The Polk County Commissioners met on Tuesday and one of the focal points was setting the general election canvassing board meeting for November 15. Michelle Cote, Property Records Director, reported more than 200 mail or early voting ballots are being processed daily “We are working late some nights as we are super busy with the volume of absentee and mail ballots coming in, as of Monday we had over 1,900 with 14 days to go,” said Cote.
Sheriff Barb Erdman reported to the board about the change in the emergency alert system for the county, “Code Red will be changed to Everbridge after approval by the commissioners so the move will be made to the new system which is cheaper and easier to use,” said Erdman “We will ask the public will have to sign up for the new program in November and December so it will ready for the public in January.”
Enbridge has once again filed an appeal to have their property taxes lowered. “We have had tax appeals for 2013 through 2015 from Enbridge and they have now filed for two more years,” said Polk County Administrator Chuck Whiting. “The basic issue is they feel the state valuation of their property is to high, we are bystanders [in the legal process], but [should Enbridge win] we will be told to pay back the collected taxes.” The board will continue to monitor the lawsuit as they move forward with planning for the 2019 budget.
Polk County Commissioners Receive an Election Update
