The Polk County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday to receive the sheriff’s report for June, a resolution to join the East Grand Forks housing abatement program, and a resolution authorizing a new partner to conduct professional auditing services.
MONTHLY SHERIFF’S REPORT
Sheriff James Tadman provided his monthly report to the county board. Tadman reported that June’s numbers were slightly lower, as deputies received 700 calls of service compared to 756 in May. Tadman told the board the decrease in calls is slightly lower than normal, but it gave the department a chance to get prepared for a busy July with holiday traffic, festivals, and the Polk County Fair.
Tadman also expressed his gratitude to the deputies for their work in helping maintain safety over the July 4th holiday weekend and the fair, as there was only one arrest during the fair. “Yeah, for the Fourth of July, it went off really well,” said Tadman. “It was busy, a lot of us were busy. We had a lot of our deputies who were off, but we were still out on the boat and water patrol in the vehicles for extra patrol. But you know, a lot of festivities, everybody was having either a street dance or a rodeo or a parade. But it went off really well, and the fair was really busy too. It was very exciting to see everybody out.”
EAST GRAND FORKS HOUSING ABATEMENT
Sam Melbye brought three items before the board, including a resolution to participate in East Grand Forks’ housing abatement program, which includes property tax abatements. Melbye explained that the City of East Grand Forks has run this program for several years and allows the East Grand Forks School District and Polk County to participate in it. Melbye informed the board about the success of the program in previous years to help encourage new housing development in East Grand Forks. “So we abate the county’s portion of the property tax for newly built homes for the first two years,” Melbye explained. “It’s their program. They run it. They administer it, and they just asked the county to participate, and it’s been a really good program, very successful. They’ve had a lot of new homes over there, so it was a pretty easy sell to the board to have them continue that participation.”
Melbye also presented a maintenance request for County Ditch 30 near Nesbit Township to replace a culvert and a request from County Engineer Richard Sanders to plan a public hearing to discuss the partial abandonment of County Ditch 70. Residents in the area of the proposed add-on to the abandoned section of Ditch 70 have petitioned for a hearing to further discuss the abandonment, and Sanders will work with county officials and the petitioners to set a date for the hearing.
PROFESSIONAL AUDITING SERVICE CONTRACT
An item was added to the agenda at the request of Finance Director Stacy Grover. The item was a resolution selecting Redpath and Company, Ltd. To provide professional auditing services to Polk County for fiscal years 2026 through 2028. The three-year contract would pay Repath $212,000 per year for their services, as they submitted the lowest bid during the request for proposals. The current audit provider, Hoffman, Phillipp and Martell, PLLC, submitted a bid that was significantly higher than Redpath’s, so Grover and the finance department recommended that Redpath’s bid be approved. The board voted to approve it unanimously. Grover was not surprised by the bids received and went with the provider that would give them the best service at a reasonable cost. “Based on what we historically have been paying for our audit services, I’m not surprised by the highest cost, but we’re just looking to drive the financial closeouts versus our auditors doing that for us,” said Grover.
SAND HILL RIVER WATERSHED DISTRICT TAX LEVY
April Swenby from the Sand Hill Watershed District made a presentation to the board that included providing them with the 2025 annual report and audited financial statements. The district ended 2025 with a total fund balance of $3,093,427, which was a decrease from $3,831,987. Swenby told the board that one of the causes of the decrease in the fund balance was an increase in maintenance on ditches. She mentioned that the overall numbers for 2025 were promising and hopes to keep up with projects and maintenance for 2026. “They look really good. We’ve got a lot of maintenance, a lot of ditch maintenance, a lot of project maintenance,” explained Swenby. “We have a lot of going forward with projects, teams that are evaluating potential projects and initiatives within the district for water quality, habitat, erosion control, flood damage reduction, and all the things that are important to the residents of the district.”
The board discussed three tax levy petitions brought forward by the watershed district. The first levy addresses water quality and erosion management and is set at $164,595.30, the second addresses water management and retention and is set at $164,595.30, and the third addresses studies and agency support and is set at $100,000. Swenby appreciated the board’s approval of the levies and its continued support for the watershed district over the years. “We’re really lucky to have Polk County support the watershed districts initiatives, and I think that the funding sources that we use are the best outcomes for the residents of the district,” said Swenby. “It’s a little bit of a savings for them to use these levees the way that we use them and move forward with the statute.”
The next county board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 4, at 8:00 p.m. in the county boardroom at the Polk County Government Center in Crookston.
