00:00:07,270	Chaplain please OK. Fisher, thank you for allowing us the opportunity to pray tonight. And we, we’re very glad you’re here with us too, so. It’s, it’s good to be back. Thank you very much. Uh, Father, we have much to be thankful for today.

00:00:31,970	Thankful, uh, that no one was hurt yesterday during the tornadoes. Thankful for the rain, even though it was in abundance, we have to be careful sometimes when we pray for things, how much you’re going to give us. Father, thank you for your love. Thank you for your mercy.

00:00:49,270	Thank you for your Son Jesus Thank you for healing Thank you for us being here tonight. During this meeting, Father, I pray for our commissioners. I pray that you’ll give them the wisdom they need, uh, to govern this county. I pray for a peace and a bond of unity in this room and that uh we will accomplish your will for Burleigh County.

00:01:10,370	Thank you again, Father Bless our first responders and our county workers and continue to keep them safe, and we pray this in the name of your son. Amen. Please stand. and face the flag if you can. and say the Pledge of allegiance.

00:01:28,500	I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Comm. I appreciate it. OK, so I’ll call the September 15th, 2025 meeting of the County Park Board to order. First item of business is roll call of members. Comm Bakken, Comm Schwab, Comm Baim. Here. Comm Hermann. Here. Comm Woodox.

00:02:00,600	Comm Munsen here, Chair Bitner here. Next item is the approval of the agenda. A agendas in front of you. Anybody want to, uh, add or subtract anything? Hope to approve. Second. Motion 2 to approve the agenda. Any further discussion? Call the roll. Comm Schwab. Yes Comm Bam. Yes. Comm Hermann. Yes. Comm Woodcox. Yes. Comm Munsen. Yes.

00:02:22,470	Comm Bakken. Yes. Chair Bittner. Yes, motion carries. Next, consideration of July 21st, 2025 meeting minutes. Commissioners. move to approve 2nd, motion of second to approve the meeting minutes. Any further discussion? Seeing none called Comm Be? Yes. Comm Hermann? Yes. Comm Woodcoxck. Yes. Comm Munsen. Yes. Comm Bakken. Yes. Comm Schwab.

00:02:45,500	Yes Sharon Bitner. Yes, motion carries. Next item is public comment. Uh, it’s restricted to Burley County residents and landowners. There will be some time restrictions. Anybody want to offer public comment on items that are not covered under an agenda item. Any public comments for the Park board. Third and final, any comments for the Park board.

00:03:09,970	We’ll close the public comment period. Next is Kimball Bottom’s feasibility study. Who’s got that, Mr. Chair, I’m, I’m going to ask Nick Cullen to from Houston Engineering to come up and present the study. that we asked for. All right, good evening. Um Chair, members of the board, Commission, um, my name is Nick Cullen.

00:03:42,170	I’m with Houston Engineering. That is the Mica. It, it has a green light. OK. I just need to speak a little bit closer. Um I’m here to present and give you an update on the Kimb Bottoms feasibility study. and I believe you should have the entire item in your packet, the whole feasibility study.

00:04:00,730	So I’ll give you a little bit of background um we’ve had multiple challenges at Kimble Bottoms, um, for a long period of time, but specifically back in 2011 when we had our major uh flood event, there was significant erosion that occurred along this facility and, uh, created significant damage to the original boat ramp and the parking lot, and

00:04:25,230	since 2011, the Eastern Bank has continued to erode, causing the parking lot’s asphalt to fall into the river. Um, a secondary issue that’s created as well as downstream of the original boat ramp.

00:04:46,170	uh, there is an eddy formation that was created that creates a little bit of a sandbar, um just downstream and what’s what’s occurring is that that sediment is clogging up that secondary boat ramp just downstream, therefore requiring an annual dredging on your part.

00:05:01,070	Um, so the project goal was to find a feasible way to reduce that sediment buildup at the boat ramp as well as protect the bank line for or from further erosion. wanted to show this image, um, to you because I think it’s very important, um.

