The Tri-County Community Corrections Board met on Monday morning inside the Polk County Justice Center.
The meeting began with Gordon Dale giving the board a review of the 2020 audited financials for Tri-County Community Corrections. Tri-County Community Corrections Executive Director Andrew Larson said the numbers look strong and where they have been in the past. “Like most organizations or companies, we are required to do an annual audit,” said Larson. “Dale was very complimentary of our record-keeping and sound business practices that we engage in. We have been very cautious of our budget and staying within the lines, and all in all, it was an excellent report.”
Larson then gave the board a brief rundown of statistical numbers in the jail. As of Monday morning, the population in the jail was 174, and the average daily population through October for the year 2021 is 174.9. The two biggest offenses remain probation and parole violations.
Larson then provided the board another update with Personal Issues the department is seeing. “This month was much better than what we’ve been previously seeing,” said Larson. “We did have a few resignations, but it was better. We would love to have a month where we don’t have any, but this was certainly better, and we don’t have as many positions to fill.” The board approved the Personal Issues unanimously.
The next item on the agenda was an internal audit report for Tri-County Community Corrections for the 3rd quarter of 2021. Larson said the numbers look strong. “It was very straightforward,” said Larson. “We are actually down a little bit on our expenditure side, and part of that has to do with the Juvenile Center closing. Again, it was a good report, and we’re right where we want to be.” The board approved the internal audit report.
The board then reviewed some changes made to a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the MN Teamsters Union. Larson explained the agreement the board reviewed, and changes made. “In addition to cost living adjustments made to the agreement, there were a few other areas which have not been modified for quite some time,” said Larson. “We increased longevity pay, and We also adjusted vacation hours so that more vacation time can be acquired for anyone who has been with us for over 16 years.”
The board approved the Collective Bargaining Agreement Unanimously. The board then approved a resolution with the Minnesota Department of Education. Tri-County Community Corrections operates an adult basic education program, and yearly is required to identify an individual with authority to assign users within the statewide data management and record-keeping system. The board approved Larson to be that individual for the upcoming year.
There were then three contract agreements for the board to approve, and Larson briefly discussed each one. “The first one was with Hildi Inc. Actuaries & Consultants to renew them as our firm we submit documentation to apart of our audit,” said Larson. “The second one was a grant agreement extension until June 30, of 2022 for the Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding amendment, and the third one was a meal price adjustment with Summit Food Service for our jail and juvenile center. Our per meal cost because of inflation will go up 4.7% this upcoming year with this adjustment.” The board approved all three contract agreements.
The meeting ended with the approval of all the October 2021 invoices. The next scheduled meeting will take place in December.
