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NEW ULM -- Buses, like many other things, have gone up in price in the past year.
The original Brown County Heartland Express bus price estimate of $100,000 is now $131,000, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
Brown County Human Services Director Barb Dietz is expected to report the price hike Tuesday to the Brown County Board.
The buses already ordered have not arrived yet, but they are expected to remain at the previous price. Additional buses to be ordered will cost more, but MnDOT will pay 90% of the $26,200 price hike, leaving the county to pick up the remaining $6,200.
"This should not be an issue for the county since we have been collecting (bus) fares since Jan. 1, 2022, have no 2022 operating cost share and put fare funds into reserves," Dietz wrote.
In addition, MnDOT is interested in creating grants for low- or no-emission buses and charging stations for rural transit systems that acquire them. Heartland Express was identified as possibly qualifying for grants.
On Tuesday, commissioners will also consider:
• The 2021 Brown County Human Services Collections and Social Service Fraud Investigations report, including $560,582 recovered. Since the program began in 1994 to March 2022, $3,116,675 has been collected for Brown County from a total collection of $8,346,361.
The report included a total cost benefit of $5.65 per $1 spent, compared to the state average of $4.97.
• Recognize Safety Award recipient Melissa Hoffmann, a Public Health nurse; Distinguished Service Awards to social services supervisor Denise Kamm and office support specialist Patty Zupfer; and Commissioner Award to County Attorney's Office staff Charles Hanson, Dan Kalk, Paul Gunderson, Jill Jensen, Melissa Bakke, Nicole Grathwohl, Bernadette Epper and Krystle Weymann.
Retirees in 2021 were Steven Bjerke, Kimberly Hemphill-Schmitz, Debra Huhn, Kenton Mankle, Cynthia Meyer, Gregory Palmer, Jean Prochniak, Brian Smith, Laureen Tauer, Margaret Thordson and Richard Meyer. The 2021 Employee Recognition Banquet was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The board will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the courthouse commissioners room.
(Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.)