At the Fillmore County Board’s July 6 meeting, a letter from county recorder David Kiehne to the board of commissions was referenced, stating his intent to retire at the end of his current term, December 31, 2022.
Kiehne suggested hiring a full- time person by the fall of 2021 to begin the process of training his replacement. He plans to include a new full-time lead account position in his 2022 budget. He hopes to train and work with this person for about a year.
Legislation passed in 2019 would allow the appointment of a recorder, as opposed to electing a recorder, with the notification from the current recorder of his intent to retire at the end of his current elected term. The current office holder, Kiehne, has fulfilled this requirement.
The board passed a motion to move forward with the process. The intent of the county board to seek public input regarding the recorder position will be published for three consecutive weeks in the official newspaper, the Fillmore County Journal, starting July 19. There will be time for public input at the July 27 and August 3 county board meetings. After public input on August 3, the board will likely consider a resolution making the county recorder an appointed position in the future.
Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week
The board approved a proclamation honoring community correction professionals during the week of July 18-24. Michelle Olson, Dodge-Fillmore-Olmsted
Corrections, said the proclamation recognizes community corrections staff for their work. She thanked the board for its support and resources.
Teresa Small, probation officer, and Kari Berg, correction services, described some of their programs. Berg explained that during the pandemic they were forced to be creative and held virtual weekly groups, which allowed them to engage with clients more than ever. Now, they can provide both in-person and online groups.
Other business in brief
•The adoption of Internet Security Policies, including the Acceptable Use Policy, the Cyber Security Incident Response Plan, and Fillmore County Information Security Policies, were approved.
•The Emergency Declaration regarding the pandemic was not extended, ending this day. The state’s emergency declaration ended July 1.
•The reclassification of four positions by David Drown Associates were each approved. The finance director was reclassified from grade 16 to 15 as it is not a department head position. The auditor/treasurer was reclassified from grade 16 to 15 as it is no longer a department head position.
It was decided to make two tiers for the property appraiser position. The entry level and those with the required AMA certification (within three years) will be at grade 9 and a property appraiser obtaining the higher SAMA certification will be classified at grade 10. This higher certification is not required, but will be beneficial to the county. County Assessor Jason McCaslin recommended the two tier option for property appraisers.
The new position of lead fiscal officer will be at grade 12. This person will be lead over all finances and community services. County Administrator Bobbie Hillery explained account lead technicians will then all be account technicians.
•Christy Smith, current employee, was promoted with an appointment to auditor/treasurer, effective July 9, as recommended by the Personnel Committee. Smith has a four year accounting degree and -rior experience, including with elections.
•Lindsi Engle, current account technician, was hired as the replacement human resources officer, effective July 19, as recommended by the Hiring Committee. A request to advertise for a replacement accounting technician was approved.
•The status of two employees was changed as recommended by the sheriff and jail administrator. Stephanie Miner will have her status changed from full time to intermittent jailer, effective July 6. Sarah Peck will have her status changed from intermittent jailer to full-time, effective July 9.
•A motion to change the job description of the zoning administrator was approved. The job description change will be sent to David Drown Associates for analysis. The language requiring the zoning administrator to have a septic certification will be changed to a desired, but not required septic certification.
•The Paid Time Off policy will come back for a second reading after one change. A simplification of the Personal Appliance policy was proposed by Kristina Kohn, Human Resources. It will come back for a second reading.
Employees’ comments and concerns over changes to the Mileage Reimbursement and Travel policy were noted. More work will be done to address concerns and questions before bringing it back for the first reading.
•The resignation of Casey Patten, property appraiser, was approved with thanks after one year of service, effective July 21. A request to hire a replacement property appraiser from the current posting was approved.
•Mike Frauenkron was hired as an intermittent septic inspector, as requested by the zoning administrator. Blake Lea has also been hired as an intermittent septic inspector.
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