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By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
The Houston County Board took another step towards replacing County Auditor Pete Johnson, who will be retiring May 31 of this year. During the March 4 meeting, the county board approved a motion to amend language of a bill being proposed at the Minnesota Legislature which would allow Houston County offices to be appointed.
The proposed bill stated: “The Houston County Board may provide for the appointment of the county recorder, auditor, and treasurer as permitted in this section if the resolution to make the office appointive is approved by at least 80 percent of the members of the county board. Before the adoption of the resolution, the county board must publish a resolution notifying the public of its intent to consider the option…Following the publication, the county board shall provide an opportunity at its next regular meeting for public comment relating to the option, prior to formally adopting the option.
“The resolution may be adopted and implemented without the submission of the question to the voters of the county unless, within 30 days after the second publication of the resolution, a petition requesting a referendum, signed by at least 10 percent of the registered voters of Houston County, is filed with the Houston County auditor.”
After reviewing the proposed bill Commissioner Larry Connery said he didn’t feel the county should include the recorder’s position, “because it was not our intent to consolidate that department with the treasure and auditor departments.”
“If the bill is passed, it just gives the county the option,” County Attorney Rick Jackson pointed out.
“I agree with what you (Connery) are saying, but why not keep the option open. Why not include all three departments in this bill in case, in the future, we want to do something more?” Commissioner Larry Graf asked. “If we exclude the recorder’s department now, we would have to re-visit it at a later time if we change our minds.”
Commissioner Ann Thompson agreed with Graf, stating the county should have as wide a range of options available in the future.
“If you really want to take the recorder’s position out of this, you certainly can,” Jackson said to Connery. “You would need to draft a resolution stating if you agree with the language as it is, or if you want to make any revisions.”
A motion was made by Commissioner Tom Bjerke and seconded by Connery to approve the language of the proposed bill, with one amendment- excluding the recorder’s position. The motion was unanimously approved.
In other board action:
Court Services Director to retire
County Personnel Director Tim Comstock informed the board Court Services Director Kevin Siebold will be retiring from his position on April 25. Siebold has worked for Houston County for 30-plus years, beginning in 1977.
“Judge Fabian and I have discussed options for providing probation services and are asking the county to consider vacating the County Probation officers (CPO) option and contract for probation services directly from the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC),” Comstock stated in a memo to the county board.
“If this were done, the DOC would determine the appropriate staffing levels for probation agents and office supervision would be provided at the regional level.”
The probation supervision utilized by counties in Minnesota operates under one of three different systems. Comstock listed the three systems and included brief descriptions of them. A representative from the DOC will attend the March 18 board meeting to make a presentation on the benefits of the DOC program and to answer any questions board members might have.
New computer is purchased
Jackson brought the board up to speed on the equipment purchases for the new assistant county attorney’s office. Jackson noted he was able to purchase a new computer, with two monitors, printer, mouse, keyboard, and computer stand for $1,900. The purchase was included in the 2008 budget.
County fitness program
Heather Myhre of the Public Health Department informed the board about a Houston County employee fitness challenge that will be offered March through June of this year.
The program, which is funded through a grant, will encourage county employees to become more physically fit through several informational seminars and fitness challenges. Employees wishing to participate will fill out tracking sheets on the physical workouts. Those tracking sheets will be entered in a monthly drawing for prizes, such as gift certificates to a variety of locations, MP3 players, Ipods, massages, and more.
Myhre explained Houston and Fillmore counties received a joint grant to pay for the program in each county. “No county money is being used to fund this program,” she pointed out.
You can contact Charlie Warner at
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