1:45:31] starting off there on the left, bridge

[1:45:32] ratings. So, this last uh inspection

[1:45:35] cycle, we identified more bridges that

[1:45:37] meet that threshold uh of below 60 for

[1:45:41] the local planning index. That's what

[1:45:42] LPI stands for. Why that is significant

[1:45:45] is for state funding. uh state funding

[1:45:48] requires your bridge structure to have

[1:45:51] an LPI below 60 to become eligible for

[1:45:54] bridge funding. So, we've seen a big

[1:45:56] jump uh from 3 to 8. Don't be surprised

[1:46:00] if this stays on there for a while

[1:46:02] because funding usually lags three,

[1:46:05] four, sometimes five years to identify

[1:46:07] for uh structures to get replaced. So,

[1:46:11] we'll do our best to try to schedule

[1:46:13] into our our road program, but we always

[1:46:16] like to seek outside funding for these

[1:46:18] structures to replace them. And a common

[1:46:20] source of funding is the the state

[1:46:23] bridge bonding effort. So, each year

[1:46:26] we're we're big advocates for a state

[1:46:28] bonding bill and because that funds a

[1:46:30] lot of bridges across the state. to put

[1:46:32] in perspective, eight structures, that's

[1:46:34] about 3 and a half% of our total number

[1:46:37] of grid structures that we inspect in

[1:46:40] the county. So statewide, it's about 4

[1:46:44] and a.5% of the structures statewide. So

[1:46:47] we're doing a little bit better than

[1:46:48] statewide average on structures, but

[1:46:50] something that we're going to we're

[1:46:52] going to have to work hard to to get

[1:46:53] that number back down to our target. Uh

[1:46:56] the middle chart, very interesting as

[1:46:58] well, our pavement ratings. So that

[1:47:00] yellow bar is our goal. We want to make

[1:47:02] that as high as possible. And the darker

[1:47:04] blue bars uh to be as short as possible.

[1:47:08] So the darkest there on the left bar,

[1:47:10] that's our poor poor pavements. So we're

[1:47:14] we're meeting our our targets for the

[1:47:16] number of miles of road that are poor

[1:47:17] and fair and and exceeding what we want

[1:47:19] to be good and excellent. What's

[1:47:21] interesting is that poor column to get

[1:47:25] those miles of road back to a good or

[1:47:27] excellent would cost more than the roads

[1:47:30] in fair condition and quite a bit more

[1:47:32] than the good and excellent. That's just

[1:47:34] the way road is. The the worse condition

[1:47:37] it is, the more expensive it is to get

[1:47:39] it back to a good good condition. So,

[1:47:41] it's something that we we always work

[1:47:43] hard uh to try to schedule the correct

[1:47:46] action at the right time of the project

[1:47:48] to maximize public funding. So, um, it's

[1:47:51] always a trade-off. Can we afford to do

[1:47:53] a a smaller action this year or do we

[1:47:55] need to delay the project and prepare to

[1:47:57] have a more extensive project that's

[1:47:59] going to cost more sometime in the

[1:48:01] future? So,

[1:48:03] >> Commissioner Bertram,

[1:48:04] » Commissioner Bertram,

[1:48:04] >> can you turn your mic on?

[1:48:06] » can you turn your mic on?

[1:48:06] >> Oh, I'm sorry.

[1:48:06] » Oh, I'm sorry.

[1:48:06] >> Thanks.

[1:48:07] » Thanks.

[1:48:07] >> Uh, do we still have to test our um all

[1:48:10] » Uh, do we still have to test our um all

[1:48:10] the bridges, even the federal like the

[1:48:12] freeway bridges? Do my memory is that we

[1:48:16] have to review all those. Is that

[1:48:18] accurate?

[1:48:19] >> Yes. So there's um depending on the type

[1:48:22] » Yes. So there's um depending on the type

[1:48:22] of structure, not all of them get

[1:48:23] inspected every year. Um some a lot of

[1:48:27] them now in in Minnesota a bridge

[1:48:29] structure is anything that has a span of

[1:48:31] 10 ft or greater. So that could be if

[1:48:34] you have two six foot diameter culverts

[1:48:37] next to each other. We inspect those as

[1:48:39] like a bridge structure, but that may be

[1:48:41] on a a longer inspection cycle up to

[1:48:44] maybe four years sometimes. Um and then

[1:48:46] as the life of that structure progresses

[1:48:48] and the condition decreases you may have

[1:48:51] to inspect it more frequently. So we

[1:48:53] inspect uh uh anything well I shouldn't

[1:48:56] say that

[1:48:59] there there are some criteria for

[1:49:01] example a county road over the

[1:49:03] interstate we don't inspect that because

[1:49:06] most often mindot owns that structure

[1:49:09] and then they're inspecting that even

[1:49:11] though it carries a county roadway. But

[1:49:14] um for most intents and purposes, if

[1:49:17] it's carrying a county road over a

[1:49:19] stream, um we're inspecting that. We're

[1:49:22] also responsible for inspecting township

[1:49:24] bridges. Um although we're not

[1:49:26] responsible for the maintenance,

[1:49:27] [clears throat]

[1:49:28] in statute, it says the county highway

[1:49:30] engineer is responsible for the

[1:49:31] inspection. And then we have an

[1:49:33] obligation to share that inspection

[1:49:34] [snorts] report with the townships um

[1:49:37] each year with the of the structures

[1:49:39] with recommended maintenance actions if

[1:49:41] anything's identified needing to repair.

[1:49:44] >> Does that answer your question?

[1:49:45] » Does that answer your question?

[1:49:45] >> Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[1:49:47] » Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[1:49:47] >> Okay.

[1:49:49] » Okay.

[1:49:49] Um and then uh the far right uh table

[1:49:52] there uh cost per mile, you'll see a

[1:49:55] steady increase and then COVID happened

[1:49:57] in 22. We seemed uh we seen postcoid

[1:50:00] material prices take a big jump whether

[1:50:02] that was supply chain issues or

[1:50:05] everything. It just seemed materials is

[1:50:07] what c led to the increase in cost per

[1:50:09] mile those years with a slow decrease uh

[1:50:13] over the next subsequent years. Uh last

[1:50:16] year we were about $9,600

[1:50:21] per mile for maintenance. So that's not

[1:50:23] down to below precoid cost per mile.

[1:50:26] Precoid we were about $8,900 per mile of

[1:50:29] maintenance. So will we ever see precoid

[1:50:32] prices? I don't know. But um I maybe

[1:50:35] we'll see it to level out over the next

[1:50:37] uh couple years there.

[1:50:39] >> Joe advance slides.

[1:50:41] » Joe advance slides.

[1:50:41] >> Mr. Chair,

[1:50:42] » Mr. Chair,

[1:50:42] >> Mr. Chair.

[1:50:44] » Mr. Chair.

[1:50:44] Okay. Yeah. Chris, does um that

[1:50:46] maintenance cost does that in involve

[1:50:48] snow removal? So is that seasonal as

[1:50:50] well then?

[1:50:51] >> Yeah. So that any kind of maintenance

[1:50:52] » Yeah. So that any kind of maintenance

[1:50:52] activity, snow removal, mowing of

[1:50:54] roadside ditches, pothole patching,

[1:50:56] striping, um, uh, resurfacing less than

[1:51:00] two inches, uh, those kind of things.

[1:51:02] So, uh, spraying for weeds within our

[1:51:05] rideway. So, any kind of maintenance

[1:51:06] activity, it doesn't include

[1:51:08] construction projects.

[1:51:09] >> Okay. So, I mean, that would be

[1:51:11] » Okay. So, I mean, that would be

[1:51:11] significant depending upon sanding, ice,

[1:51:14] or salt.

[1:51:16] >> Yeah.

[1:51:16] » Yeah.

[1:51:16] >> And then obviously fuel and overtime as

[1:51:18] » And then obviously fuel and overtime as

[1:51:18] well. So,

[1:51:19] >> that's correct. You know, my experience

[1:51:21] » that's correct. You know, my experience

[1:51:22] has kind of showed sometimes when we

[1:51:23] have a mild winter, there's this big

[1:51:25] belief that, oh, we must be saving a lot

[1:51:26] of money because we're not throwing out

[1:51:28] salt and sand on the roads. We're not

[1:51:30] burning as much diesel, which is true,

[1:51:32] but the reality of it is there's other

[1:51:35] maintenance activities that end up

[1:51:36] taking up. What I've seen is sometimes

[1:51:38] those years we ended up having more

[1:51:40] pothole patching than we did in a

[1:51:42] winter, more of a typical winter, or

[1:51:44] maybe we're doing more crack filling.

[1:51:46] Um, so maybe we save some, but it's

[1:51:49] maybe not as much as we would anticipate

[1:51:51] by not having to plow snow all winter.

[1:51:54] There's something interesting in the

[1:51:55] highway world.

[1:51:55] >> Commissioner Johnson.

[1:51:56] » Commissioner Johnson.

[1:51:56] >> Uh, Mr. Chair, thank you.

[1:51:59] » Uh, Mr. Chair, thank you.

[1:51:59] Um Chris,

[1:52:02] given the volatility of the price of oil

[1:52:05] in 26 now,

[1:52:07] >> are are we seeing increases in

[1:52:09] » are are we seeing increases in

[1:52:09] maintenance costs and will we be

[1:52:11] projecting increases

[1:52:14] into 20 into the 27 budget?

[1:52:17] >> Um yeah, good question. We have seen

[1:52:20] » Um yeah, good question. We have seen

[1:52:20] fuel prices increase um uh but we've

[1:52:25] seen fuel consumption not be as high as

[1:52:27] we have in previous years.

[1:52:29] For us, it gets really difficult because

[1:52:33] [clears throat] we have like two snow

[1:52:34] seasons in a calendar year. So, we had

[1:52:36] the first half of this year be

[1:52:38] relatively mild and fuel consumption was

[1:52:41] probably lower than average. But, we

[1:52:44] need to remember we could start be

[1:52:46] plowing snow in November. What does

[1:52:48] November and December going to look

[1:52:49] like? Uh, it's really difficult this

[1:52:52] time to kind of predict where our fuel

[1:52:54] consumption is going to be and where

[1:52:55] those prices are going to be right now.

[1:52:58] So, we did see a slight increase in salt

[1:53:00] prices. That's something that's

[1:53:02] interesting. Um, you know, April May

[1:53:05] year, we're putting in a quota to the

[1:53:07] salt suppliers of what we're going to

[1:53:09] purchase and we lock in a price per ton

[1:53:11] and we've seen a slight increase in

[1:53:13] price per ton at that time of year

[1:53:16] >> um for the previous year. So, we have a

[1:53:20] » um for the previous year. So, we have a

[1:53:20] and we we put a quote of like we I don't

[1:53:22] remember off the top of my head the

[1:53:24] number of tons, but we say we're going

[1:53:25] to commit to purchasing this many tons

[1:53:27] and we're obligated to purchase at least

[1:53:29] 80% of that uh before next end of next

[1:53:33] April of 27. So, that's where we have

[1:53:36] some leeway after the first of the year.

[1:53:38] Um if budgets are tight or we're over

[1:53:42] and we don't purchase much salt, but

[1:53:45] we'll just have to evaluate that at that

[1:53:46] time.

[1:53:47] Thank you,

[1:53:48] >> Commissioner Perski.

[1:53:49] » Commissioner Perski.

[1:53:49] >> Mr. Chair, yeah, Chris, since we're

[1:53:50] » Mr. Chair, yeah, Chris, since we're

[1:53:50] talking about snow removal and winter

[1:53:52] maintenance, uh, back when I was on the

[1:53:54] council and in Mayor in Sartell, we

[1:53:57] always had a snow event was5 to $8,000

[1:54:01] for the city. Do you have the estimate

[1:54:04] general rule of thumb for the county

[1:54:06] what a snow event usually is? Um well,

[1:54:09] okay, if you allow me to b uh borrow

[1:54:12] from my previous experience, uh in

[1:54:14] neighboring county, it was about uh

[1:54:17] 25,000 per snow event. In this county is

[1:54:20] about four times as large. So,

[1:54:23] >> okay.

[1:54:23] » okay.

