Date: August 15, 2023, 9:00 a.m.
Place: Commissioners Room, Courthouse, Caledonia, MN
Members Present: Dewey Severson, Eric Johnson, Robert Burns, Bob Schuldt, and Greg Myhre
Board Workgroup Session
Call to order.
UMN Extension Regional Director Lisa Dierks discussed the 2024 Extension Department budget proposal with the Commissioners and Finance Director Lapham. Dierks said her job was to be a liaison between Extension and the counites in South East Minnesota. Extension was asking for an increase in the categories of software and office supplies in Houston County for 2024 in addition to regular contract increases. They were also requesting to increase to the administrative support position in Houston County to full-time. The increase would be helpful to the Ag Educator who would be able spend additional time out in the community if there was more help with administrative tasks. Houston County currently had a summer coordinator that would no longer be needed if the administrative support position was full time. The net increase for a full time administrative support position would be $11,797. Commissioner Johnson said the current staff people were very active and doing a great job.
The Commissioners had a lengthy discussion with Sheriff Swedberg, Jail Administrator Ott, Finance Director Lapham, and Dan Lipa from the Department of Corrections (DOC) regarding the future of the Houston County Jail. There were several factors to discuss and consider. The Winona contract would be ending in the near future, and Houston County would be losing the revenue from the contract in 2024. Houston County typically saw six or less Houston County people in the jail. Lapham said there were two Houston County people in the jail that day. Ott said jail/dispatch was currently operating with minimum staff. Lipa explained that requirements for staffing depended on how many inmates were in the jail and the time of day. If five or less people were in the jail, less staff was required than if more than five people were in the jail. Ott said additional staff was needed in the jail especially during the day for things like court appearances, bookings, Zoom probation meetings, and suicide watches. There were also rules regarding the gender of jailers. Both genders were needed on staff as opposite genders could not oversee certain things. Commissioner Johnson said all possibilities should be looked at concerning the jail including the possibility of closing the jail and contracting out the jail services. Ott said he had found some savings for 2024 including a less expensive meal plan. Sheriff Swedberg said he had checked with Winona County and they were willing to house Houston County inmates for $60.00 per day. This was the same rate Houston County was currently charging them. Ott said he had heard that many agencies were upping the amount they charged to hold inmates for other agencies to $75.00 per day. Commissioner Schuldt said the amount could be as much as doubled for problem inmates. Sheriff Swedberg said he was anticipating around a $278,000 increase in the jail/dispatch budget for 2024 assuming the jail remained open. The budget for just jail/dispatch for 2024 would be around 1.8 million. Sheriff Swedberg said he had done a rough estimate and thought that contracting out jail services and closing the Houston County Jail could save around $488,000 per year. Sheriff Swedberg said the County would still have to consider the cost of transporting people who were arrested and the booking process. He was not sure how much this would cost. He said some counties who contracted out jail services had city police officers transport people who were arrested and going to jail while in some counties a County deputy would do the transport. Commissioner Severson and Schuldt expressed concern regarding the transport. The transport could be an extra burden on the cities, and there could be an issue with coverage in the City if an officer on duty needed to be gone for a period of time due to a transport. Commissioner Severson said he was concerned about safety. Commissioner Schuldt said it was hard to predict how many people would be arrested and in jail in Houston County in the future. Commissioner Burns said both the tax implication and safety implications should be considered. No final decisions were made on the matter. Sheriff Swedberg and Lapham said they would meet to get more accurate and final numbers regarding options and the budget.
Lapham said the date for Department Heads to submit budgets to her had passed, but that she was still waiting for some budgets to be submitted. The Commissioners would need to set the preliminary budget by the end of September 2023.
The meeting ended at 11:16 a.m. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS HOUSTON COUNTY, MINNESOTA
By: Dewey Severson, Chairperson Attest: Polly Heberlein, Interim Auditor/Treasurer
THE ABOVE PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMISSIONERS IS ONLY A SUMMARY. THE FULL TEXT IS AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC INSPECTON AT THE HISTORIC HOUSTON COUNTY BUILDING AS WELL AS AT THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESS: https://www.co.houston.mn.us/.
Publish 28