NEW ULM — Brown County commissioners will consider authorizing changing Brown County License Bureau hours to be consistent with all county officers and union policy Tuesday, Nov. 19.

Changing hours to 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday will help create a standard 40-hour work week. Department heads will schedule hours of work at other times when necessary to promote more effective performance of work tasks.

Customer advantages include wait time reduction, creating service lines for quick transaction and better lunch hour coverage with 30-minute lunch breaks instead of the current hour lunch periods.

Brown County Auditor-Treasurer (A-T) Jean Prochniak said she plans to get other A-T staff trained and able to provide service at the license bureau.

“We have plans to transition tax collections to the license bureau to create a one-stop for paying taxes/assessments, mobile home transfers and registering to vote. Eventually, we hope to have marriage licenses and birth certificates available at this location as well,” Prochniak wrote in her board request.

“It seems appropriate for us to establish a customer service location that would be able to address the most common needs of our clients,” Prochniak added.

Commissioners will also consider:

• A 10-year Road & Bridge Construction Program. With identified funding, there are no unscheduled project lists as in previous 5-year programs. Grading projects were added to widen the narrowest roads as funding allowed.

• The 2020/2021 Natural Resources Block Grant with the Board of Water and Soil Resources. In 2020, the total grant is $100,772. Brown County will receive $32,000 for septic system upgrades, $18,600 for septic (SSTS), $13,633 for local water management, $8,778 for the Wetland Conservation Act and $2,675 for shore land.

• Setting a public hearing date for Brown County Zoning Ordinance changes for 9:25 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 10 at the Brown County Planning Commission meeting.

• Planning Commission recommendations from the Nov. 12 meeting including a conditional use permit application filed by Brian Domeier for a seasonal campground in Section 14, Sigel Township.

• Requesting ISG Engineering complete a County Ditch 44 feasibility study for landowners. Studies have ranged in cost from $1,500 to $3,000.

• Awareness and discussion of efforts underway to work with communities to consider raising the tobacco sale age to 21, better known as T-21 or Tobacco 21.

• Judicial Ditch 24, 38 and 5 Ditch Authority Teleconferences begin at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday.

• The regular meeting begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19 in the courthouse second-floor commissioners room.

(Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com).