00:05:26,630	the Missouri River has migrated um, significantly over the past 70 years, and, um, it’s highly volatile, specifically within this area, um, so over the past 70 years, the river’s center line has shifted eastward 400 to 1200 ft, um, and since 2011, uh, the bank north of the parking lot has eroded by 150 ft So, um, protecting this bank is vital to preventing further damage and loss to the facility.

00:05:51,800	One of the first things that we did at Houston Engineering was, uh, to go out on site to the river. We hopped in our boats and we started to collect bathymetry data or the the bottom of the river, um, and we surveyed upstream and downstream, half a mile.

00:06:11,600	We took that data and we integrated it into the effective Missouri River FEMA model, and we were able to analyze existing conditions where are we seeing low velocities, where are we seeing high velocities, what can we do from a construction standpoint to increase those velocities, make it itself cleansing, um, maybe limit erosion in certain areas, so we looked at, uh, a few different alternatives.

00:06:34,500	One of the alternatives was to remove the upstream parking lot jetty that’s at the very north end of the parking lot. Um, we also looked at removing, um, the original boat ramp.

00:06:54,330	Uh, we looked at removing both of those together as well as we looked at installing a new downstream jetty from the original boat ramp kind of forcing that water training the water to continue down towards the southern boat ramp or the secondary boat ramp, um, creating higher velocities.

00:07:19,500	and what we found during the hydraulic analysis is that removing the original boat ramp was the most effective way to remove that eddy formation or not remove but reduce the eddy formation and improve those flow dynamics. Uh, I cannot say that we will eliminate the um deposition that’s occurring down at that secondary boat ramp, but we can increase the velocities and it will improve or expand your time for having to dredge at that secondary boat ramp.

00:07:42,730	and the reason for this is, if you can see my cursor on the screen. is there is significant erosion that has occurred here beyond where the original boat ramp is. and even if we were to get rid of the original boat ramp.

00:08:05,330	during higher flow events, you will still have an eddy formation, try to swirl back into that erosive, um, crescent shape area Um, so our recommendation was to limit the costs and the environmental impact. Uh, we are going to have to cut that eastern bank line back to the east, want to limit the tree impacts, um and then armor that eastern bank line to prevent further erosion.

00:08:34,500	So the first Armoine option or um is to look at the 1% annual chance flood. Uh, this is close to what we saw in 2011, but not quite the similar flow rate. In 2011 we had 151,000 CFS, uh, the 1% annual chance flood is 130,000 CFS, uh. this would protect to the top of the bank as shown in this typical section.

00:09:00,700	uh we would still have water overflowing out of the floodway into the flood plain and to the top of banks, but this would protect the entire bank from further erosion in the future, but that comes at a higher cost, lower risk, higher cost. um just to give you an idea as to what it looked like in 2011.

00:09:21,000	Here is, you can see a small portion of the parking lot, not being inundated during the 151,000 CFS, but the majority of the area is completely inundated, um, by the flood event.

00:09:44,100	So a secondary option that we looked at is what we believe the Army Corres, um, would consider their as their minimum criteria. This is called the construction reference plane, and this is protecting to a steady discharge of 35,000 CFS versus your 131,000 CFS, so significantly less rip rap, significantly less excavation that needs to be done. um but significant cost reduction too.

00:10:08,730	slightly higher risk though because they’re not protecting up to the top of the bank. Uh, so you would still leave 4 to 7 ft of the upper bank unprotected. So the item probably on most people’s mind is the opinion of probable construction costs. Option one is, uh, the annual chance flood.

00:10:36,270	We’re looking at a construction costs of 2 million plus design permitting CMS contingencies, bring it up to just over 3 million. Option two is the Army Corps Construction Reference Plane and that’s at 2.2 million, and of course you could pick anything in between those two options as well if you were wanting to increase, um, your protection or reduce your risk tolerance.