[1:54:23] >> Uh I don't know if that that holds too

[1:54:25] » Uh I don't know if that that holds too

[1:54:25] or if we have gained some efficiency,

[1:54:27] [snorts]

[1:54:27] economy of scale there. So, when you

[1:54:30] talk about labor, fuel prices, the

[1:54:32] cutting edge is iron, the materials that

[1:54:34] you're throwing out, it adds up rather

[1:54:36] quickly. And if the snow is on the

[1:54:37] weekend, we're paying overtime.

[1:54:39] >> Yes. Correct. Yeah.

[1:54:41] » Yes. Correct. Yeah.

[1:54:41] >> Okay. Which

[1:54:42] » Okay. Which

[1:54:42] >> it's not going to happen the next couple

[1:54:44] » it's not going to happen the next couple

[1:54:44] of days.

[1:54:45] >> We got to plan our snow snow events.

[1:54:47] » We got to plan our snow snow events.

[1:54:47] [laughter] Yeah. Um Yeah. And and

[1:54:51] [snorts]

[1:54:52] you can't always look back at the number

[1:54:55] of days he had precipitation. Um even

[1:54:57] though we didn't have precipitation, was

[1:54:59] wind a factor? Did we send have to send

[1:55:00] trucks back out? even though we didn't

[1:55:02] have precipitation, did we have drifting

[1:55:04] and we had to go clear roads again.

[1:55:06] [snorts] So, um it's not always a direct

[1:55:09] correlation between the number of days

[1:55:10] of precipitation to what our snow

[1:55:12] removal costs are.

[1:55:14] >> Yeah.

[1:55:17] » Um well, since we're talking about that

[1:55:19] on the right side of this slide, uh snow

[1:55:20] and ice removal times, there's our

[1:55:22] targets for um our roads. We kind of

[1:55:25] break them down to three different

[1:55:26] categories based on traffic volumes. And

[1:55:29] this is something that we strive on. You

[1:55:32] look at the time there and obviously

[1:55:34] we're prioritizing the higher volume

[1:55:35] roads and try to uh put more uh trucks

[1:55:39] and equipment to those and get those

[1:55:41] cleared sooner than some of our lower

[1:55:43] volume roads. As we try to gain

[1:55:46] efficiencies, there is a point of

[1:55:48] diminishing returns as roads get more

[1:55:52] and more traffic on them. You know, our

[1:55:54] plow trucks will get clogged up in that

[1:55:57] traffic. So there, I just wanted to

[1:55:59] preface it. There gets to be a point

[1:56:00] where we're not going to gain any more

[1:56:02] efficiencies as the road becomes higher

[1:56:05] higher volume traffic because we're

[1:56:06] stuck in the same traffic that everybody

[1:56:08] else is driving in. So as we continue to

[1:56:10] try to be more efficient and get those

[1:56:12] times down, um there's only so much that

[1:56:15] we can do with the traffic that we're

[1:56:16] on. Jumping to the left side of this

[1:56:19] slide, uh our road program, and this is

[1:56:22] something I'll admit, I'm going to just

[1:56:24] take this on the chin. this year um did

[1:56:26] not get a new 5-year road program

[1:56:28] adopted by July 1st and and that's just

[1:56:31] a big reason for me being new. Um we

[1:56:34] look at a lot of data to determine what

[1:56:36] roads need to be uh reconstructed or

[1:56:39] resurfaced or or what have you and

[1:56:43] scheduling that like I mentioned earlier

[1:56:44] trying to do the right action at the

[1:56:46] right time of the roadway. and I just

[1:56:49] needed time to look at that data and

[1:56:50] kind of pick which roads need to be done

[1:56:53] um in the fifth year. Another thing we

[1:56:56] try to strive for too is having all of

[1:56:57] our large projects have the bid openings

[1:56:59] by June 15th. There's one rather large

[1:57:02] project that's programmed for this

[1:57:04] current year and that's the traffic

[1:57:05] signal upgrades on Cass 75 through St.

[1:57:09] Joe uh and Way Park St. Cloud. That's a

[1:57:13] that's about a $5 million project and

[1:57:15] we're receiving about $3.9 million of

[1:57:17] federal funding. Um once again due to

[1:57:20] the vacancies and me coming on board uh

[1:57:22] that design schedule just not did not

[1:57:24] progress as it should have and we have

[1:57:27] final plans now that have been submitted

[1:57:29] to the state for review. We're hoping

[1:57:31] for a September bid opening on that

[1:57:33] project that will allow the contractor

[1:57:35] to order materials over the winter and

[1:57:38] start uh constructing those new signals

[1:57:41] uh next spring along 75. Um

[1:57:44] >> and Mr. Chair, we we'll be talking about

[1:57:46] » and Mr. Chair, we we'll be talking about

[1:57:46] the 5-year program at the August meeting

[1:57:48] when we have a work session on the

[1:57:50] highway budget.

[1:57:51] >> Yeah. So, that's where we're at on that.

[1:57:54] » Yeah. So, that's where we're at on that.

[1:57:54] One one quick question side note. Um,

[1:57:58] has has the county ended up hiring you a

[1:58:01] weed inspector yet or egg inspector?

[1:58:04] >> Uh, [laughter]

[1:58:05] » Uh, [laughter]

[1:58:05] no. Um, and um, it was interesting. We

[1:58:07] were warned that if we didn't hire

[1:58:09] somebody by June, our phones would be

[1:58:11] ringing off the hook. And sure enough,

[1:58:12] that happened. So,

[1:58:14] >> okay.

[1:58:14] » okay.

[1:58:14] >> Um,

[1:58:15] » Um,

[1:58:15] >> all right.

[1:58:16] » all right.

[1:58:16] >> So, we're that position got re-evaluated

[1:58:19] » So, we're that position got re-evaluated

[1:58:19] u after the vacancy and and that's where

[1:58:21] it is right now. We're we're hoping to

[1:58:23] get that advertised here pretty soon.

[1:58:25] Um, I've learned that our weed

[1:58:27] inspector, uh, Mr. Dunning, did a lot

[1:58:29] for this county and a lot for our

[1:58:31] partners in the county that it's going

[1:58:33] to be tough to fill, but um, we'll be

[1:58:35] optimistic and hopefully we have that

[1:58:37] filled by by the fall.

[1:58:39] >> Okay,

[1:58:39] » Okay,

[1:58:39] >> Mr. Chair, usually in in cities it

[1:58:42] » Mr. Chair, usually in in cities it

[1:58:42] defaults to the mayor. So, I'm just

[1:58:44] wondering if it defaults to you.

[1:58:46] [laughter]

[1:58:47] >> I could do it. I did it for the

[1:58:48] » I could do it. I did it for the

[1:58:48] township.

[1:58:50] One thing uh Bob Dunning was good about

[1:58:52] was getting grants for you know noxious

[1:58:55] weed eradication. What's interesting is

[1:58:57] June is also the time frame of when

[1:58:59] those grant applications were due. So me

[1:59:01] and with the help of our environmental

[1:59:04] uh technician we muddled our way through

[1:59:07] a grant application. So hopefully we get

[1:59:09] some funding to do that continue that

[1:59:11] work. Um it just didn't seem like

[1:59:13] something we couldn't wait for that

[1:59:14] position to get filled. Uh, and I don't

[1:59:17] know how good of an application it was

[1:59:19] compared to what we submitted

[1:59:20] previously. We'll see.

[1:59:22] >> That's all right. I just I I just knew I

[1:59:24] » That's all right. I just I I just knew I

[1:59:24] had asked you that once before. So,

[1:59:26] >> yeah. All right. Thanks.

[1:59:28] » yeah. All right. Thanks.

[1:59:28] >> What about the uh your uh financial

[1:59:32] » What about the uh your uh financial

[1:59:32] >> uh position?

[1:59:33] » uh position?

[1:59:33] >> Yeah. Uh we're still still working on

[1:59:35] » Yeah. Uh we're still still working on

[1:59:35] recruiting that. That's been challenging

[1:59:37] and frustrating. There's been applicants

[1:59:39] that we've interviewed, brought in

[1:59:41] second view interviews, liked, and we go

[1:59:44] to the next step with them only to find

[1:59:45] out they've been offered employment

[1:59:47] elsewhere and choose that. So, um, in

[1:59:50] many regards, I feel like we're moving

[1:59:53] faster than what counties normally do on

[1:59:54] these these applicants, but, um, it's

[1:59:58] still been a challenge to to fill that

[1:59:59] position. um those are highly

[2:00:02] soughtafter positions and we're

[2:00:04] competing against private companies for

[2:00:06] for that level of expertise and

[2:00:08] [clears throat] I just um haven't got

[2:00:10] that filled yet. So

[2:00:12] >> okay,

[2:00:14] » okay,

[2:00:14] >> thank you.

[2:00:15] » thank you.

[2:00:15] >> Is it me? All right,

[2:00:19] » Is it me? All right,

[2:00:19] Mr. Chair, we have Melissa Huberty with

[2:00:20] human services.

[2:00:24] » All right, Melissa Huberty, human

[2:00:25] services administrator. The first two

[2:00:27] items um fit in the category of

[2:00:30] notmandated services. So I've been asked

[2:00:32] about that before. Almost all of human

[2:00:34] services is mandated. These first two

[2:00:36] items we're going to go through are the

[2:00:37] community action team and the juvenile

[2:00:39] community action team. They are not

[2:00:41] mandated services, but they're very

[2:00:42] smart because they help pre they're all

[2:00:44] about prevention and they prevent us

[2:00:47] having to move to the deep end services.

[2:00:49] So with the first one, it's the

[2:00:51] community action team. It's a

[2:00:52] partnership with the emergency

[2:00:55] department, centric care, law

[2:00:57] enforcement,

[2:00:59] um, central Minnesota mental health

[2:01:01] center, um, our sheriff's office and

[2:01:04] human services and we still meet

[2:01:06] regularly and we take those very high

[2:01:08] deepend cases that are rotating in and

[2:01:11] out of the system in all of our areas.

[2:01:14] We wrap a team around them and we

[2:01:16] prevent a lot of those most expensive

[2:01:19] services. And so in the first couple

[2:01:21] years of this, we had sort of a control

[2:01:23] group. We knew about with good g a good

[2:01:26] estimate of how often people go to the

[2:01:28] ER, how long they're hanging out in

[2:01:30] jail. Um, and we put a monetary cost to

[2:01:34] that. And so we continue to save quite a

[2:01:36] bit of uh money in the system. And if

[2:01:38] you were at CJCC, our criminal justice

[2:01:41] coordinating committee this morning, uh

[2:01:43] the sheriff's office mentioned the

[2:01:45] community action team, and having a big

[2:01:47] po uh play in terms of helping people

[2:01:50] get out of their jail system a little

[2:01:53] more quickly. So, um the next one is the

[2:01:56] juvenile community action team um that

[2:01:58] we referenced this morning uh when we

[2:02:00] presented on our services. And for the

[2:02:03] first time ever, this is a collaboration

[2:02:06] um with school systems. And we're

[2:02:09] finally getting out more into the rural

[2:02:10] areas. And for the first time ever, we

[2:02:13] have more kids exiting care than we have

[2:02:15] kids entering care. So, we know we're

[2:02:17] doing a good job. We're also no longer

[2:02:20] needing to prioritize these families

[2:02:22] with nine or 10 or 12 children. We can

[2:02:24] get down to the one or two children as

[2:02:26] well. So, having success there. Um

[2:02:29] finally, community safety. This is in

[2:02:31] our community corrections area. Um with

[2:02:34] supervised release, that's parole. If

[2:02:36] for folks who don't know the new

[2:02:37] verbiage, um and probation, we have um

[2:02:40] we're fitting both the guidelines right

[2:02:42] now. It's a 65% at least or above or 85%

[2:02:46] for um felony level no crime within 3

[2:02:50] years. It's measured five years later

[2:02:52] because it's um me the data is collected

[2:02:54] three years after the case is closed and

[2:02:57] then making sure all the court processes

[2:02:59] are processed. So that's that.

[2:03:04] Thank you, Melissa. Um, so next we have

[2:03:07] uh property services. So state law

[2:03:10] requires the review of each taxable

[2:03:12] parcel every 5 years. And so we do a

[2:03:15] fifth of those or 20% of those parcels

[2:03:17] annually um evaluating those properties

[2:03:20] for market value. Um so you can see here

[2:03:23] that our county is ahead of the curve

[2:03:25] when it comes to doing those assessments

[2:03:28] um with almost 100% compliance um or

[2:03:31] 100% evaluation uh ongoing. And then the

[2:03:36] next one from property services deals

[2:03:37] with compliant recording practices. Uh

[2:03:40] so the state requires that real estate

[2:03:43] documents um and records are processed

[2:03:45] within 10 days. You'll see that we

[2:03:47] consistently hit that mark. COVID did

[2:03:50] throw us for a a loop there, but um

[2:03:53] we've recovered to 100% compliance.

