08-11-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commission Minutes--August 11, 2004 2766 DEPARTMENT HEADS--PLEASE POST IN A CONSPICUOUS PLACE FOR STAFF TO READ SPECIAL MEETING OF CASS COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING IN BUDGET SESSION AUGUST 11, 2004 1. MEETING TO ORDER Chairwoman Robyn Sorum called the budget meeting to order at 8:35 AM on August 11, 2004, in the Commission Room, Cass County Courthouse, with members present as follows: John Meyer, Vern Bennett, Darrell Vanyo, Scott Wagner and Robyn Sorum. Also present were County Auditor Michael Montplaisir, County Coordinator Bonnie Johnson and Accountant Mary Matheson. 2. BUDGET OVERVIEW, Requests reviewed with various departments Mr. Montplaisir gave an overview of the 2005 budget requests, as submitted by county departments and several outside agencies. He said the overall budget looks good, due to the strong economy in this area and the increase in taxable valuation. The valuation for the 2005 budget is $325 million, up from $297 million for the 2004 budget. Mr. Montplaisir talked about upcoming budget meetings scheduled for tomorrow and Friday mornings. The Wednesday schedule next week will be changed to Thursday, August 19, 2004, because Mr. Vanyo would not be able to attend on August 18th. A meeting is tentatively set for August 20th to approve the preliminary budget, after which time a summary of the budget will be published in the county's official newspaper. A public hearing on the 2005 budget is scheduled during the regular commission meeting on September 20th; and the budget must be finalized on or before October 1, 2004. The first meeting in October may be changed to October 1St, instead of October 4th, since Commissioners will be attending the North Dakota Association of Counties annual convention in Bismarck on October 3-6, 2004. Veterans Service Jim Brent, Cass County Veterans Service Officer, said the biggest change in his budget request is to add an A 12 file clerk, which he said is necessary to keep up with filing documents. Commission Mrs. Johnson said an increase in the commission budget includes special assessments of $110,000 for the Maple River Dam project, and the line item for guardian ad litem was increased to $30,000 to more accurately reflect actual costs. Mr. Bennett asked about counties being immune from paying special assessments, and Mr. Montplaisir said he has not heard of any movement for governments to be exempt. He said projects such as this generally need local government support in order to proceed. A written request in the amount of $10,000 was received from FirstLink, dated August 10, 2004, to fund emergency volunteer management in the event of natural or man-made disasters. Mrs. Johnson said she has attended meetings on this topic and indicated they needed to submit a request in writing as soon as possible. Mrs. Sorum suggested inviting FirstLink to a budget meeting to explain their request.