00:11:06,170	This project requires significant regulatory review. As you can see on this list, this is the permitting table that we would have to go through through the various regulating entities. specifically with like the DWR sovereign lands, no rise, floodway Review, um, Burleigh County, we’d have to go through floodplain development, stormwater management plans, uh, FEMA conditional letters of map revision, letters of map

00:11:28,730	revision, the Army Corps of Engineers, we have Section 404 and 408 permitting, um, DEQ possible 401 permitting. uh. from a design and construction standpoint. from our engineering side, we would have be able to get plans put together, bidding, final design, 9 to 12 months construction’s 3 to 6 months.

00:11:55,730	but all encompassing, taking all of the permitting into consideration, dealing with waters of the US, um, the Owahee shoreline Management Plan, we’re looking at 16 to 24 months’ worth of design and permitting altogether or all encompassing. So then we started to look at potential funding opportunities.

00:12:17,730	The first one we looked at was the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District. They have a max grant of $50,000. Um, this is a grant that is reviewed biannually. It’s a 3 year completion, uh a presentation or is strongly encouraged if you are requesting more than the 25,000 from the Garrison diver garrison diversion.

00:12:41,700	um, the North Dakota State Water Commission, their bank stabilization fund you can get a cash share of up to 50%, um, but there is a benefit cost analysis that is required to go after that. Uh, the North Dakota Outdoor Heritage Fund is a 25% match required.

00:13:00,430	uh, but again, a presentation to the committee to the committee is strongly encouraged for that money. And then the North Dakota Game and Fish and the Army Corps of Engineers. This is a case by case, um, funding source it is unlikely that they will provide funding.

00:13:21,330	The Army Corps lease agreement with the Park Board specifically states that, um, they are not responsible for ONM, so we would have to, I’d still ask, see what they’re willing to fund. but it’s just unlikely. So that’s why it’s stated. So in summary, um, we’re just looking at solving the erosion along the eastern bank line, one of the um.

00:13:43,270	increase those flow velocities we want to be able to get that secondary boat ramp from having to do as often dredging, um. the solution is to remove that original boat ramp and armor that eastern bank line.

00:14:07,270	and uh the park board be it, be it at this meeting or another meeting, um, decide between which, uh, option they want to pursue, be it option 1, option 2, or something in between, uh, but there is an $800,000 difference there and varying risks. uh and again, the timeline is about 16 to 24 months. So the next steps at this point would. be getting a decision on the our marine solution.

00:14:28,630	uh, starting on the preliminary design and then pursuing grants. That’s my contact information and I’ll stand for any questions that you might have. Comm, any questions for Nick Mr. Chair, Comm, if I can, I wanted Nick to present this tonight just so that we have the information to consider.

00:14:58,430	I don’t expect a decision or any very much conversation tonight. um, this is a, uh concern of the core that they’ve been pushing us pretty hard on over the last couple of years. Uh, their letters are becoming increasing increasingly, uh.

00:15:19,270	mandatory rather than will you please, it’s now, when are you going to get this fixed? Um, so just, again, I would like this presentation for your knowledge, uh, and, uh, I think we should put this back on the, the next part board meeting and uh have a much more in-depth conversation about it. So, thank you, Nick. You’re welcome. OK, unless there’s any other, um uh, comments or whatnot.

00:15:44,100	I think we’ll go ahead and uh, move that to the next agenda for the, uh, for the County Park Board. It’s a little too much to get into this evening, I think. Absolutely. That’s why I, I didn’t want a lot of conversation just. Yeah. Here’s Reed, Read it.

00:16:02,500	Um, the, the lease agreement that’s, that’s in the packet now. This is the current and complete. Correct, lease agreement. Yep. OK. That’s what the auditor’s office found for me as the most current lease agreement that we have, yes. OK. Thank you.

00:16:19,530	Um, unless, so if there’s no other questions, we’ll just move that to the, to the next agenda, and then we’ll move on. Any other business for the Burleigh County Park Board at this time. That was easy, seeing none will Adjourn the Burleigh County Port Board. You thought that was easy. Um yeah.

