Caledonia Argus

County receives funding for early childhood program

Posted: 9/16/03

by Jane Palen
Managing editor

Houston County was the first county in Minnesota to receive funding for an early childhood initiative, county commissioners learned at their meeting of September 9.

Carol Cerney of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Fund and Marilyn Bayer, Houston, appeared before the board to ask for the countyís continued support of the Initiative Fund, and pointed to the early Childhood Initiative as an example of the kinds of programs that will be available if the county is willing to participate.

The Initiative Fund is funded primarily through the McKnight Foundation. Over the next four years, said Cerney, the foundation will distribute $5.2 million to areas identified in a recently developed strategic plan. There are six initiative funds in the state.

ìThey will not want to continue to give if the counties arenít willing to participate,î Cerney told the board.

Almost $3 million has been earmarked for the early childhood initiative for the entire state. Houston County will receive $5,000 for planning and $15,000 for implementation of a plan to help identify gaps in services, and opportunities to provide a supportive environment for young children and their families.

Houston County was successful in obtaining the funding due to the Houston County Collaborative, Bayer noted.

ìThey know we have players around the table and are willing to work,î she said.

The community planning process will begin this fall.

County sets levy

In other news from the county board, commissioners agreed to set a maximum proposed levy which will be included on tax statements this fall. The numbers were required to be into the state by September 15, and donít reflect the final numbers, but a ìnot to exceedî number.

The countyís proposed levy for 2004 is $5,488,800, compared to $5,311,000 for 2003. The county wi will be over its levy limit by $164,276.

Auditor Peter Johnson told commissioners that if the levy is below $5,488,800, the county does not have to have a truth in taxation hearing or publish the proposed levy.

Johnson said that the Department of Education has notified the county that minimum support for the library system (SELCO) will be $53,860.

Computer to be upgraded

In other news, commissioners accepted the low bid of CPS for an upgrade to the AS400 computer system at a cost of $58,840. The system was last upgraded in 2000.

Comparable worth reviews will be changed

Tim Comstock, the countyís personnel manager, told the board that it has been the countyís practice to review all positions for comparable worth every four years, or upon request. However, he said, in those reviews what has become evident is that most positions are banded correctly.

ìThe banding process is not a way to get a raise,î Comstock told commissioners, referring to the process of ranking employees on a letter/number system according to their responsibilities and tenure.

Each year, said Comstock, about 12 positions are reviewed at a cost of about $100 each. He asked the board for permission to make the reviews voluntary, to be done at the discretion of the department head.

Kelleher attends NACO

Commissioner Kevin Kelleher reported on a meeting he attended for NACO, the National Association of Counties as chairman of the steering committee for rural affairs. One thing the committee is working on is to restrict or ban imports from countries that do not have the same restrictions as the U.S. For example, he said, the U.S. imports fruits and vegetables from countries which use chemicals banned in the United States, putting the U.S. farmers at a disadvantage.

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