[2:03:58] And I'm also going to pitch it for parks

[2:04:01] as well. So you'll see um the data point

[2:04:04] we collect for them are visitors per

[2:04:06] thousand. This is one of those uh

[2:04:08] measures that the state has in their um

[2:04:12] their program. Um, so that number equals

[2:04:16] out to about 700 740,000 people visited

[2:04:20] the parks within 2025. You're seeing a

[2:04:23] significant jump there because we've

[2:04:26] improved our counting. So, um, before we

[2:04:30] had vehicle counters, park staff

[2:04:32] observation,

[2:04:34] um, and now in 2025, we have more

[2:04:36] accurate data using cell phone data from

[2:04:38] the regional parks and trails

[2:04:40] commission. So, we'll probably see um

[2:04:42] good data collection from that in the

[2:04:44] years going forward.

[2:04:48] All right. And now we have uh the

[2:04:49] sheriff's office. And I'll note with um

[2:04:52] the sheriff's data points that um he's

[2:04:55] doing something a little bit different

[2:04:56] this year. So, he's going to tell us

[2:04:58] about his plans.

[2:05:02] >> Uh hello. Yes, we have no information

[2:05:04] » Uh hello. Yes, we have no information

[2:05:04] basically. So, um [laughter] after uh

[2:05:07] well, that's a good plan. So it can only

[2:05:09] go up from there. Um [laughter]

[2:05:11] yeah, after years of doing the kind of

[2:05:13] the same uh performance measures, we

[2:05:15] decided to take a look at different

[2:05:17] things that we're doing in the sheriff's

[2:05:18] office. So uh one uh we're going to

[2:05:21] focus on the dispatch center. Um

[2:05:24] with our new technology with Tyler

[2:05:26] technology, we're able to look at the

[2:05:28] the answering times and the how long

[2:05:30] somebody might sit in a queue and wait

[2:05:32] and those type of things. Uh and we want

[2:05:34] to take a look at that presently. and

[2:05:37] then um probably invoking some AI and

[2:05:40] some technology. We're researching some

[2:05:41] things to maybe bring into the uh uh

[2:05:44] dispatch center next year and see how

[2:05:46] that might improve our services and

[2:05:48] customer service and uh get people to

[2:05:50] the right resources and the right places

[2:05:52] that they need to be um when they call

[2:05:54] our dispatch center. The other uh thing,

[2:05:56] as you know, uh jail programs has really

[2:05:58] taken on a a large uh um footprint in

[2:06:02] our in our jail. We've actually got a

[2:06:04] full-time person now running uh just our

[2:06:06] Ignite program through the National

[2:06:08] Sheriff's Association. Uh I um was able

[2:06:11] to happily report to uh Commissioner

[2:06:14] Clark at our meeting um that we had our

[2:06:16] first um uh person go through and uh and

[2:06:21] uh from the civil commitment side of uh

[2:06:23] we're a part of that uh program right

[2:06:25] now with the grant uh pilot program if

[2:06:28] you would uh to get people um back to

[2:06:30] being able to go to court uh that are

[2:06:32] coming in uh and we're able to do that

[2:06:34] internally. So, we're just taking a look

[2:06:36] at our jail programs and everything that

[2:06:37] we offer. Uh, and as of like the other

[2:06:40] day, I think we have 86%

[2:06:43] uh attendance rate of our inmates

[2:06:45] attending some type of programming,

[2:06:46] whether it's education uh or AA or um

[2:06:50] are trying to get some degrees or

[2:06:52] certifications so that they're uh um you

[2:06:55] know, employable when they get out and

[2:06:56] have a better life when they get out and

[2:06:58] they don't come back to our jail. So, uh

[2:07:00] this is all brand new for us. So we will

[2:07:02] have a basically starting at a a base

[2:07:05] level and by next year when I come back

[2:07:07] and report hopefully we have better

[2:07:09] numbers uh better stats and all

[2:07:11] positivity things.

[2:07:15] >> Good. Thank you.

[2:07:16] » Good. Thank you.

[2:07:16] >> Commissioner Johnson, do you

[2:07:17] » Commissioner Johnson, do you

[2:07:17] >> I do have Steve I have a question for

[2:07:20] » I do have Steve I have a question for

[2:07:20] you and [snorts] it's related to more of

[2:07:22] the detailed lists that I went through

[2:07:25] ear well

[2:07:27] a while back. Um

[2:07:30] I noticed in terms of the programs there

[2:07:32] are a number of uh religiously

[2:07:34] associated ones, faith community

[2:07:36] associated ones, excuse me.

[2:07:37] >> Correct.

[2:07:38] » Correct.

[2:07:38] >> Um are those folks volunteering to do

[2:07:41] » Um are those folks volunteering to do

[2:07:41] those programs or are we soliciting

[2:07:43] people to [snorts] do those programs?

[2:07:44] >> The people coming in to do them or the

[2:07:47] » The people coming in to do them or the

[2:07:47] inmates

[2:07:47] >> the the faith communities themselves

[2:07:50] » the the faith communities themselves

[2:07:50] coming in to do it. is that

[2:07:53] >> so we have something on our website that

[2:07:56] » so we have something on our website that

[2:07:56] uh basically if you want to come in and

[2:07:58] volunteer as an organization you can uh

[2:08:00] when I came in as sheriff uh we had 23

[2:08:03] programs and 20 of them were faith-based

[2:08:04] of some kind or another which makes

[2:08:06] sense because those are the the people

[2:08:08] that will volunteer and will come in to

[2:08:10] try and uh make things better um but we

[2:08:13] had very little on the education side so

[2:08:15] I was set about trying to change that

[2:08:17] over the last few years to kind of equal

[2:08:20] out the religious side of things along

[2:08:21] with the uh educational side of things

[2:08:23] and and since then we've had our some

[2:08:25] GED graduates which we hadn't had in

[2:08:27] about 15 years and uh and uh and

[2:08:30] bringing in the virtual reality and the

[2:08:32] education thing. But yes, the the

[2:08:34] faith-based programs are the ones that

[2:08:36] come in uh um that's where you're going

[2:08:38] to see a lot of you know the volunteers

[2:08:41] for that,

[2:08:42] >> right? And and I appreciate the whole

[2:08:44] » right? And and I appreciate the whole

[2:08:44] list. I mean you're doing a lot of work

[2:08:46] with these inmates through all these

[2:08:48] these programs and I [snorts] appreciate

[2:08:50] that very much. My my my real question

[2:08:52] was is this something we're soliciting

[2:08:55] or are people volunteering? And you said

[2:08:57] they're volunteering to do the work.

[2:08:58] >> Well, they're all voluntary. Uh we don't

[2:09:00] » Well, they're all voluntary. Uh we don't

[2:09:00] go out and go to find churches and say,

[2:09:02] "Hey, do you want to come and do a

[2:09:03] program in our jail, but if they have a

[2:09:05] program or something that uh you know,

[2:09:07] for instance um

[2:09:10] is maybe it's not odd, but we have the

[2:09:11] Menanites come in for a Christmas

[2:09:13] concert um just in December, and they

[2:09:16] offered to come and do that. We it it is

[2:09:18] a little staff consuming just because we

[2:09:20] have to secure everybody, search all

[2:09:22] their stuff as they come in. But uh so

[2:09:24] they they solicited us, I guess, if you

[2:09:26] would. Yeah. Um and volunteered to come

[2:09:28] in, but we're not actively going out.

[2:09:30] But we'll certainly listen to anybody

[2:09:32] that wants to come in. Uh it's just a

[2:09:34] matter of um timing and and how much

[2:09:36] time there is in a day to get programs

[2:09:38] in and done.

[2:09:39] >> Yeah. Thank you so much. Thanks.

[2:09:41] » Yeah. Thank you so much. Thanks.

[2:09:41] >> Yeah,

[2:09:42] » Yeah,

[2:09:42] >> Commissioner Perski.

[2:09:43] » Commissioner Perski.

[2:09:43] >> Yeah, Mr.

[2:09:44] » Yeah, Mr.

[2:09:44] Steve, that online learning has maybe

[2:09:47] really evolved over the last few years.

[2:09:48] I would imagine it gives us quite a few

[2:09:50] opportunities for people.

[2:09:52] >> Yes, we are definitely employing

[2:09:54] » Yes, we are definitely employing

[2:09:54] technology. Uh there's notebooks now in

[2:09:57] the jail that uh the inmates uh you know

[2:10:00] um can do GED all day long if they want.

[2:10:04] For instance, if you want to get your

[2:10:05] high school diploma, maybe

[2:10:06] [clears throat] your night owl, you stay

[2:10:08] up in your cell all night and you can

[2:10:10] take all your courses, you know, right

[2:10:12] in your cell at night. Uh so uh using

[2:10:15] just technology and uh you know the the

[2:10:17] notebooks have been a huge thing for us.

[2:10:20] Uh the virtual reality headsets uh as

[2:10:22] I've mentioned in the past uh um they

[2:10:25] can put those on and manipulate [snorts]

[2:10:27] um tools and uh and u you know get

[2:10:30] certifications uh while it doesn't sound

[2:10:32] like much. They can get certified to do

[2:10:34] say like your basic oil changes and get

[2:10:36] when they get out they're employable at

[2:10:38] say a snappy lube or something like

[2:10:39] that. Um, you know, welding is something

[2:10:42] that we're looking at, uh, bringing in,

[2:10:44] something where they can get a basic

[2:10:45] welding certification. It's not a

[2:10:47] college degree by any means, but it's

[2:10:49] hopefully making them, um, much more

[2:10:51] desirable and employable when they get

[2:10:53] out.

[2:10:54] >> So, yeah, education is uh, and obviously

[2:10:57] » So, yeah, education is uh, and obviously

[2:10:57] we have the the teacher in there and uh,

[2:10:59] and for a long time, we were having

[2:11:01] issues just trying to get them to be

[2:11:02] able to be certified to get their GED.

[2:11:05] We got that through the state in the

[2:11:06] last couple years and we've had, like I

[2:11:08] said, a couple graduates in the last um

[2:11:11] year here that have gotten their GEDs

[2:11:12] while in custody. So, uh, again, just

[2:11:15] hopefully making their lives better and

[2:11:17] being able to get out and be employable

[2:11:19] [clears throat] and, uh, have a better

[2:11:20] life.

[2:11:21] >> Okay.

[2:11:23] » Okay.

[2:11:23] >> Thank you.

[2:11:25] » Thank you.

[2:11:25] >> I'm gonna make sure I can get up.

[2:11:26] » I'm gonna make sure I can get up.

[2:11:26] [laughter]

[2:11:27] >> Oh, one more thing.

[2:11:30] » Oh, one more thing.

[2:11:30] Um, so as as I mentioned earlier, a lot

[2:11:33] of the performance measures that we're

[2:11:35] featuring are all about external ser

[2:11:37] services that we do. Um, but I'll note

[2:11:40] that it is also developing new

[2:11:42] performance measures for this coming

[2:11:44] year to start collecting. And so I think

[2:11:46] next year you'll see some of our

[2:11:48] internal operation performance measures.

[2:11:51] So our last one for today though is

[2:11:53] veteran services.

[2:11:55] >> Good morning, Mr. Chair, commissioners.

[2:11:56] » Good morning, Mr. Chair, commissioners.

[2:11:56] Uh Corey Vasi, uh veteran service

[2:11:59] officer for Sterns County. Uh just a

[2:12:02] kind of brief summary, what what's

[2:12:03] requested of the state or from us by the

[2:12:06] state for this program is the VA

[2:12:08] compensation and pension dollars. Uh

[2:12:11] that [snorts] information comes from the

[2:12:13] geographic distribution of expenditures.