00:16:49,170	Thank you, gentleman OK, so I’ll call the September 15th, 2025 meeting of the Burleigh County Commission to order first item is roll call of members Comm Woodcock Comm Munsen, here, Comm Bakken, here, Comm Schwab, here, Chair Bitner, here. Next is the approval of the agenda, um, any addition subtractions or any changes, Comm? Otherwise move to approve. Second, Motion second to approve the agenda.

00:17:16,370	Any further discussion? Call the roll Comm Munsen, Comm Bakken, Mr. Schwab. Yes. Mr. Woodcoxck? Yes. Chair Bitner. Yes, motion carries. Next, consideration of September 3, 2025, meeting minutes and bills. Mr. Chair, I had an opportunity to uh review and approve all of the bills today.

00:17:39,630	So I would move to approve the minutes and the bills from September 3rd. The motion 2 to approve the September 3rd Minutes and bills. Any further discussion? Call the roll. Comm Bakken. Yes. Comm Schwab? Yes. Comm Woodcock? Yes. Comm Munsen? Yes. Chair Bitner? Yes, Motion carries. Next item number 5, public comment. This is restricted to Burleigh County residents and landowners.

00:18:00,630	There’s a time limit. Does anybody wish to speak on an item that’s not on your regular agenda for tonight. This is a public comment period. Does anybody wish to speak? Yeah, so I wanted to speak on, uh, you know, name for the record, please. Uh, my name’s Travis Jensen, um, ETA resident.

00:18:25,500	Um, I wanted to kind of create some discussion with public health. I know many of you on the board are familiar with, uh this whole public health between the county and the city.

00:18:42,800	um, but it doesn’t seem to be getting a lot of discussion, as you guys are aware, it is your obligation to provide public health, um, but it seems like we have kind of relinquished control to the city. and the county is simply just cutting a check at this point. Um, we have a public health officer that doesn’t even have to answer to you guys, and she has made that very clear publicly.

00:19:00,730	um, that if she wants something she goes to the city of Bismarck, and, and she pretty much um gets what she wants Um, I did have Comm Munsen, um, supplied me with some information in regards to public health. after going through it, I have more questions than answers.

00:19:18,870	Um, one thing I do want to point out is we had recently a uh discussion at this, uh, podium about bedbugs. Nobody really knew who was. who was the authority for bedbugs. um, through that information that Comm Munsen supplied me.

00:19:40,870	It says directly in there that our public health is responsible for bedbugs and cockroaches. That leads me to the next point is nobody really knows what public health actually does. We know how much we pay for it. but when it gets down to it, nobody really knows what public health does.

00:20:03,730	And that’s a concern to me as a resident and a taxpayer is that we’re just simply cutting a check in public health is, is led by non-elected official. but yet we’ve completely given that individual the reins to do whatever she pleases. That’s concerning, um.

00:20:28,270	I guess one solution I would offer up is I think like we do with planning and zoning and some of our other uh some of our other, uh subcommittees is we have a board, you know, we have a board comprised of uh. residents that, that provides some, some input and some oversight. but I would really strongly recommend that this board takes control of public health.

00:20:49,100	I, I think that is not only the fiscal, the fiscally responsible thing to the residents. but I think it is, you know, it’s your job. and ultimately, if you guys are just willing to hand the reins over, um I think, you know what, at the planning and zoning, um, at the last Burleigh County Planning and zoning meeting, you know, Mitch expressed some concerns about if this plan

00:21:08,500	with the ETA goes through. that there’s some concerns about staffing with the added properties to, to the workload. I mean, if we’re just going to give Bismarck control of things the county is supposed to oversee? Why don’t we just hand the reins to that too.

00:21:25,430	You know, we’ll just roll Mitch’s department into the city and we’ll just pay them a user fee. At some point, you guys have to put your foot down with this whole public health thing. I know a lot of people are probably scratching their heads wondering why I’m so up in arms about this.

00:21:40,800	But when the new building was built, nobody from the county was there. They built a new building and they sent Hunky up here the strong arm you guys end up paying for it.

