The Polk County Commissioners met Tuesday September 24, at the Government Center.
The Agenda for the meeting and the Consent Items, which consisted of approving the Board Minutes from the September 17 and September 18 meetings, were approved.
Sam Melbye, Director of Property Records, asked the Board today to authorize Mark Landsverk, Polk County Assessor, to enter into a service contract with Vanguard Appraisals, Inc. of Cedar Rapids, IA, for six archive module processes. The cost for each archive process is $3,980.00, for a total of $23,880.00. The Board approved this motion.
The first topic for Polk County Administrator Chuck Whiting today was setting the 2025 Preliminary Levy and Setting the 2025 Budget Public Hearing Date. “The main thing today was setting the Preliminary Levy for the 2025 budget; this is a requirement to do at the end of September each year for Counties, Cities, and School Districts,” says Whiting. “The board, after two days of budget discussions last week, settled on a five percent Preliminary Levy increase; this is the maximum levy increase that can be determined for next year’s budget.”
Whiting realizes that the increase is not favorable but that there are things to take into account and time to get that number lower. “The Boards goal is to be closer to three percent; that’s kind of routine for us. We try to do that every year,” said Whiting. “The objective is to try to make the Levy as reasonable as it can be; we like to be a steady partner with our taxpayers.” The Board of Commissioners approved the Preliminary Levy for 2025. There will be a Public Hearing for the 2025 Levy on Friday, December 13, at 6:00 pm., and the Board of Commissioners will vote on the Final Levy on Tuesday, December 17, at the Board of Commissioners Meeting.
Polk County Administrator Whiting asked the Board to approve a new position for the Resource Recovery Facility. The job title is Material Recovery Facility Crew Leader. The Board approved the new position, and it will be posted internally for anyone interested.
Another request from Administrator Whiting was for approval of A Finance Director Services Agreement with Abdo Finacial Solution. Whiting feels this service can serve as a safe net, and the Board approved an Initial Assessment by Abdo. The cost for the Assessment is $21,000, and a three-person crew will be in Crookston on October 8 and 9 to conduct the assessment. Abdo offers services beyond the assessment but the Board was not ready to sign on for anything outside of the assessment at this time. The funds for this assessment will be paid through the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Acts) Fund.