[2:12:15] It's a federal VA uh data point. Uh and

[2:12:18] they changed at the end of last year the

[2:12:20] the schedule of when they will release

[2:12:22] that. So that won't isn't expected to

[2:12:24] come out for 2025 until September of

[2:12:27] this year. Uh but

[2:12:31] [snorts] last year at this time we

[2:12:32] didn't have the 2024 numbers. So now we

[2:12:34] have those for you. Uh it shows $76

[2:12:36] million uh in VA compensation and

[2:12:38] pension dollars. What that includes is

[2:12:41] VA disability compensation, non-service

[2:12:44] connected pension, uh dependency and

[2:12:45] identity compensation, and education

[2:12:48] benefits, uh paid to veterans within the

[2:12:51] Sterns County. Uh so that's money that

[2:12:54] came into into Sterns County from the

[2:12:57] federal VA. Um we've provided additional

[2:12:59] information on here because I think it

[2:13:01] does a better job of demonstrating kind

[2:13:03] of what our office does and and volume.

[2:13:06] Um so roughly 9,000 veterans in Sterns

[2:13:10] County. Um that population does slowly

[2:13:13] decrease each year. Still a large

[2:13:15] portion of our veteran population is

[2:13:17] Vietnam era. Although the OAF uh OEF uh

[2:13:23] veterans, the Iraq Afghanistan veterans

[2:13:25] and first Gulf War veterans are now the

[2:13:27] predominant, you know, uh demographic

[2:13:29] within the veteran community.

[2:13:32] Um,

[2:13:34] one thing I thought I would note, you

[2:13:36] know, the number of unique clients that

[2:13:37] we interact with has stayed pretty

[2:13:39] stable uh, over the last few years. Um,

[2:13:42] those changes uh, fluctuate a little

[2:13:44] bit, probably more to do with just a a

[2:13:47] capacity limit based on staff

[2:13:49] availability um, but is still relatively

[2:13:52] stable.

[2:13:57] » Any questions, Corey?

[2:13:59] >> Thank you. Right.

[2:14:00] » Thank you. Right.

[2:14:00] >> Well, those are our measures for this

[2:14:02] » Well, those are our measures for this

[2:14:02] year. We'll put them online for folks to

[2:14:04] refer to. And with that, I'll pass it

[2:14:08] back to chair.

[2:14:10] >> Okay. Um, Mike, it looks like M2 is up.

[2:14:15] » Okay. Um, Mike, it looks like M2 is up.

[2:14:15] >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes. Uh, this is u

[2:14:17] » Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes. Uh, this is u

[2:14:17] really your first look at the 2027

[2:14:21] budget for this year. And hopefully we

[2:14:23] have that PowerPoint coming up. I will

[2:14:26] um note that the presentation that

[2:14:29] you're going to see today is a little

[2:14:33] is more brief than the first

[2:14:36] presentation in previous years and for a

[2:14:38] couple very practical reasons. One, the

[2:14:40] the property tax data that we would

[2:14:42] normally have is not available yet. We

[2:14:43] don't have a total assessment. We don't

[2:14:45] have the assessment of state of state

[2:14:47] that the state um assesses and appraises

[2:14:51] either. So you don't you won't see that

[2:14:52] part until later in the process. Um

[2:14:56] [clears throat]

[2:14:57] you'll also see that uh that we've

[2:15:00] scheduled some work sessions devoted to

[2:15:03] uh the budget. So you'll have a chance

[2:15:05] to get a little deeper into we've made

[2:15:07] some suggestions for those topics and

[2:15:09] then one meeting that uh that is that is

[2:15:12] open for for your discussion. Um well,

[2:15:15] they're all open, but um we've suggested

[2:15:17] some topics and then hopefully uh the

[2:15:20] executive summary that you see there um

[2:15:22] is pretty thorough uh for this early

[2:15:25] start as well. And um so [clears throat]

[2:15:29] anyway, um we did start early and I want

[2:15:31] to thank the leadership team. Um they

[2:15:33] certainly responded to the changes in

[2:15:35] the process, responded to the earlier

[2:15:37] timeline. Um, and I really want to uh

[2:15:40] give thanks to the budget committee,

[2:15:43] Jill, Sarah, and Randy. Um, I wanted to

[2:15:46] get this budget um, further along this

[2:15:49] year to the point where it was complete.

[2:15:52] And I don't mean ready for approval, but

[2:15:54] I mean complete, pulled together. So you

[2:15:56] have you you you're at a point where you

[2:15:58] can start considering kind of the major

[2:16:00] things that are making up the budget and

[2:16:02] some of the changes that the budget

[2:16:03] committee is recommending and and hence

[2:16:06] some of the changes that you might want

[2:16:07] to make um as the but in the budget as

[2:16:10] well. And we fashioned this a little

[2:16:12] different. Um you'll see the executive

[2:16:15] summary was maybe a little different

[2:16:16] than previous years is really tried to

[2:16:18] focus on what the departments proposed

[2:16:22] and then what and then clearly show what

[2:16:24] changes the budget committee has made.

[2:16:26] So hopefully that came through in that

[2:16:28] executive summary as well. So with those

[2:16:31] uh brief introductions, we'll get into

[2:16:34] it a little bit. You can see the

[2:16:35] timeline here. Um, and you can see that,

[2:16:38] you know, today is your first look at

[2:16:40] it. And then we we suggest that you have

[2:16:42] a work session on August 4th, and that

[2:16:44] would be devoted to the human services.

[2:16:47] Um, because there's a lot of change

[2:16:49] there. Same in the sheriff's office. And

[2:16:51] then, uh, is that date wrong? August

[2:16:53] 25th? Should be 25th. On 25th, um, you

[2:16:57] would see the highway 5-year plan, the

[2:16:59] highway budget, and then, um, the

[2:17:01] household hazardous weight waste budget

[2:17:04] time for that. And then you have another

[2:17:06] one on September 15th that if you want

[2:17:08] to have a work session um just to kind

[2:17:10] of wrap everything up before you do the

[2:17:13] uh preliminary levy on at the end of

[2:17:15] September, you could do that on the

[2:17:17] September 15th. And then of course you

[2:17:19] have a number of meetings before that um

[2:17:21] that would be opportunities to discuss

[2:17:23] the budget if you if you felt that was

[2:17:25] necessary. December 1st, uh, you've

[2:17:28] scheduled your truth and taxation

[2:17:30] hearing and then your final meeting in

[2:17:32] the year is December 15th, which of

[2:17:34] course you would need to adopt the the

[2:17:36] new budget.

[2:17:38] So we at this point things are moved up.

[2:17:41] Of course, those dates at the low at the

[2:17:43] end of that is are are much the same as

[2:17:47] previous years. [clears throat] So you

[2:17:48] can um in the next slide you can see

[2:17:50] where we are today. Um the proposed as

[2:17:53] you as you saw in the in the memo um the

[2:17:56] the budgets as proposed and entered into

[2:17:59] the system um would have resulted in a

[2:18:02] 14.3% increase in the in the in the levy

[2:18:06] and uh through the work that that the

[2:18:08] four of us have done uh in the last

[2:18:11] several weeks um we have this down to a

[2:18:13] 7.14%

[2:18:17] uh increase which again I think is is a

[2:18:19] pretty complete look at where we are. Of

[2:18:21] course, there's changes that uh that

[2:18:23] could be made and and we may learn some

[2:18:25] things as the time goes on here, but I

[2:18:27] think you you have a good look at

[2:18:29] somewhere in the neighborhood of where

[2:18:30] this budget is going to have to be uh by

[2:18:33] the time you adop adopt it. And so

[2:18:35] there's a number of drivers here and um

[2:18:39] I don't think we need to go through

[2:18:40] those necessarily line by line, but you

[2:18:43] know that um we have contracts that are

[2:18:45] 5% increases um that that even if that

[2:18:49] wasn't 5% it would be the bulk of your

[2:18:52] of the increase in coming years if it

[2:18:54] was a smaller number which assuredly

[2:18:56] that will be uh in future years. And

[2:18:58] then you see some of the the human

[2:19:00] services items that you heard about

[2:19:02] today, some of the human services items

[2:19:04] that you're going to hear about at your

[2:19:06] next meeting. Um, and then there's uh a

[2:19:08] number of changes in um some changes in

[2:19:13] revenues. Um, and then re remember we

[2:19:16] levied an extra million dollars uh last

[2:19:19] year and so that that is not, you know,

[2:19:21] that's not included in this levy.

[2:19:24] I'll talk a little bit about about all

[2:19:25] that in a minute. Um and then we just

[2:19:28] wanted to highlight a couple of of

[2:19:30] things that may look a little different.

[2:19:32] One is uh outside agencies. Uh what this

[2:19:35] budget proposes is no change to any

[2:19:37] outside agency funding um except for the

[2:19:41] joint powers agreements which you're

[2:19:42] really obligated by by agreement uh to

[2:19:45] fund. So, you know, I'd point out that

[2:19:48] we have typically um allowed increases

[2:19:52] to uh you know, historical society and

[2:19:54] and the soil and water conservation

[2:19:56] district. It just felt that this year

[2:19:58] with looking at this budget that um it

[2:20:01] wasn't it wasn't a year to increase

[2:20:03] those. Um so, we typically haven't shown

[2:20:07] an increase in the top three there. um

[2:20:09] actually the top four, maybe five, but I

[2:20:12] would point out that it's a little

[2:20:14] different for us to leave the historical

[2:20:17] society and the conservation district um

[2:20:20] at a at a at a level amount.

[2:20:24] Um the next next page shows

[2:20:28] um some areas that we actually are are

[2:20:31] reductions in things we we have done in

[2:20:33] the past. Um, so you know, we've had a

[2:20:35] long discussion uh in this year about

[2:20:38] the the federal lobbying. Um, I think

[2:20:40] that remains to be seen where you want

[2:20:42] to go with that. Um, the new

[2:20:43] administration and you are planning to

[2:20:45] have those discussions. Um, but what we

[2:20:48] had in the proposed budget was $48,000

[2:20:51] and we decided to pull that out. Well,

[2:20:53] 48,000 would have been um what we spent

[2:20:56] in previous years. We also had a little

[2:20:58] increase in the proposed budget that we

[2:21:00] reduced in the in the 2026 budget. We

[2:21:04] had u uh lease agreement money for the

[2:21:08] Melrose Office for Veteran Services had

[2:21:10] a had a trouble troubled time trying to

[2:21:13] find a location for that. Um and again

[2:21:16] since we hadn't started that

[2:21:19] expansion in that service, we thought

[2:21:20] this was a year to not fund that. Um our

[2:21:25] newsletter is something that we've done

[2:21:26] every year um for several years. We've

[2:21:29] reduced it. I think we did four

[2:21:31] newsletters in the first year we did it

[2:21:33] and we reduced it to three and now we

[2:21:35] reduced it to two because the cost uh

[2:21:37] kept climbing and and so it was uh

[2:21:41] getting to be a cost per issue that we

[2:21:44] really wonder if it was worth worth the

[2:21:46] cost and wor worth the staff time which

[2:21:49] a lot of staff time goes into that

[2:21:50] newsletter as well. Um the staff

[2:21:53] reduction extension was already in the

[2:21:55] proposed budget but thought it was

[2:21:56] notable that it that is a reduction in

[2:21:59] uh what we've spent last year. And then

[2:22:01] the remote remote board meeting

[2:22:03] broadcast equipment actually was in the

[2:22:05] proposed um sorry about that but um this

[2:22:09] was not funded in previous years but the

[2:22:11] IT department proposed that they

[2:22:13] purchased some equipment so when we hold

[2:22:15] those remote remote board meetings even

[2:22:17] if that local government wasn't capable

[2:22:19] of broadcasting we could still broadcast

[2:22:22] and we felt in this year that probably

[2:22:24] we could be more mindful about where

[2:22:26] we're going or we just need to be

[2:22:29] accepting that we might have a meeting

[2:22:30] every year that won't necessarily be

[2:22:32] broadcast. So, those just some changes

[2:22:35] that uh we felt we really needed to

[2:22:37] note. Some of them, of course, are not

[2:22:40] huge dollars, but again, notable.

[2:22:44] A big uh area of of uh

[2:22:48] that you heard about this morning is

[2:22:49] some of the changes in human services.