00:21:59,170	You, I mean, you put up a little fight, but ultimately you guys just gave in and you cut a check Um Comm Schwab has asked, uh, wait, wait, hang on, Travis. OK. That would be a no OK. We did not Yeah, that’s, that’s not what happened. OK. Well, we’ll, I mean, we’ll agree to disagree, but, um, that’s fine. I’m gonna continue. We’ll go ahead, OK.

00:22:18,900	So Comm Schwab has asked questions in the past about what the services are. and I feel that public health has, has not taken that opportunity to explain that. because they don’t have to They don’t have to explain anything to you guys because they don’t answer to you. That’s concerning. I, and I would ask that this Commission address that.

00:22:40,230	It is your responsibility to provide public health. That’s I appreciate your concern. I can assure you that we are, um, we are addressing that. Travis. Um, I, I think if you stick around for the budget hearing, you’re probably going to hear more about that. Anybody else wish to speak public comment. OK, that was the 3rd call.

00:23:02,630	Anybody else wish to speak? 4th. OK, I’m gonna close the public hearing, I mean the public comment period. Thanks, Travis. I appreciate that. Um, next is a consent agenda of Commissioners, there’s abatements, raffle permits, the second access permit.

00:23:22,900	Anybody want to pull anything off that for discussion? Move to approve, second motion of second to approve the consent agenda any further discussion, call the rule. Comm Schwab. Comm Woodcoxck. Yes. Comm Munsen. Yes. Comm Bakken. Yes. Chair Bittner, yes, motion carries. Next is continued ETA discussion. I think that’s going to be a regular thing moving forward. Um.

00:23:51,730	my understanding is we have scheduled another, uh, city, county Joint Committee, Joint Commission meeting for Wednesday at 5 o’clock. Does that sound right? Right, the 17th. Yep. The 17th here in this room at 5 o’clock. Um, I would encourage anybody that has an interest in that to attend, um. that would be the, the continuation of the city county Joint Commissions.

00:24:11,500	Comm Bakken, did you want to add anything from the last, uh, Well, a couple of the actions that, uh, we pushed forward last time was um my intent is I hope we can get to the point where the city is comfortable with us managing the ETA, um, in which case we would have the ability to have the ETA dissolved but if the city has

00:24:36,530	the comfort, then knowing that we’re managing it for their future growth as well as for our own um citizens’ concerns, then that makes it a seamless process as the city of Bismarckros. We all know the cities grow and and Bismarck has to grow.

00:25:00,100	Um but that management of that space, the ETA until which time the city grows, um, that’s our responsibility, and we need to make sure that that’s in the best interest of those residents, and they’re not burdened by what could happen in 50 years. We, we need to make sure that we’re doing that.

00:25:14,100	So that, that was one of the things that I looked for, and I, I think there would be a lot of value standing up a subcommittee, just a working group to work through because I think we’re gonna get that rest of that map that the, the city

00:25:27,970	rolled out a little bit of, um, in the last joint meeting, uh, we’re gonna get a little bit bigger piece of that, but there are so many internal pieces and I know Mitch Flanagan has had some concerns with certain things, and I think that’s an opportunity for staffs and some, uh, people to get involved with

00:25:46,630	shaping what that conversation looks like. So that’s, uh, part of the discussion on Wednesday. OK. Uh today we did receive, you and I received a, uh, email from Mitch regarding some additional concerns, not all the concerns that had expressed in the past, but um would you say you forward that to the rest of the commission and uh

00:26:14,800	for information purposes since I think it’d be appropriate for commissioners to get that. I agree. I’ll go ahead and forward that as we speak. Uh, OK, gentleman, that, that should be in your inbox right about now.

00:26:58,100	Anything else with the ETA discussion? Have we, um, have we proposed, does anybody know? Have we proposed any map of our own? Not at this point. And, uh, that would be part of what I think an internal working group would look like or look at is taking what the city proposes and then having the opportunity, hey, I just showed up. Yeah. Um it’s good technology.

00:27:17,800	And, uh you know, what we’re comfortable with, because that’s the other part of this too is the city doesn’t get to unload areas that they maybe have issues with, and part of the concerns with the ETA, especially for the county side, has been concerns mostly about water conveyance and some of the issues that we’ve had to

00:27:37,870	clean up, uh, what Burleigh County has had to, to incur for cost, so that overall management piece and, and having those discussions, I think is the place for the working group so that they can bring something back to us. Absolutely.

