by April Scheinoha
Reporter

The Pennington County Board adopted the 2023 property tax levy and 2023 county budget at its meeting Tuesday, Dec. 13.

Commissioners approved a property tax levy of $11,662,476, which is a 4.5042% increase over this year. The majority of the increase was from salaries, benefits and fuel costs.

They also approved the 2023 county budget, which projected total revenue of $24,682,576 and using $1,824,976 in reserves. Total expenditures are projected to be $26,507,552.

County Auditor-Treasurer Jennifer Herzberg said county leaders plan to use $1.5 million of their American Rescue Plan Act funds and $400,000 out of reserves to cover remodeling at the Government Center. An additional $100,000 in ARPA funds was added to the sheriff’s office budget for 2023.

The overall county budget also takes into account a decrease of $48,960 in County Program Aid. In 2023, the county is set to receive $895,070 in CPA.

Prior to the board adopting the property tax levy and budget, Thief River Falls resident Dave Rist urged commissioners to reconsider a county allocation to Advance Thief River. He asked commissioners whether they wanted the economic development organization representing the county since it was posting disparaging comments on Facebook about the Thief River Falls City Council. Rist said the organization was acting like a petulant child.

Advance Thief River had asked the county for $25,000 to support its efforts as part of its $75,000 budget. It had also asked City Council for $25,000 as it has in years past. However, the council decided to instead allocate that money toward marketing the city.

County Board later passed the county budget with the $25,000 allocation still included.

Mike Lorenson, who serves on City Council, spoke during the Truth in Taxation hearing held prior to approval of the county property tax levy and budget. Lorenson said taxes are too high and he encouraged the county to review property values across the county. He indicated his property value increased by $20,000 and said he would be agreeable to such a jump if all properties had a standard 5 to 10% jump. In particular, he referred to a discrepancy between rural and city properties when a rural property valued at less than $200,000 is listed for sale for a price more than $400,000.

County Board approved hiring Scott Collins as an assistant county attorney, effective Wednesday, Jan. 4. Collins will be working in a new position, which was added due to the severity and amount of cases currently handled by the Pennington County Attorney’s Office. He will join Assistant County Attorneys Kristin Hanson and Max LaCoursiere, and County Attorney Seamus Duffy.

Collins is currently employed with the Minnesota Public Defender’s Office. Commissioner Darryl Tveitbakk said Collins has experience on both sides of the bench.

Duffy provided an update on legislative changes set to take effect in mid-2023. The changes affect defendants who suffer from mental health issues. Currently, such defendants have a Rule 20 evaluation in which they are evaluated to determine whether they are competent to stand trial and whether they knew right from wrong at the time of their alleged crime. Duffy said he has encountered many situations in which a defendant has met the qualifications and is ruled incompetent to stand trial, but the defendant doesn’t meet the qualifications under state statute to be committed to a mental health facility. As a result, the defendant is then released from jail. Duffy said the changes will close the loophole and provide more assistance to such individuals.

County Board approved a resolution seeking a new funding formula for probation. The Association of Minnesota Counties has asked all counties to approve the resolution encouraging the Minnesota Legislature to increase funding for probation.

Mitch Berg, program manager for the Retired Volunteer Senior Program, appeared before County Board. He said Pennington County participants volunteered more than 1,372 hours from April 1, 2021, to March 30, 2022.

Some of RSVP’s programs were shut down or have fewer volunteers due to the pandemic. Berg said RSVP hopes to restart its exercise and fitness program, Stay Active for Independent Living, soon. RSVP also hopes to restart its program providing volunteers to complete minimal home repairs. The program also offers Groceries to Go.

The next County Board meeting is scheduled Thursday, Dec. 29 at 5 p.m. at the Justice Center. Note that commissioners changed the date of the meeting to enable them to approve end-of-the-year matters.