[2:22:51] And you see, we didn't talk about the

[2:22:53] eligibility eligibility portion of that,

[2:22:56] but uh you've heard about that. Um and

[2:22:59] and there's eight people in in this

[2:23:01] proposed budget for that. It'll really

[2:23:04] needs to be a source of discussion in

[2:23:05] the future. And then you see the social

[2:23:07] workers which which we did talk somewhat

[2:23:10] about this morning. Again, remember we

[2:23:12] had a extra million dollars in this

[2:23:15] year's levy. Um as you heard that all

[2:23:17] these changes are occurring

[2:23:20] the first of the year. So, if you wanted

[2:23:21] to prepare for those changes, you would

[2:23:25] be able to use that those contingency

[2:23:26] funds and hire those people in advance

[2:23:28] of January 1st because you also heard,

[2:23:30] you know, how long it takes to train and

[2:23:32] and and and be ready for that. So, um

[2:23:35] that's all left to be decided whether or

[2:23:37] not you would want to do that. The rest

[2:23:38] of these are

[2:23:41] um not on the levy. Um an oper

[2:23:45] operations manager at household

[2:23:46] hazardous waste, which would be through

[2:23:48] the solid waste fund. And then you have

[2:23:50] four positions in the sheriff's office

[2:23:52] which are proposed to be public safety

[2:23:54] aid. Um and we've been using public

[2:23:57] safety aid particularly for dispatches

[2:23:59] in the last couple of years. Um but this

[2:24:01] will be a change to use um the public

[2:24:05] safety aid for a couple of deputies as

[2:24:07] well. And then you saw and you'll see I

[2:24:09] think in a future slide here that uh the

[2:24:13] sheriff's office proposed a number of

[2:24:15] deputies and we really felt like and I

[2:24:18] think and I think the sheriff agrees

[2:24:20] that it might be time to update that

[2:24:22] study that we did in 2017 with the MA

[2:24:26] Center for Public Safety.

[2:24:28] um just to so you so so you all can make

[2:24:32] a plan for the future of where where you

[2:24:34] want to go with um with patrol deputies

[2:24:38] and dispatch as well. And then you have

[2:24:41] uh the transition team u for the for the

[2:24:44] jail. So there were a few more positions

[2:24:48] requested. I can't recall the number but

[2:24:51] uh we didn't fund everything. It was

[2:24:52] yeah it was a small number. Um

[2:24:56] so again the only the only ones that

[2:24:58] would that are impacting the levy in

[2:25:01] 2027

[2:25:02] would be those human services. Of course

[2:25:04] there would be um

[2:25:08] anything that's funded with public

[2:25:09] safety aids. Someday that's going to

[2:25:10] fall on the levy.

[2:25:13] Um then there's a few large um IT

[2:25:18] projects that are noted here. Um and in

[2:25:22] in in and these are all funded with the

[2:25:24] project fund. So we drew we took

[2:25:27] [snorts] those out of the of

[2:25:28] [clears throat] the levy and use the

[2:25:29] project fund which has a 23 that's on

[2:25:32] the next slide 26 million uh balance

[2:25:35] which we transferred into was that last

[2:25:37] year the year before anyway and grew

[2:25:40] that grew that fund just for this

[2:25:42] purpose. Um, and note, uh, there's a

[2:25:45] there's consulting money. The $80,000,

[2:25:49] um, you're going to need to get into an

[2:25:50] analysis of space for for, uh, for

[2:25:54] county employees and what we're going to

[2:25:55] do with the downtown area. Um, and I

[2:25:58] think that, um, I think that that using

[2:26:02] a consultant and and the

[2:26:06] additional capacity in the in in the

[2:26:08] county administrator's office, I think

[2:26:10] you can accomplish that. But I think you

[2:26:12] should have uh some room for consulting

[2:26:15] as you begin to make those important

[2:26:17] decisions. And then I just talked about

[2:26:19] the center for public safety study. We

[2:26:22] had $55,000 put in here. We have a new

[2:26:24] number there. Um just this morning um

[2:26:28] heard from the sheriff um they they have

[2:26:31] a proposal from CPM and it's more like

[2:26:34] $70,000.

[2:26:36] Um, so in this use of the project fund

[2:26:39] is 890,000. If you do that study, you're

[2:26:42] going to be more in the area of 95,000.

[2:26:47] And then it's always important to look

[2:26:49] at your fund balances, particularly this

[2:26:51] year because we're showing in this

[2:26:53] budget a two a use of the human services

[2:26:55] fund balance of $2 million. And we've

[2:26:59] proposed um a plan to reduce that over

[2:27:02] time. So, what what we've suggested is

[2:27:05] is that use $2 million of that strong

[2:27:07] fund balance in 2027 and then drop that

[2:27:11] use by $500,000 a year. And and in a

[2:27:16] quick analysis, um I would suggest that

[2:27:19] you're still going to be within your

[2:27:20] policy of being at between 35 and 50%

[2:27:23] with that fund balance even after you do

[2:27:25] that. the human services fund balance

[2:27:28] has has shown [snorts] a steady growth

[2:27:30] and in that analysis I did um we uh I I

[2:27:35] showed no growth. So I think you'll be

[2:27:37] okay in doing that and if you're going

[2:27:38] to use some fund balance

[2:27:40] to me it makes sense to use it in this

[2:27:42] 2027 budget where you've got some pretty

[2:27:45] extreme increases. Um and then the

[2:27:48] project fund is the other one that's uh

[2:27:49] the most significant use. And then of

[2:27:52] note, um, we have in the solid waste

[2:27:56] fund, um, we have [snorts] consulting

[2:27:58] fees to take a look at

[2:28:01] an expansion of the household hazardous

[2:28:03] waste facility. We've looked at that for

[2:28:06] several years. Um, and I think if you if

[2:28:10] you hire a consultant, decide what kind

[2:28:12] of space you need and get a cost

[2:28:15] estimate, then you can really come to a

[2:28:16] decision on what you want to do there.

[2:28:18] And um I can't remember the number we

[2:28:20] have in there, but any there's a number

[2:28:23] in the budget for consulting fees um out

[2:28:26] of the household hazardous waste fund.

[2:28:28] You can see that with the $10 million

[2:28:30] there you have funds that if you do want

[2:28:33] to expand that facility, you would be

[2:28:35] able to do that with existing funds. Now

[2:28:39] [clears throat]

[2:28:39] I guess that's enough on that. Yeah. Um

[2:28:43] so even even with those use of fund

[2:28:46] balance you can see you're going to

[2:28:47] continue to have healthy fund balances.

[2:28:50] Um [clears throat]

[2:28:52] and the last slide I think we we've

[2:28:53] already talked about um we've we're

[2:28:56] suggesting you this be your schedule for

[2:28:58] the next two meetings. You then you have

[2:29:00] a meeting on September 15th. If you

[2:29:02] wanted to have another work session you

[2:29:03] could. Um

[2:29:06] again you don't have the prop we don't

[2:29:07] have the property tax data. Um we should

[2:29:10] have that in August. Yeah. Soon. Um you

[2:29:15] [clears throat] also don't have the

[2:29:16] second year. We asked department

[2:29:18] departments to look at the sec 2028.

[2:29:22] Um [snorts] just given the time and

[2:29:23] everything and where we wanted to get

[2:29:25] this budget for your look today. Uh we

[2:29:27] didn't have time to do that, but um the

[2:29:29] budget committee and staff are going to

[2:29:30] pull that together at some point in the

[2:29:32] near future. So you can see um what this

[2:29:35] budget and what we think they think at

[2:29:38] that time. um that the 2028 budget is

[2:29:41] going to look like.

[2:29:43] Um

[2:29:46] I know this is my last time presenting a

[2:29:49] budget, but I can assure you I was

[2:29:51] looking to the future as we did this. I

[2:29:53] wasn't looking till Friday [laughter]

[2:29:55] and I really think that the budget

[2:29:56] committee did a a good job of getting

[2:29:58] you where we are today.

[2:30:01] >> Yeah. And I and I think you know by

[2:30:02] » Yeah. And I and I think you know by

[2:30:02] having these extra meetings you know

[2:30:04] will give us time to ask the questions

[2:30:07] you know related to sheriff and human

[2:30:09] services also has you know we'll be able

[2:30:12] to you know get more deep dive you know

[2:30:17] that each of us have questions on

[2:30:19] different things. So so yeah so this is

[2:30:21] a nice early overview of you know what

[2:30:24] you guys are looking at. So

[2:30:29] » all right

[2:30:29] >> Mr. Chairman, Commissioner Burch.

[2:30:31] » Mr. Chairman, Commissioner Burch.

[2:30:31] >> Um, couple things. First of all, uh, I

[2:30:33] » Um, couple things. First of all, uh, I

[2:30:33] got a call yesterday that said, uh, so

[2:30:36] you're going to increase the, uh, the

[2:30:37] property taxes by 7.14%. Well, I had no

[2:30:40] idea what they were talking about. It

[2:30:42] already hit the media before we even got

[2:30:44] a piece of it. So, a little awkward

[2:30:47] packet,

[2:30:48] >> right? But, uh, we weren't given Mr.

[2:30:51] » right? But, uh, we weren't given Mr.

[2:30:51] Chairman, Commissioner Clark, I know

[2:30:53] it's in here. I read the packet just

[2:30:54] like you did. So, getting back, Mr.

[2:30:56] Chairman, to the point. Um so anyway,

[2:31:00] yes, this is a good start. It's still

[2:31:02] high for me. Uh and the one thing that I

[2:31:05] don't think that we've uh address as I

[2:31:07] shared the the last meeting is we really

[2:31:10] haven't looked asked department

[2:31:11] directors what can you cut or move. So

[2:31:14] we need staff and human services. Can we

[2:31:16] be moving some staff from another

[2:31:18] division over to We just automatically

[2:31:21] assume that there needs to be increases

[2:31:23] and we just automatically assume that

[2:31:25] we'll build on

[2:31:27] things. And this isn't a criticism. This

[2:31:29] is a this is a, you know, a suggestion

[2:31:32] that we, as I've shared, and I've done

[2:31:35] this at the city of Payne's old $2.2

[2:31:37] million budget over a three-year period,

[2:31:40] we cut 200,000 10%. Nobody felt a thing.

[2:31:44] Uh, we really zeroed in. We really said,

[2:31:46] "Let's remind ourselves of why we're

[2:31:48] here, what we need to do, water, sewer,

[2:31:50] fire, please." And we did that and we

[2:31:53] accomplished that. So, I do believe we

[2:31:56] don't we haven't to my knowledge I

[2:31:59] haven't seen it where we've asked

[2:32:00] departments to say, "What could you

[2:32:02] eliminate? What could you cut? What

[2:32:04] could you move?" Because on top of

[2:32:06] everything else uh of these things that

[2:32:09] we can't control, what can we control?

[2:32:11] you can't control uh the state federal

[2:32:14] mandates that are coming on, but I do

[2:32:16] believe that you can control we can

[2:32:18] control some things uh that are within

[2:32:20] our means. So that that's something I'd

[2:32:22] like to see. And before we start talking

[2:32:24] about hiring a consultant and everything

[2:32:27] uh with the um hazardous waste, the

[2:32:29] reason we have 10 million in there is

[2:32:31] because the county's been taxing 10% to

[2:32:36] commercial

[2:32:37] uh garbage rates. Uh the board decreased

[2:32:42] that to 8% a couple years ago. So um you

[2:32:46] know just because the money's there that

[2:32:48] is a tax and maybe we should be looking

[2:32:50] at no other county except for Cany

[2:32:53] County adds on to the commercial garbage

[2:32:56] tax. The state tax is 17%. Counties have

[2:32:59] the ability to add on to it which of

[2:33:01] course we've done. No other county in

[2:33:03] the immediate area has done that um

[2:33:05] except for Canyu County. But uh so

[2:33:08] that's something but some of the needs

[2:33:10] that hazardous waste the mattress tires

[2:33:13] you know those are things that before we

[2:33:14] start building buildings we could easily

[2:33:17] in my opinion put storage boxes where we

[2:33:20] could put the products in and haul them

[2:33:23] without having to handle them two or

[2:33:24] three times. So some of those

[2:33:26] conversations before we get too far

[2:33:27] ahead of ourselves might be fruitful. So

[2:33:30] maybe we have a conversation about what

[2:33:32] exactly just because the money is there

[2:33:34] it doesn't mean we need to spend it in

[2:33:35] my opinion. So those are a couple of my

[2:33:39] comments.

[2:33:40] >> Commissioner Johnson.

[2:33:41] » Commissioner Johnson.