00:27:57,730	I think that, uh, Mitch, you think you’d have some time to kind of look at a map from the Burleig County’s perspect perspective. I’m sorry, I didn’t hear the question, Comm. Would you think you have time to put together a map that would be more um aligned with our perspective on the ETA. Yeah Yeah OK.

00:28:20,270	I mean, currently, I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you why I’m asking. Well, you know why I’m asking because, you know, I, I brought up at the last city county, uh, meeting that um we had at the time, I said we had $5,590,000 worth of costs, um, um. involved with fixing some drainage problems. Well, the highway department, and thank you, Marcus.

00:28:43,270	um, provided a, a more clear list. of what those projects were and what those costs were and it was in excess of 5.6 million, just so you know we’re, it’s been kind of ratcheted up.

00:29:02,430	and, and what um, what this kind of involves is uh they were talking uh only, now I know we have a lot of subdivisions, something on the order of 350 subdivisions in the county? Uh, the map, the proposed, uh, growth area of the, of Bismarck shows in the area that they want to dissolve, the ETA, they want to dissolve. It shows 292 subdivisions.

00:29:19,700	Right, and that’s certainly not all of them, but that that’s the point I was making, and then there’s 4,529 parcels, 3,739 primary structures with 9/11 addresses, uh, structures in the special flood hazard area. There’s 1,355 of those.

00:29:45,800	and structures in the 500 year flood plain, there’s 185 properties, and that speaks to your comment, Comm Bakke, about the, um, you know, concerns in the flood areas and whatnot because that’s a significant amount of properties that have already been involved, and I’m certain that us taking that over would improve the city’s community rating system, but it sure put a lot of work on us. Right.

00:30:04,800	Well, you know, there’s many things involved that would double the amount of uh properties that would be within flood hazard areas that we’d have to, you know, regulate. I mean it’s also going to affect our CRS application, which was only what we had before this. Um-hum.

00:30:21,000	Uh, we’d have to stop all a full stop to that application because now we’re we’re gonna have to include all that in part of the cab visits and and information, so um how far along in the process are we on that? Uh, we’re supposed to get a letter in October.

00:30:35,330	Um, they, we had a meeting in August and, uh, we, there are things we have to do to get caught up for it. So, but it’s, they reviewed only what we have at that time. Sure. So if this falls into our ordinance or, or jurisdiction, then it’s going to be a basically start over. Well they’d have to look, we’d have to review all that.

00:30:56,170	We’d have to review the, you know, any violations, any existing properties, what kind of permits or outstanding there and how, you know, it would have effect on that calism. So it’s, it would double our, uh, the properties are in the, the special flood hazard areas for us.

00:31:15,370	OK, so what’s your thoughts about kind of working together with other staff, and, um, working together with the city on on this. What do you think on that You, you know, I, I I’m fine with the public hearings, but I think we’re kind of we’re, we’re going ahead of the cart here with this on a lot of, a lot of things.

00:31:30,230	I think that we should pull back in and try to get some kind of task force, a planning task force on both sides of the aisle here to see if we can determine um what would be good for Burle County and would be good for the city.

00:31:47,430	Obviously for the city, they’ve already brought, they’ve already mapped it out, but do we want to take some of that property? Do we want to be the responsible holder of, of doing all the planning and the zoning and the permitting and the flood recovations and the stormmoor management issues and the highway maintenance and all this stuff that on property that’s already all built out.

00:32:05,600	It’s all done and it’s been there for 40, 50 years. So you’re dealing with some of the issues of that And I do we want to take that on? Or should we? I mean, if, if we’re, we’re asking the property owners in the ETA are asking us to do something about it, but that

00:32:25,270	you know, are we taking all of this off. So I, I think it focus group on both sides, and we can certainly put something together. and well, we’ve got a meeting coming up on Wednesday. There’s not enough time for any sort of focus group right now. Think about that and we’ll talk about it another time. OK.

