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Close quarters: Houston County Board looking for alternatives
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By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
One week after touring the court house and jail, the Houston County Board discussed space issues during the Aug. 19 board meeting.
“We definitely have a major issue with space here,” Commissioner Larry Graf said. “We need to either look at renting more space somewhere here in town (Caledonia) or some other option. It seems as if the CJC is dead in the water. But this is a critical issue. The state keeps mandating more programs, which calls for more staff, but we don’t have anywhere to put them.”
When asked if moving some of the human services departments off campus, Public Health Nursing Director Deb Rock said if it meant more space, and a more private workspace for caseworkers interviewing clients, she was all for it.
“The lack of space will continue to be a big problem for us,” Rock said. “We are having a very difficult time finding space for interviews, as well as record keeping.”
Director of Human Services Beth Wilms agreed with Rock and added many of the records must be kept a lifetime.
“We’ve talked about computer imaging, which takes up much less space. But it’s expensive converting the files, and how long is the shelf live?”
Commissioner Larry Connery agreed, saying “Remember those floppy disks were used 20 years ago. I’ll bet you can’t find a single computer that can read them anymore.”
Wilms pointed out the county recently had a request for some information on an adoption that took place more than 70 years ago. “We still had those records on file,” she noted.
“If we would find a location to move some of our departments, I’m wondering what the cost would be to re-locate them. Wouldn’t we have a lot of technology issues?” Graf asked.
Commissioner Ann Thompson suggested a committee be created to look into this issue. Connery said he and Commissioner Dave Corcoran have already been checking into some possible solutions.
“I guess we have our committee,” Thomspon replied.
In other board action:
Legal contract expanded
In an effort to ensure due process to those who can’t afford legal representation during child custody cases, the Houston County Board approved an addendum to the current contract with Rippe, Hammell & Murphy of Caledonia. The addendum will include an additional $5,000 for legal services, plus a $2,000 contingency if there are cases that would pose a conflict of interest, and an attorney from another firm would have to be retained.
The action was prompted when the State Board of Public Defense (SBPD) decided to discontinue representing parents in child protection cases, effective July 8. The reason… 72 full-time public defenders’ positions were cut in July when cuts in state funding resulted in a $3.8 million deficit in the SBPD’s budget for 2009.
Public defenders can no longer accept appointments to represent parents in child in need of protection or services (CHIPS) or termination of parental rights (TPR) cases. In addition, public defenders will withdraw from representing parents in pending CHIPS or TPR cases as soon as a disposition in the case has been made.
By virtue of the state cuts, the burden to provide legal representation for persons who can’t afford an attorney has fallen on the county.
Judge James Fabian attended the Aug. 19 county board meeting and explained that he and Court Administrator Darlene Larson reviewed the situation and recommended the addendum to the current contract with the local law firm.
“We have been pleased with the work Rippe, Hammell & Murphy have done, and after discussing this issue with Darlene, Tim Murphy and Jed Hammell, we feel the additional $5,000 should cover the increased legal costs for the remainder of the year,” Fabian said.
Commissioner Tom Bjerke asked the judge what he recommended for 2009.
“Our contract with them will be up at the end of the year. I feel we should wait and see what the state legislature does,” Fabian replied. “There has been a lot of pressure placed on the state legislators to undo what they did last year. Once we know if there will be more state funding for this program or not, we can put it (legal representation contract) out for bids.
“Rippe, Hammell & Murphy gave us a low bid last time,” Fabian continued. “I feel they have been very community-minded by doing that, and have helped the county out.”
A motion to include an addendum to the current contract with the Rippe, Hammell & Murphy was made by Bjerke and seconded by Graf, and passed unanimously. The money will come out of the general fund.
Finance Director contract offered
The county board formally offered Casey Bradley of Monroe, Wis. the full-time position of County Finance Director. Bradley’s salary would be $67,087 per year. The offer is contingent on Bradley passing a criminal history background check. Bradley would also receive a $2,500 reimbursement for relocation expenses to Houston County.
Bradley’s tentative start date would be Sept. 22.
You can contact Charlie Warner at
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