[2:33:41] >> Um thank you Mr. Chair. Um I'm

[2:33:44] » Um thank you Mr. Chair. Um I'm

[2:33:44] appreciative of the fact that on August

[2:33:46] 4th and August 25th we have an

[2:33:48] opportunity to have the kinds of

[2:33:50] discussions that Commissioner Bertram is

[2:33:52] talking about. And I I support the idea

[2:33:55] of people coming with ways to maximize

[2:33:58] revenue, ways to decrease expenses, all

[2:34:01] those typical things that one would do

[2:34:02] when when we're tackling a budget. Um so

[2:34:05] I' I'd encourage people to bring all

[2:34:07] their best thinking to those meetings

[2:34:09] and their best ideas so that we can

[2:34:11] accomplish some of the goals that that

[2:34:13] are being spoken of. And I think that's

[2:34:16] kind of why we've set it up that way

[2:34:17] this year is to have us be a little more

[2:34:21] engaged in the process a little sooner.

[2:34:24] >> Mr. Chair, and I'll respond to that as

[2:34:27] » Mr. Chair, and I'll respond to that as

[2:34:27] well. Uh because I don't want us to

[2:34:29] think that because we've seen something

[2:34:31] that's going to be our budget.

[2:34:33] >> I would say that it it's not written in

[2:34:35] » I would say that it it's not written in

[2:34:35] ink necessarily or in stone. maybe in

[2:34:39] pudding because I guess uh I I would

[2:34:42] have a difficult time thinking, you

[2:34:43] know, we're going to put 13 new people

[2:34:45] in human services just rather than

[2:34:48] rethink how we're doing something. Also,

[2:34:50] I have a concern about fund balance and

[2:34:52] spending fund balance. Uh because I and

[2:34:56] Mike, I'm glad you brought up the idea

[2:34:57] about looking at the 28 budget because

[2:35:00] again, if we use that fund balance, what

[2:35:02] does that do for 28? because those

[2:35:05] uh expenditures just don't disappear.

[2:35:08] And then one other comment uh and

[2:35:10] Commissioner Johnson had mentioned about

[2:35:12] planning for downtown. I guess I would

[2:35:14] like to see our board be, you know,

[2:35:16] proactive and and starting especially

[2:35:19] the conversation with removal of the

[2:35:20] buildings here or reuse of the buildings

[2:35:22] down here. City of St. Cloud came out

[2:35:25] with redevelopment plan. I knew nothing

[2:35:28] about it and and I guess I I would think

[2:35:30] that we should be involved with the

[2:35:32] redevelopment plan, at least have an

[2:35:34] idea what's going to happen with our

[2:35:35] campus before the city would come out

[2:35:37] with a plan about what they're doing

[2:35:38] with our campus. So, we need to have

[2:35:40] that conversation and obviously be

[2:35:42] working cooperatively together. So,

[2:35:45] >> Commissioner Clark,

[2:35:47] » Commissioner Clark,

[2:35:47] >> yeah, I too I'm glad for the additional

[2:35:50] » yeah, I too I'm glad for the additional

[2:35:50] time that we're going to have. I want to

[2:35:52] thank the budget committee. You I know

[2:35:54] we're not done. I'm glad we're not done.

[2:35:56] We clearly don't have all the

[2:35:58] information with regards to property

[2:35:59] taxes among other things, but you have

[2:36:02] brought an initial significant step down

[2:36:06] from where I think many counties are

[2:36:08] going to be. Um, and part of it really

[2:36:10] is the federal and the state mandates

[2:36:12] that we don't have a choice about.

[2:36:14] Absolutely.

[2:36:17] I I'm just trying to think of how to say

[2:36:19] this. the amount of innovation,

[2:36:22] creativity, forward thinking, the ways

[2:36:25] to be reducing costs that our staff have

[2:36:28] already done. Just want to applaud you

[2:36:30] because it's significant and people have

[2:36:33] been doing a lot of work. Like I'm

[2:36:36] guessing everybody else, I would love to

[2:36:38] see less human service positions being

[2:36:42] asked for. I'm not sure how we would do

[2:36:44] that just given what the demands of what

[2:36:47] they're asking us to do. I would be

[2:36:49] interested in hearing about a little bit

[2:36:51] more um when we get to our August 4th

[2:36:54] meeting about how you've utilized um

[2:36:59] some of the partnership strategies,

[2:37:01] technology and others to help us reduce

[2:37:03] costs. And by all means, if you can find

[2:37:05] other ways to be reducing budgets, yes,

[2:37:09] please. And [snorts]

[2:37:10] just for all of us, we just need to

[2:37:12] remember how much of this is heavily

[2:37:14] heavily mandated and we're not being

[2:37:17] given a a lot of choice. So I the other

[2:37:20] piece on uh uh uh Commissioner Perski,

[2:37:23] your comments on the fund balance in

[2:37:26] general, I would agree with that. We

[2:37:28] have healthy fund balances right now.

[2:37:30] There's so much uncertainty and both the

[2:37:33] state and the feds, the state

[2:37:34] legislature and even the departments

[2:37:37] have at least acknowledged there's some

[2:37:40] money that needs to be come brought to

[2:37:42] us to be paying for some of the

[2:37:44] mandates. Their budget is going to be a

[2:37:47] mess. So, a real question is how much of

[2:37:50] that's going to be realistic. Uh so for

[2:37:53] me um I appreciate some conservative use

[2:37:57] of those fund balances to help us at

[2:38:00] least um perhaps buy a bit of time to be

[2:38:05] making sure the re the state is

[2:38:06] resourcing what they're requiring us to

[2:38:09] do at a level we're not seeing. So I I I

[2:38:13] would be very concerned if it was a

[2:38:15] significant

[2:38:16] um

[2:38:18] bite of the apple as it were. But it

[2:38:21] looks like you're trying to be prudent

[2:38:23] and very much appreciate how much you're

[2:38:26] thinking about our property taxpayers,

[2:38:29] residential, commercial, apartments, our

[2:38:33] egg, because the mandates that both the

[2:38:36] feds and state are putting on us

[2:38:39] is going to be so harmful to them. They

[2:38:42] need to rethink about how they're paying

[2:38:44] for these services and not go to these

[2:38:46] really very regressive taxes. So look

[2:38:50] forward to the deeper dive on all of

[2:38:51] that. Um including um some of the

[2:38:54] opportunities that I know most if not

[2:38:56] all of us have had uh conversations with

[2:38:59] regard to household hazardous waste and

[2:39:01] where our highway may be going. So thank

[2:39:04] you.

[2:39:06] >> All right. Thank you.

[2:39:09] » All right. Thank you.

[2:39:09] Uh next we have the addition of M3, the

[2:39:13] housing trust board.

[2:39:16] >> Yes, Mr. Chair. um you have a vacancy on

[2:39:19] » Yes, Mr. Chair. um you have a vacancy on

[2:39:19] the housing trust fund board and you

[2:39:23] have three applicants, applicant A, B,

[2:39:24] and C. [snorts] And um in your rankings,

[2:39:28] three of you ranked applicant A as your

[2:39:31] first choice and um two of you

[2:39:35] ranked applicant B as your first choice.

[2:39:39] Um, [clears throat]

[2:39:44] if you want to make an appointment, you

[2:39:47] could do that now. Or if you don't, we

[2:39:49] could.

[2:39:50] >> Mr. Chairman, I'll move that we

[2:39:52] » Mr. Chairman, I'll move that we

[2:39:52] recommend applicant A based on the votes

[2:39:56] um for that position.

[2:40:00] » I'll second that.

[2:40:01] >> Okay. We have a motion and a second to

[2:40:03] » Okay. We have a motion and a second to

[2:40:04] uh approve applicant A for the housing

[2:40:06] trust fund board. Any further

[2:40:08] discussion, Commissioner Johnson?

[2:40:11] >> Um, yes.

[2:40:14] » Um, yes.

[2:40:14] Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um,

[2:40:17] we were ranking, not voting,

[2:40:20] >> is what I thought.

[2:40:22] » is what I thought.

[2:40:22] >> Yeah.

[2:40:22] » Yeah.

[2:40:22] >> Correct.

[2:40:24] » Correct.

[2:40:24] Um I I want to comment that that

[2:40:27] applicant A I think has a passion for

[2:40:30] others particularly in the area of human

[2:40:33] services working with folks with

[2:40:36] disabilities, public health, social

[2:40:38] services, those kinds of things.

[2:40:41] Applicant A would would certainly be of

[2:40:43] value to many of our county boards and

[2:40:46] commissions. And I think we should

[2:40:47] probably find a place for applicant A.

[2:40:51] When I look at applicant B, what I see

[2:40:53] is a person who has a degree focused in

[2:40:56] business management.

[2:40:59] This this candidate also has experience

[2:41:02] in managing deed and Minnesota housing

[2:41:05] grants, budgeting, grant writing,

[2:41:08] program development,

[2:41:10] has been through certification processes

[2:41:12] in the area of project management

[2:41:14] through the U of M, housing stability

[2:41:17] compliance with Minnesota housing and

[2:41:19] workforce development through DED.

[2:41:21] Um, credentials are important

[2:41:25] in housing work. Um, community outreach,

[2:41:30] strategic planning, and housing

[2:41:31] assistance are also some of the

[2:41:33] attributes in candidate B.

[2:41:36] I I personally believe that our county

[2:41:39] workforce and our boards and commissions

[2:41:42] need to begin to look like the larger

[2:41:45] community.

[2:41:47] That view allows for fuller

[2:41:51] representation.

[2:41:52] And I think this is sort of a two-way

[2:41:54] street.

[2:41:56] people apply, but then providing them

[2:41:59] the opportunity for involvement in the

[2:42:01] county requires us to reach out in a

[2:42:05] trusting and welcoming manner.

[2:42:08] When I make decisions, sometimes I ask

[2:42:13] myself three questions.

[2:42:16] What do I want? Why do I want it? And do

[2:42:19] the answers to those questions work with

[2:42:22] my values?

[2:42:25] It's it's not always a perfect system,

[2:42:28] but it helps me to extend my thinking

[2:42:30] and to to try something new and

[2:42:33] different. And it's been pretty good.

[2:42:36] That's how I got here, actually.

[2:42:39] So, I I strongly support candidate B and

[2:42:45] would like us to consider um

[2:42:50] consider that that uh person that

[2:42:52] individual as our appointee. Thanks.

[2:42:57] >> Okay. Uh further discussion.

[2:43:00] » Okay. Uh further discussion.

[2:43:00] Commissioner Perski.

[2:43:01] >> Uh Mr. Chair, I I candidate B I think is

[2:43:04] » Uh Mr. Chair, I I candidate B I think is

[2:43:04] qualified for perhaps a number of other

[2:43:07] positions again within the county and

[2:43:09] those opportunities would be available

[2:43:12] um to them. So I I and I agree uh

[2:43:16] Commissioner Johnson with uh much of

[2:43:18] what you said. So

[2:43:20] >> Commissioner Clark,

[2:43:21] » Commissioner Clark,

[2:43:21] >> thank you. Um I'm not going to repeat

[2:43:24] » thank you. Um I'm not going to repeat

[2:43:24] all the things that Commissioner Johnson

[2:43:26] just said. I agree with them. They are

[2:43:28] part of what I planned on talking about.

[2:43:31] Um, I have to say I'm I'm becoming more

[2:43:34] concerned that we do not have people

[2:43:38] providing us more information. I felt

[2:43:40] like app uh applicant B was the only one

[2:43:44] to give us significant information about

[2:43:46] themselves. So, I hope that we can get

[2:43:48] more people to give us a bit more about

[2:43:50] their background and why they're

[2:43:52] interested. That would be useful. Um,

[2:43:55] two additional things, uh, I would say

[2:43:59] is that the board already has

[2:44:02] significant representation

[2:44:05] from the non Staint Cloud Way Park

[2:44:08] areas. Um, and we often are trying to

[2:44:12] have some balance between all the areas.

[2:44:15] It's a great group. They in general are

[2:44:17] not looking at any one specific area.