00:32:41,330	OK? Thanks, Mitch. Appreciate it. OK. Anybody else have any information they want to discuss on the ETA? All right, we’ll move on planning, huh? Planning Director Flanagan. Hey, you want to come back up here? Leder to the township officers. Long time no seet. Comm, Mr. Chair.

00:33:15,000	Uh, this is, uh, from the Senate Bill 2027 that was approved in August 1st. Um, it was uh the, uh, basically it is was created for a lack of clarity and tracking mechanisms to define who was responsible for the enforcement of floodplain regulations in the county. This is throughout the whole state too. Um, it causes North Dakotans sometimes to pay and carry invalid NFIP insurance policies.

00:33:43,800	2027 provides the means to establish and identify which public entity has the floodplain management responsibilities. Under this bill, flood plain regulations automatically default to the county. Uh, if unless an organized township wants to reclaim that authority by they have to create a resolution and adopt floodplain regulations.

00:34:05,170	So all the townships that are organized right now, not under our our jurisdictions would either have to adopt floodplain regulations by resolution and sent it to the county auditor. And if they don’t want to do that, then it will automatically default to us.

00:34:22,230	And every year we have to send this information to the DWR. OK, so, so has this letter been sent Not yet. The draft, I, I created a draft letter in your packets. The auditor, that, if you approved the draft, then the auditor would send that out to all the township. uh supervisors and they can determine what they want to do.

00:34:45,500	I, we haven’t heard anything from any of the townships, so and you’re talking about the draft on page 88. Yes. Um-hum. Good. OK, Comm, have you had a chance to review that letter? I have. Uh, I would move to approve the draft.

00:35:06,000	Second, OK, motion a 2nd to approve the draft for submission to the townships. Any further discussion? Caro Comm Woodcox, Comm Munsen? Yes. Comm Bakken? Yes. Ker Schwab? Yes. Chair Bittner? Yes, motion carries. Thank you. Thank you. Um, Comm Ro.

00:35:29,170	Mitch, the one thing I would suggest in that, um, so are you gonna send in conjunction with the letter, the Senate bill, background information with that. Yeah. So that they know the full picture. It’d be Mark’s job to send it. We, we’d be sending that along with that letter so they know the, the backdrop and the reason why they’re getting the letter.

00:35:44,000	Yeah, I could probably work with Mitch and draft something that can go along with it. Yeah, just like the information we’ve got in our packet, so just the history of the Senate bill. Thank you. And so I guess my question was gonna be, what’s the deadline on that, but it sounds like it’s. March of next year.

00:36:00,100	They have a deadline of March 31st next year to either have the resolution or it will automatically default to us. OK, so it’s in their best interest to get this handled. Um-hum. They want to do their floodplains, yeah. OK. All right. Thank you, Mitch. Um-hum. County Engineer Hall, accepting plaited right of way. Welcome, Marcus. Good evening, Commissioners.

00:36:20,900	Uh, Burleigh County is required to accept a right away, and sometimes it’s on behalf of the township, sometimes behalf of Bur Burleigh County, uh, that is shown on Plats, uh, in the city of Bismarck, Burleigh County, or, uh, City of Lincoln. Uh, we have a plat, uh, it’s included in your packet.

00:36:37,630	Uh, this plat is in the city of Lincoln. It’s went through the process, uh, was approved at the City of Lincoln, uh, the highlighted areas in y el low are, uh, the right of way that is going to be accepted, uh, for, um, Burleigh County. Uh, there’s a resolution in your packet.

00:36:55,100	I would recommend approval of the resolution. Move to approve. Second No, a motion is second to approve Marcus. That that means that we’re going to be maintaining that Comm, yeah, those would be county roads on this particular situation, so. because this one is 80th Street. So, and the other one is 22nd, I believe, yeah, so.

