By Joanne Bergman The Murray County Board of Commissioners met in the final session for 2022 on Tuesday, December 27 with all members present. This was the final meeting for Commissioner Jim Kluis who chose not to run for reelection on the November ballot. Jackie Meier who will be sworn in at the first meeting of January will replace him.
Auditor Treasurer Heidi Winter presented a list of items to be decided as year end business. She was authorized to pay any bills that are received prior to the end of the year with a complete list to be supplied to the board members. The pocket gopher fee to be paid to townships will remain at $2 pr critter. The beaver control fee will remain at the current $75 for each of them removed from a county drainage ditch or park. The solid waster assessment made to each improved structure will remain at $24. The balance has continued to grow through the years to a current $454,000. The monies accumulated to be used for any problems that may arise at the landfill. The 911 sign assessment will also remain level at the current $3 with the monies being used to replace intersection signs with larger and more reflective ones. The blue address signs are also replaced as needed.
Chief Deputy Heath Landsman, newly elected as Sheriff, received authorization to sell a surplus vehicle that has been replaced.
Human Resources Director Ronda Radke presented a listing of staff for each department. The Commissioners requested the listing to be presented during budget discussions in July. This action will allow better budget planning in the event of needed changes in staffing during the upcoming year. Non Union employees will be receiving a 2.5% COLA salary increase in 2023 if they have been employed for one year and have completed a positive employment review.
Zoning Administrator, Jean Christoffels received approval for a 60-day rule extension on the Autumn Blaze First Addition plat. Recent bad weather has caused delays in the hearing process. The delay will not affect the project. The bid was awarded for the Lime Lake Outlet modification project with the low bid of $219,250 from Henning Construction from Adrian. The bid was well below the engineer’s estimate of $367,700.
County Administrator Carolyn McDonald asked for that Amber Hansen be designated to fill the duties of County Assessor temporarily until the position can be filled. This must be done within a 90 day period.
McDonald presented the resolutions needed to set the salaries of elected officials. The Auditor Treasurer’s will be raised 5% from the current $93,999. The County Recorder’s will be raised 5% from the current $68,575. The newly elected sheriff’s salary was set at $100,000. The current salary of that office has remained at $88,680 for the past four years. The County Attorney’s salary was also raised by 5% from the current $89,675. The County Commissioners were also given a 5% increase from the current $21,000. Their per diem will remain at $100. All the salaries were considered to be “in the ball park” of surrounding counties.
The final business was to award the bids for a new highway department facility totaling $15,417,000 with 26 line items to be considered. There was a lot of interest in the project by the various contractors for this the second time around. Revisions had been made to the plans to bring it within budget.