[2:44:19] They're really trying to figure out how

[2:44:21] to do it well. So that is not a comment

[2:44:24] about them. But in replacing um what was

[2:44:27] then citizen Johnson uh with the new

[2:44:29] citizen, I would say that we would be a

[2:44:32] little out of balance or a little more

[2:44:33] out of balance if uh we ended up uh

[2:44:37] going with applicant um A. And then

[2:44:41] lastly, I think that background fits

[2:44:43] very well with supportive housing. I do

[2:44:45] not know if the applicant knows that

[2:44:48] that is not what this I'm a strong

[2:44:51] supporter and advocate for supportive

[2:44:52] housing, but that is not what our

[2:44:54] housing trust fund does. And I would I

[2:44:57] so I put that I needed more information

[2:44:59] if we were going to go any further on

[2:45:01] that. I just want to make sure that

[2:45:03] there was a a deeper understanding about

[2:45:05] what we're actually doing with that

[2:45:06] board. Absolutely. see number of places

[2:45:09] that it looks like uh they would be very

[2:45:11] good.

[2:45:14] » Okay, any further discussion?

[2:45:19] » Not seeing any. Um all those in favor of

[2:45:23] the appointment of I believe it was was

[2:45:28] it

[2:45:29] >> a

[2:45:31] » a

[2:45:31] uh signify by saying I

[2:45:33] >> I

[2:45:34] » I

[2:45:34] >> I

[2:45:34] » I

[2:45:34] >> opposed. Nay.

[2:45:37] » opposed. Nay.

[2:45:37] >> Roll call. Randy.

[2:45:38] » Roll call. Randy.

[2:45:38] >> Commissioner Johnson.

[2:45:40] » Commissioner Johnson.

[2:45:40] >> Nay.

[2:45:41] » Nay.

[2:45:41] >> Commissioner Clark.

[2:45:42] » Commissioner Clark.

[2:45:42] >> Nay.

[2:45:43] » Nay.

[2:45:43] >> Commissioner Perski.

[2:45:45] » Commissioner Perski.

[2:45:45] >> I.

[2:45:45] » I.

[2:45:45] >> Mr. Bertrram.

[2:45:46] » Mr. Bertrram.

[2:45:46] >> Hi.

[2:45:47] » Hi.

[2:45:47] >> Mr. Notch.

[2:45:48] » Mr. Notch.

[2:45:48] >> I.

[2:45:49] » I.

[2:45:49] >> Passes 3 to two.

[2:45:50] » Passes 3 to two.

[2:45:50] >> Okay. Thank you. Passes 3 to two.

[2:45:55] » Okay. Thank you. Passes 3 to two.

[2:45:55] >> All right. Thank you for that. And yes,

[2:45:58] » All right. Thank you for that. And yes,

[2:45:58] I I would agree. Uh more information on

[2:46:01] some of these applications would be

[2:46:03] great. Um

[2:46:06] again,

[2:46:08] you know, for some I think they apply

[2:46:10] because we ask them to. So they figure,

[2:46:12] well, I'm being asked, so they just do

[2:46:14] it quick and easy and simple and don't

[2:46:16] necessarily fill it out much more than

[2:46:18] that because a lot of times some of

[2:46:19] these committees we can't find

[2:46:22] applicants for. But uh yeah, hopefully

[2:46:24] in the future maybe, you know, if they

[2:46:27] call and talk to staff or email, you

[2:46:29] know, we can just ask for more clarity,

[2:46:33] which should help us on various

[2:46:35] appointments because it's nice when they

[2:46:37] put more than one committee that they'd

[2:46:38] be interested in

[2:46:40] >> because then we have the database to

[2:46:42] » because then we have the database to

[2:46:42] use.

[2:46:44] >> Okay, with that being said, uh the next

[2:46:47] » Okay, with that being said, uh the next

[2:46:47] is uh items by commissioners. Uh,

[2:46:51] Commissioner Bertram, would you care to

[2:46:53] start?

[2:46:53] >> Sure, Mr. Chairman. Uh, haven't seen

[2:46:55] » Sure, Mr. Chairman. Uh, haven't seen

[2:46:56] anything on the fair yet. So, if Bill or

[2:46:58] somebody can get that to us on the We

[2:47:00] can make sure that I hope the department

[2:47:02] directors and everybody are filling it

[2:47:04] out and then that we can kind of spread

[2:47:06] ourselves out around that too. It would

[2:47:08] be nice. A lot of community events

[2:47:10] continue to happen. Really is the flavor

[2:47:12] of Cern County to see all these things

[2:47:14] happen throughout the county makes us

[2:47:17] who we are. And um certainly want to

[2:47:19] wish Mike uh well as his last meeting um

[2:47:24] and thank him for everything he's done

[2:47:26] uh for the county and wish him and Susan

[2:47:29] all the best. Um

[2:47:32] >> thank you

[2:47:33] » thank you

[2:47:33] >> as uh they move forward.

[2:47:35] » as uh they move forward.

[2:47:35] >> Thank you, Commissioner Perski.

[2:47:37] » Thank you, Commissioner Perski.

[2:47:37] >> Uh yeah, I had the fair on there as

[2:47:40] » Uh yeah, I had the fair on there as

[2:47:40] well. I'd like to see that sign up, too.

[2:47:41] I want to uh make sure I get a time and

[2:47:43] a date to to get on that. Uh, also,

[2:47:46] Commissioner Clark and I are heading to

[2:47:48] New Orleans. Uh, no is on this week. Uh,

[2:47:52] we, uh, we may, well, we're not going to

[2:47:55] be escaping the heat, but we get to add

[2:47:57] the humidity down there. So, I'm sure

[2:47:59] it's going to be interesting uh, time

[2:48:02] down there, but we both have u

[2:48:04] significant issues we're working on uh,

[2:48:07] uh, with the NACO board. Uh, I got a

[2:48:10] question for Randy. Randy, just

[2:48:11] wondering I'm hoping that the primaries

[2:48:14] are are is going okay as far as uh

[2:48:16] elections are concerned and just

[2:48:18] wondering too also as far as election

[2:48:20] workers and judges uh for the fall. Are

[2:48:23] we in need of folks that could sign up

[2:48:25] or be available to some of the uh

[2:48:28] polling places?

[2:48:29] >> Um elections [clears throat] are going

[2:48:31] » Um elections [clears throat] are going

[2:48:31] fine. Ballots are there. People are

[2:48:33] voting. Um, you know, it always starts

[2:48:36] out with a bunch of people and then we

[2:48:38] get into a little bit of a lull and then

[2:48:40] closer to the election date, the last

[2:48:42] week gets busy again. And yeah, various

[2:48:44] jurisdictions are always looking for

[2:48:46] people, so contact your city or township

[2:48:49] that you live in.

[2:48:50] >> Okay.

[2:48:51] » Okay.

[2:48:51] >> Yep.

[2:48:51] » Yep.

[2:48:51] >> All right. And we haven't pre uh seen

[2:48:54] » All right. And we haven't pre uh seen

[2:48:54] any potential issues or problems with

[2:48:56] upcoming elections as far as you see. Uh

[2:48:59] >> hopefully not. No, I don't see

[2:49:01] » hopefully not. No, I don't see

[2:49:01] necessarily

[2:49:03] >> likely things yet.

[2:49:04] » likely things yet.

[2:49:04] >> Okay. Okay, that's good. And then uh

[2:49:07] » Okay. Okay, that's good. And then uh

[2:49:07] yeah, Mike, your your last meeting too.

[2:49:09] Uh I just want to say thank you very

[2:49:12] much uh for what you've done uh as a uh

[2:49:16] administrator, city of St. Cloud

[2:49:18] administrator here for the county and

[2:49:20] that's impacted the area considerably

[2:49:21] and and across the state. So, thank you

[2:49:24] very much for what what you've done and

[2:49:27] very appreciative of your approach of

[2:49:29] how you've addressed issues throughout

[2:49:30] the county.

[2:49:31] >> Thank you,

[2:49:34] » Thank you,

[2:49:34] >> Commissioner Clark.

[2:49:37] » Commissioner Clark.

[2:49:37] >> Thank you. Um, so on the public service

[2:49:40] » Thank you. Um, so on the public service

[2:49:40] side of this, uh, you a couple of you

[2:49:43] already brought up the fair. I want to

[2:49:45] bring up specifically the milk run, our

[2:49:47] second annual milk run, 5K walk run.

[2:49:50] It'll be on Saturday, August 1st. Uh we

[2:49:53] had 120 people last year on our

[2:49:56] inaugural one of all ages and um uh

[2:49:59] methods of being able to participate. So

[2:50:01] I want to encourage people to uh take a

[2:50:04] look and sign up for that. It's first

[2:50:06] thing in the morning. You can beat the

[2:50:08] heat and you don't actually have to

[2:50:10] drink milk if it's too hot. But uh

[2:50:12] really appreciate the work that the

[2:50:14] dairy folks do on it. Um

[2:50:18] uh when we were talking a little bit

[2:50:19] about human services,

[2:50:22] um some of us got chance to participate

[2:50:24] in mock interviews yesterday with kids

[2:50:27] going into high school or just barely in

[2:50:29] high school. They were incredible. Um

[2:50:32] the things that they were looking at

[2:50:33] doing how they are trying to interrelate

[2:50:38] um if we can figure out a way to partner

[2:50:40] with some of our school districts on

[2:50:41] even getting our pipeline maybe a little

[2:50:43] earlier that would be pretty fabulous.

[2:50:45] Um, but it's heartening thinking about

[2:50:47] the next generation coming after all of

[2:50:49] us. Um, again, thanks to the budget

[2:50:52] committee and all the department heads

[2:50:53] and staff for putting together this

[2:50:56] really complete first look so early. And

[2:50:59] then Mike, I think we could probably at

[2:51:02] least I could spend a long time with

[2:51:04] with thanks and [snorts] perhaps

[2:51:06] beverages are in order uh to be toasting

[2:51:10] you. Uh, when you came in the county was

[2:51:13] in good shape. Our region was in really

[2:51:15] good shape. A lot of wonderful things

[2:51:17] have happened. We have a number of key

[2:51:19] staff that are here from that time

[2:51:21] frame. But you really helped us to move

[2:51:23] to the next level. Obviously, we're a

[2:51:26] complicated place. are really a

[2:51:28] microcosm of the state and

[2:51:32] between our budget and our number of

[2:51:34] staff and all the people and all of the

[2:51:36] different things in place, the

[2:51:37] creativity and innovation that you've

[2:51:41] empowered people and I can tell you feel

[2:51:43] uncomfortable because you can't look at

[2:51:44] me. [laughter] Um, as well as wanting

[2:51:48] the details, right? We need people who

[2:51:50] are the good detail people as well as

[2:51:52] the people who are great at the

[2:51:54] community partnerships. Um, you're gonna

[2:51:58] be missed. I know I'm gonna miss you and

[2:52:01] it's very [snorts] exciting thinking

[2:52:02] about the next chapter for you. We're

[2:52:03] going to be just fine because we've got

[2:52:06] great people here um that'll help us to

[2:52:08] even move to the next place in the

[2:52:10] future. So, thank you.

[2:52:12] >> Thank you, Commissioner Johnson.

[2:52:15] » Thank you, Commissioner Johnson.

[2:52:15] >> Um, I too was thinking about the

[2:52:17] » Um, I too was thinking about the

[2:52:18] election. I voted early. [snorts] Um,

[2:52:21] from a slightly different perspective, I

[2:52:24] was thinking about how we now live in a

[2:52:26] society that is lacking in trust in a

[2:52:29] lot of lot of areas. Um, is suspicious

[2:52:33] in many areas. And as we begin this

[2:52:37] season, I think we need to remind

[2:52:39] people, and we may be doing this, Randy,

[2:52:41] but we need to remind people of the

[2:52:44] safeguards that we have in place,

[2:52:46] whether it's through a little promotion

[2:52:48] on the website or emails or a newspaper

[2:52:51] ad, whatever the case may be. We know

[2:52:54] that our elections are accurate and

[2:52:57] secure here in Sterns County and in

[2:53:00] Minnesota. [clears throat]

[2:53:01] But I think we need to tell the people

[2:53:03] that, and we need to tell them why. I

[2:53:05] think we should talk a little bit about

[2:53:07] voter registration and how the roles are

[2:53:10] updated on a regular basis and where

[2:53:11] that information comes from. [snorts] We

[2:53:14] need to talk about identity

[2:53:16] verification.

[2:53:17] And we could take a few minutes to talk

[2:53:19] about the public accuracy tests that

[2:53:21] occur that that whether they're scanners

[2:53:24] or voting machines or tabulators or

[2:53:26] whatever the case may be that these

[2:53:29] things are reviewed for accuracy. Um,

[2:53:32] and I think it might be good if we just

[2:53:35] kind of had a robust presentation early

[2:53:37] on now and then maybe again in the fall

[2:53:40] to remind people of those things.

