A discussion continued at the Fillmore County Board’s March 1 meeting on a Work Remote Policy. The county already has a Telecommuting Policy.
Last week the discussion began with the original rough draft of the policy for working remote; it has since been trimmed down and made more concise. Today the question was whether another policy was even needed; the policy for telecommuting could be made more inclusive to include office workers that could work remotely with the approval of their department head.
The county has for several years allowed a few employees to work at home for Social Services and Public Health. In these cases, telecommuting employees have proven to be more efficient with a larger caseload while working from home. Allowing some other office employees to work from home provides a flexible work option. The remote work option would allow an employee with approval of his/her department head to work all or part of the standard work week at home. There will be minimum technology requirements including a reliable high-speed secure internet connection.
County Administrator Bobbie Hillery noted the importance of serving the public, while keeping the workforce fair and flexible. Commissioner Duane Bakke felt the two different policies cover basically the same thing, suggesting they incorporate them into one policy. An annual report will be a requirement as part of a combined policy. Chairman Mitch Lentz didn’t think the policies were the same as the work remote policy is more situational.
It was decided that Hillery and Lindsi Engle, Human Resources, would work on a new draft combining both into one policy. It will be brought back for the board’s consideration.
Audit
The 2020 audit was reviewed last week by Miranda Wendlandt, CliftonLarsonAllen, Inc. (CLA). After the commissioners have now had time to study the audit, the 2020 audit was approved. Approval was given to publish the 2020 audit in the legal paper, Fillmore County Journal.
A request for proposals for an audit firm for the next three to five years came back with just one bid from CliftonLarsonAllen, Inc. The base price for the 2021 audit is $53,600. Lori Affeldt, finance director, said CLA has been way more detail orientated than previous audit firms. The board approved CLA for the county audit for five years. There will be incremental increases in the base price over the five-year period.
Other business in brief
•The board ratified the professional services agreement between TriMin Systems, Inc. and the Minnesota Counties Computer Cooperative (MnCCC). Fillmore County’s annual fee portion is $13,170, paid to MnCCC, a joint powers organization. The contract is for a term starting January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2024. The TriMin (software company) contract is for IFSpi (software), which is used for the county’s financial system.
•A new service agreement with Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations was approved for television/e-waste recycling for 2022. Drew Hatzenbihler, Sanitation, asked for approval of 12 hauler’s licenses. Because a few of the haulers had not submitted all their paperwork, the board approved the licenses pending the completion of all paperwork.
•County Engineer Ron Gregg requested and received approval to advertise for the replacement of a bridge on CR 107, a Local Option Sales Tax project.
The fuel bids for gasoline and diesel were approved for 2022. Hovey Oil Co. submitted the only bids.
•The board began a discussion this day on possible redistricting of the commissioner districts. Districts 1 and 3 are out of compliance. Bakke noted the last changes in commissioner districts occurred after the 2000 census. The county has until April 26 to set its districts. Growth projections of the past and for the future will be considered. Hillery said the districts could stay as they are. Bakke asked what numbers had been projected for 2020 and what numbers are projected for 2030.
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