1. Weed control officer - Laserfiche WebLink

Cass County Commission April 21, 2004 Page 2 This was based on my recommendation to them that they should not reinvent the wheel--they should be able to simply use our policies and procedures as they are part of the county government. They are not a separate entity. They are a board that is appointed by the County Commission. We are required by accounting standards to include them in our financial statements because we have substantial control of their finances. The County Weed Board is not the same as the Water Resource Districts. Water Resource Districts appoint their own treasurer to handle their funds and their accounting functions. The County Treasurer is required to collect and remit funds to the Water Resource Districts, much the same as she is required to do for cities, schools, and other taxing districts in the county. In the case of the County Weed Board, my understanding is that the County Treasurer is custodian of the funds and consequently all the payments for salaries and expenses are made by the county. To the best of my knowledge, the way the County had handled this in the past (even before the combination of the Weed and Vector Control Officers) is the officer was on the county payroll system and had the same benefits as all county employees. The costs for the salaries, matching social security, and other benefits were charged to the respective boards out of the funds levied. I would like to continue handling the payment of bills, the administration of payroll, and the administration of benefits the same as it has been done in the past. My reading of the 1993 Attorney General's opinion seems to indicate that the Weed Control Officer could be an employee ofthe County Weed Board or the County or both. This is along the line of the motion of the County Weed Board; they would do the hiring, supervision, and firing, along with covering all the costs. Administratively, we would pay the Weed Control Officer and administer the benefits. The Weed Board funds would pay for the payroll and benefits. There are advantages to doing this for both the County and the Weed Board. The Weed Board is controlling the hiring and supervision of the Weed Control Officer and covering all the costs. The County is making it easier for the Weed Control Board to concentrate on their function--controlling weeds in the county and at the same time, not requiring any additional work by county offices.