[2:53:44] We we we certainly can we we're going to

[2:53:46] be on the radio spots starting next week

[2:53:49] to talk about some of those various

[2:53:51] things. Um, we do have a board

[2:53:54] presentation I believe early September,

[2:53:57] but I mean if you would like,

[2:53:59] you know, primary is not too far away.

[2:54:03] >> I guess that's up to you. We could look

[2:54:04] » I guess that's up to you. We could look

[2:54:04] at,

[2:54:05] >> you know, I'm not requesting anything

[2:54:06] » you know, I'm not requesting anything

[2:54:06] particular, Randy. Okay.

[2:54:08] >> If if we could put something on our

[2:54:10] » If if we could put something on our

[2:54:10] website and somehow communicate with

[2:54:12] people across the county that this

[2:54:14] information is available.

[2:54:16] >> Yeah. Um and then whatever else we might

[2:54:18] » Yeah. Um and then whatever else we might

[2:54:18] do through the public relations people

[2:54:20] or mention of it on the radio as as

[2:54:23] various people are doing that

[2:54:25] >> you know when you think about things

[2:54:26] » you know when you think about things

[2:54:26] like radio readership is about 4% of the

[2:54:29] or listenership excuse me is about 4% of

[2:54:31] the population it's it's not a lot.

[2:54:34] >> Yeah.

[2:54:34] » Yeah.

[2:54:34] >> So we just need to find any way we can

[2:54:37] » So we just need to find any way we can

[2:54:37] to to help with that.

[2:54:39] >> Um but thank you. The last thing I too

[2:54:42] » Um but thank you. The last thing I too

[2:54:42] want to comment about Mike and I'll make

[2:54:44] this short. [clears throat] Um, I was on

[2:54:48] the committee at the city level that

[2:54:50] agreed to hire Mike to be the city

[2:54:52] administrator when we were both boys.

[2:54:56] [laughter]

[2:54:58] It was quite a while ago. And I was very

[2:55:00] excited when I saw him move to the

[2:55:03] county. I was even more excited having

[2:55:06] been elected and having Mike as the

[2:55:08] county administrator.

[2:55:11] So, I'm doubly sad that maybe I was

[2:55:14] [clears throat] the reason he's leaving

[2:55:16] [laughter]

[2:55:18] because I've only met here a short time.

[2:55:21] But, but Mike, I can't say enough about

[2:55:23] you. I have great respect for you and

[2:55:24] for your work, for your integrity, for

[2:55:26] your enthusiasm and honesty that you put

[2:55:29] into everything that you do. And I too

[2:55:31] wish you and Susan uh the best in your

[2:55:35] retirement. Thank you.

[2:55:38] >> Okay. Um, I just have a couple of items.

[2:55:41] » Okay. Um, I just have a couple of items.

[2:55:41] Um, one of them is, uh, obviously

[2:55:43] tomorrow we have interviews for the

[2:55:46] three candidates to replace Mike. And

[2:55:49] then also on Thursday we have the public

[2:55:52] hearing on County Ditch 28. And my

[2:55:56] understanding is that at least three of

[2:55:57] us will be present.

[2:55:59] Um, two will be remote, but there's a

[2:56:03] chance because it wasn't noticed. Um,

[2:56:06] you might not be able to

[2:56:09] participate. I guess we Chad Kale from

[2:56:13] Ricky and I had a conversation

[2:56:15] yesterday. I don't know if Chad has

[2:56:16] mentioned it, but uh Kayla was going to

[2:56:19] research that part of it, but uh so I

[2:56:22] just wanted to kind of put that out

[2:56:24] there that but we have quorum in a room,

[2:56:27] which was the main thing is we'd have

[2:56:29] quorum.

[2:56:30] So So that's uh on the agenda. That's

[2:56:35] Thursday's meeting at 9:00. That's

[2:56:38] strictly a public hearing on county

[2:56:39] ditch 28.

[2:56:42] >> You're actually meeting as the ditch

[2:56:43] » You're actually meeting as the ditch

[2:56:43] authority, not as the county. You're

[2:56:44] meeting as a ditch authority, not the

[2:56:46] county board. Correct.

[2:56:48] >> Yeah. And then lastly, um, we have a

[2:56:52] » Yeah. And then lastly, um, we have a

[2:56:52] resolution

[2:56:54] in regards to honoring Michael J.

[2:56:57] Williams as Sterns County Administrator.

[2:56:59] And I will read that. Whereas Michael

[2:57:02] Williams has dedicated 40 years to

[2:57:04] public service in local government,

[2:57:05] including the past 10 years as Sterns

[2:57:07] County Administrator. And whereas Sterns

[2:57:10] County will continue to benefit from the

[2:57:11] vision and leadership demonstrated by

[2:57:13] Michael Williams for years to come. And

[2:57:16] whereas Michael Williams worked with the

[2:57:18] county's leadership team to establish

[2:57:20] Sterns County's first mission and values

[2:57:23] and implement a strategic planning

[2:57:25] process that strengthens organizational

[2:57:28] alignment and direction. And whereas

[2:57:31] Michael Williams championed one of the

[2:57:33] most transformative infrastructure

[2:57:35] initiatives in county history, helping

[2:57:38] secure more than 60 million in funding

[2:57:41] to provide reliable broadband access to

[2:57:43] nearly every home and business in the

[2:57:46] county.

[2:57:47] And whereas Michael Williams led the

[2:57:50] planning, financing, and development of

[2:57:51] the Sterns County Justice Center, the

[2:57:54] largest capital project in county's

[2:57:56] history. And whereas Michael Williams

[2:57:58] provided sound financial leadership that

[2:58:01] contributed to Sterns County's double A+

[2:58:04] bond rating reflecting the county's

[2:58:06] strong financial position and

[2:58:08] responsible stewardship of public

[2:58:10] resources.

[2:58:12] And whereas Michael Williams modernized

[2:58:14] county operations by establishing the

[2:58:17] property services department through the

[2:58:19] cons consolidation of the assessor's

[2:58:22] office recorder office and land services

[2:58:24] to improve service delivery

[2:58:26] transitioning the county recorder

[2:58:28] position from elected to appointed and

[2:58:31] leading the expansion of the Sterns

[2:58:32] County Service Center to improve access

[2:58:34] to county services by bringing multiple

[2:58:37] departments together under one roof. And

[2:58:39] whereas Michael Williams led Sterns

[2:58:41] County through the unprecedented

[2:58:43] challenges of the CO 19 pandemic while

[2:58:46] ensuring the continued delivery of

[2:58:48] essential county services and expanded

[2:58:50] public engagement through the creation

[2:58:52] of the county newsletter and Sterns

[2:58:54] County's first resident survey. And

[2:58:57] whereas colleagues describe Michael

[2:58:59] Williams as a thoughtful, respectful,

[2:59:02] and effective leader who models

[2:59:04] integrity and humility, promotes

[2:59:07] innovation, and strengthens public

[2:59:09] service through collaboration and

[2:59:11] effective management.

[2:59:13] And whereas Michael Williams is a mentor

[2:59:15] to city and county administrators

[2:59:17] throughout the state of Minnesota,

[2:59:19] receiving the Joel Ree Excellence in

[2:59:21] County Management Award, the Minnesota

[2:59:23] Association of County Administrators

[2:59:25] highest annual recognition for exemplary

[2:59:28] service and leadership in county

[2:59:30] government. And whereas the Sterns

[2:59:32] County Board of Commissioners wishes to

[2:59:34] acknowledge the lasting impact of

[2:59:36] Michael Williams' leadership and his

[2:59:37] decade of dedicated services to the

[2:59:39] residents of Sterns County. Now

[2:59:42] therefore, be it resolved the Sterns

[2:59:43] County Board of Commissioners honors

[2:59:45] Michael Williams for his exceptional

[2:59:47] public service in assuring a safe,

[2:59:49] healthy, vibrant county for all. Be it

[2:59:53] further resolved the board expresses its

[2:59:54] sincere gratitude for this his

[2:59:56] outstanding contributions to the county

[2:59:58] and leadership across the state and

[3:00:01] extends its best wishes to him for a

[3:00:03] fulfilling and well-earned retirement.

[3:00:07] with that. Uh, I also got to say, you

[3:00:10] know, it's kind of been a privilege. I

[3:00:11] was in his chair when he was hired and

[3:00:14] [laughter] I'm in the same chair now and

[3:00:15] he's retiring. So, I don't know if if if

[3:00:18] that's good or bad because then, you

[3:00:20] know, I've been here longer than Mike

[3:00:22] has. But, uh, congratulations again,

[3:00:25] Mike. Uh, wish you and Susan the best.

[3:00:27] And

[3:00:28] >> we do have a few, uh, gifts here for you

[3:00:31] » we do have a few, uh, gifts here for you

[3:00:31] that we'd like to present to you.

[3:00:33] >> Okay. Not sure if [laughter] you care to

[3:00:35] » Okay. Not sure if [laughter] you care to

[3:00:35] say anything first, but

[3:00:36] >> you know, this is this is the part I'm

[3:00:38] » you know, this is this is the part I'm

[3:00:38] not good at. You know, can we go back to

[3:00:39] talking about the budget or something,

[3:00:41] but uh [laughter]

[3:00:43] um you know, I I appreciate the the

[3:00:46] words the two the words are too kind. Um

[3:00:50] I I just do what you all do, what we all

[3:00:53] do is we try to do our best for the

[3:00:55] people of the county. In my case, I try

[3:00:57] to do the best for the board leadership

[3:00:59] team and the people of the county. And

[3:01:01] um my work here in Sterns County, I

[3:01:04] think as I said in my letter to the

[3:01:05] board when I when I uh announced my

[3:01:08] retirement is this has really been the

[3:01:11] the highlight of my career here. So um

[3:01:14] we did have a lot of challenge to work

[3:01:16] through and I forgot some of those that

[3:01:18] are in the resolution but with this

[3:01:20] group we've always come through them you

[3:01:22] know in shining success really. Uh it's

[3:01:25] because of the board it's because of the

[3:01:26] leadership team. It's because of the

[3:01:27] fantastic people that work for the for

[3:01:30] the county. Um,

[3:01:33] and and you all do that. As someone I

[3:01:35] heard today, I think it was the sheriff

[3:01:37] said, you know, we're trying to make

[3:01:38] people's lives better. And that's what

[3:01:40] we're all trying to do. And that's what

[3:01:42] I always said to every incoming um

[3:01:46] [clears throat]

[3:01:47] uh group of employees when they'd come

[3:01:49] to come to orientation, I'd say, I boil

[3:01:51] our mission down to we're trying to make

[3:01:53] people's lives better. And so, thank you

[3:01:55] all for that.

[3:01:56] um you do you've done that as said with

[3:01:58] innovation and with the highest of

[3:02:00] professionalism and uh I'm just thankful

[3:02:03] to have been a part of it and thank you

[3:02:06] very much.

[3:02:07] >> Good and we'd like to present you know

[3:02:10] » Good and we'd like to present you know

[3:02:10] with a small token here. It's public

[3:02:13] service recognition Michael Williams in

[3:02:15] appreciation for distinguished and

[3:02:17] dedicated service to the county of

[3:02:18] Sterns 2016 to 2026.

[3:02:22] behalf of the board.

[3:02:25] [applause]

[3:02:33] » And Mike, we also have a few

[3:02:36] >> Oh, the trivet,

[3:02:37] » Oh, the trivet,

[3:02:37] >> little trivet, [laughter]

[3:02:39] » little trivet, [laughter]

[3:02:39] your years of service. And would you and

[3:02:41] we'll come down here and take a picture.

[3:02:46] [clears throat]

[3:03:26] Okay. And then uh be before I announce

[3:03:29] the adjournment uh we are having a work

[3:03:31] session right after the meeting today.

[3:03:33] So

[3:03:33] >> you are we're going to be in this room

[3:03:34] » you are we're going to be in this room

[3:03:34] but I think we're going to reset it.

[3:03:36] >> Okay. All right. Thank you. And with

[3:03:39] » Okay. All right. Thank you. And with

[3:03:39] that uh we will adjourn the meeting.

Board of Commissioners - 14 Jul 2026

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