County preliminary levy set to increase 4.75 for next year

Commissioners voted unanimously at their Sept. 19 meeting to increase the Rock County levy by 4.75 percent.
The 2018 preliminary levy increase of $613,010 will bring the new levy amount to $5,727,498.
“These numbers are just the taxpayers’ contribution, not the total budget,” Oldre said. “The county’s (total) budget is really $12 million.”
Commissioners had discussed a 2.55-percent increase in earlier budget sessions but settled on the higher percentage at the Tuesday meeting.
“It (the higher levy percentage) gives the maximum amount of flexibility,” said County Administrator Kyle Oldre.
 
Compensation study
The county is currently working with a Minneapolis firm on a classification and compensation study on the county’s 80-member workforce.
The last comprehensive study was completed in 1993, Oldre said.
Melvin told commissioners Tuesday she specifically looked at individual positions (not the specific person), the responsibilities and the education qualifications for specific jobs.
With the collected data, Melvin compares each position with that of other counties and municipalities to determine an equitable pay scale. She said the scale would specifically be used to determine a position’s salary or hourly wage if vacated and a replacement was hired.
Commissioners anticipate, based on the completed study (scheduled for later this fall), that the county’s current pay scales would need to increase.
The amount of the increase is unknown, and the possible percentage is built into the preliminary levy request.
 
Department budgets expand
In the meantime, department heads built salary increases into their individual budges. Increases took into account potential step increases, a 2.5-percent cost of living increase, and an additional $25 per month per employee insurance contribution.
Increases in department budgets ranged from 3.33 percent for the county administrator to 15.69 percent for data processing.
Individual contracted services increased from 2.19 percent for Extension services to 50 percent for prison care
The prisoner care budget increased an additional $50,000 for 2018 to $150,000, up from the current budget of $100,000.
Rock County contracts with Nobles County for its prison care at a rate of $55 per day per person. The additional $50,000 will add 909 days to the budget, according to Oldre
In earlier budget discussions, Sheriff Evan Verbrugge told commissioners the prisoners under Rock County’s care have stayed longer and have had more medical expenses than in past years. He doesn’t foresee these expenses decreasing.
Oldre estimates prison care for 2017 will be about $140,000, or about $40,000 over budget. The overage will be taken out of the county’s reserves.
Commissioners also increased their reserves budget.
In 2017 they earmarked $132,094 into reserves. For next year they increased the reserves amount by 111 percent or to $280,000.
Counties and municipalities set preliminary levies annually in September and finalize the percentage in December after conducting Truth in Taxation hearings with the public.
By setting a preliminary levy amount, commissioners are able to lower the percentage but cannot increase the initial percentage according to state statute.
In county state aid, Rock County received an increase in accordance to legislation passed last session. The county will receive $520,654 for 2018, a 210-percent increase over last year’s amount of $167,650.
 
Commissioners agree to
one capital expenditure
Commissioners will invest $100,000 next year to purchase and install laptop computers in each of the 12 sheriff’s department squad cars.
Rock County was one of two counties in the area that had not switched to computer-aided dispatch or CAD.
Commissioners have been in discussions with the sheriff’s office for the past two years.
CAD allows officers to access information about individuals or vehicles directly from laptop computers with secure Internet connections in their squad cars. Previously, dispatchers would relay the information to the officers over the radio.
CAD will also allow deputies to complete paperwork in their vehicles instead of returning to the Luverne station and finishing the paperwork at a desktop computer. The reports and citations are electronically downloaded and filed.
Sheriff Verbrugge said during a demonstration with Minnesota State Patrol this fall that his department can no longer give out written citations because the forms are no longer available.
“No one is making (printing) those citations because it is all electronic,” he said.
“There is a lot of wasted time (doing paperwork), we could be doing something else.”
Verbrugge estimated his 12 deputies average two to three citations per officer per shift with 10 daily reports completed.
Exact cost of installation and software were not presented. Cost of the laptop computers was estimated at $28,000.