×

Commissioners to consider adding A-T staffer

NEW ULM — Brown County commissioners will consider authorizing the county Auditor-Treasurer (A-T) to include an additional staff person in the 2018 budget at their meeting June 27.

Brown County Auditor-Treasurer Jean Prochniak wrote in her board action request that another staff person is needed for new office challenges, programs that have grown and require more reporting and detail, training and staff development. In addition, there are general staffing issues including rising vacation/comp. time for current staff that have risen to 1.25 FTE (full-time equivalent).

New challenges include multiple drainage systems being redetermined, new financial package implementation, potential precinct voting consolidation, more drainage petitions being submitted, more absentee voting, delinquent taxpayer repayment programs and eight mail ballot precincts, according to Prochniak.

Annual salary of the new staff person would be about $38,000 a year plus benefits. New furniture and equipment will also be considered.

“A new strategy that could be considered would be to look at the overall structure of county offices and make decisions that better address staffing and space needs into the future,” Prochniak wrote. “…Logic will get us from A to Z, but imagination will take us into the future. It should be noted that no staffing requests have been made for this office since 2001. There have been numerous tasks/legislative requirements/new processes that have been addressed by staff in the past…we are now at the point that we can no longer accept additional responsibilities without increasing staff size.”

Commissioners will also consider:

• A County Ditch (CD) 33 open ditch clean out. Located in Albin and Mulligan Townships, CD 33 has 22,810 feet of open ditch, 165,474 feet of county tile and 5,050 acres of benefitted area. The project is scheduled to begin on or before Oct. 1 and be done by Nov. 30. The ditch system has a buffer so it can be cleaned out in the summer.

Low bid is $40,757.90 from Rickert Excavating. Dirt Merchant, Inc. bid $99,645.60. Quotes were requested from 15 contractors and opened June 21.

• Adjusted benefits of CD 73 outlet and adopt the Redetermination of Benefits at 11 a.m.

• Review Mathiowetz Construction cost estimates and time frame for excavation and construction of cell 20 at the Brown County Landfill. The project includes a clay base liner, synthetic liner prep work, and leachate collection system to include piping and final cover over filled areas.

GEI Construction and Quality Assurance proposals will be brought to the board at a later date. Weather conditions should be suitable for construction this fall and for completion to be before freeze-up. It is possible the landfill could run out of room to place garbage if the project was delayed to happen next spring.

• Brown County Probation’s $950,000 2018 Out-of-Home Placement Budget.

• Brown County Human Services Supervised Visitation Contract and Exchange Services Agreement with the Committee Against Domestic Abuse (CADA), from July 1 to Dec. 31, 2017.

• Adding one additional staff to the aging services part of the Human Services Adult Services unit in the 2018 budget with 85 percent off-setting revenue.

• Annual reports from Heartland Express, Licensing Foster/Childcare, the Veterans Services Office.

The meeting starts at 9 a.m. in the courthouse commissioner’s room June 26.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper?
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today