00:37:21,700	OK Um all right, I’m OK with that. Any further discussion? Call the rope. Comm Munsen. Yes. Comm Bakken? Yes. Comm Schwab? Yes. Comm Woodcock. Yes. Chair Bitner. Yes, motion. Thank you. Sheriff Lieben I’d go to the next page to find out what you’re back to Blue Grant program. Welcome, Kelly. Good evening, Mr.

00:37:47,230	Chair, Commissioners, um, I come back before you if you remember, uh, legislative session 2023, there was a back to Blue Grant program, um, from Representative Steve Vetter out of the Grand Forks area. Uh, that money was awarded to law enforcement agencies across the state um to help with recruitment and retention.

00:38:15,070	Uh, we administered that program in 2023 throughout, I think we made the last payment late 2024. Uh, this legislative session in 2025 representative Vetter brought back in House Bill 1193, a very similar bill to what was in the 23 session. um, where the money would again be given for recruitment and retention for correctional officers and, uh, licensed law enforcement.

00:38:41,000	Um, initially they had left detention out of this. Uh, we worked very hard through the sheriff’s association, um, to get that put back in there. Uh, the one thing they, uh, did change this session was they won’t allow us to use it for recruitment. It’s only for retention.

00:39:00,600	Um, the good thing is this is entirely state dollars. Um, Burleigh County doesn’t contribute any money. And if you recall last time I came before you, I’d asked for a little bit of unused celery to if we had to pay out all of the bonuses, ultimately we didn’t because of some of the resignations or terminations.

00:39:22,170	And so in the last go round, that was allate money also. Um, our department would be awarded 180 000 $9.70 to administer for retention. Um, again, it’s not any of the counties’s match to this. I did speak with Comm Woodcock on this.

00:39:44,900	Um, I think it’s a good idea. I, uh, it does help us, um, you know, you could ask me the question, does it make a difference? And I, I tell you, we’re still going to have attrition. Um, I don’t think we’re talking significant money, um, when you divide it up.

00:40:05,630	Basically, it’s going to be divided up among 80 detention officer positions and 53 deputy sheriff, uh, as you recall last time, I didn’t participate. I don’t think it’s designed for, uh, my position being an elected official, so I opted out of it. Uh, basically we were, we’d be looking at a, uh, I’ve divided it up on what it is, um, per position.

00:40:26,800	Ultimately, we would adjust that based on vacancies. So once we get this grant, uh, we would implement a one-year retention policy and any of the deputy sheriffs or detention that remained for one year would be eligible for that payout.

00:40:49,270	OK, so that’s a one time thing or you spread that out over a couple of years or were you. Uh, Mr. Chair, Commissioners, it’s a one-time thing because we have a deadline to pay it out.

00:41:09,530	And so, you know, different, uh, organizations have handled it differently, um, like some of the agencies have paid it out right, I’m talking last time cause it just getting started again this time. Some paid it out right away. I didn’t think that really helped with recruitment or re 10 tion at that point just to pay it out.

00:41:28,900	That’s why I think we put that one year, um, deadline on where basically once we say the program’s in effect, I notify the staff that one year from this date, we will pay out the, uh, that amount of money to those eligible positions. Mr. Chair, I, I would move that we accept this grant of $180,0006.79. So I. $180,009.70. I’m sorry. We’ll return the $3. No, we won’t. No, we won’t. We, we won’t return it.

00:41:58,170	No, we’ll make that correction. Every $3 helps discussion. overall Krishna Bakke. Yes. Comm Schwab? Yes. Comm Woodcoxox? Yes. Comm Munsen? Yes. Chair Bittner? Yes, Motion carries. Thank you. Thank you, Kyle. Next, Comm Bun Munsen, uh, veterans monument Flagpole.

00:42:25,900	And we have Chris in front of us to give us the, the briefing. OK. I want to give your name for the record, please. Chair Bittner and Commissioners. My name is Chris Berghund. I’m the deputy Veteran Service Officer for the Burleigh County Veteran Service Office. Good evening.

00:42:49,430	Uh Back in 2021, the process began to create a military and veterans monument to place on the grounds of the Burleigh County Courthouse. that was completed. The monument was placed and dedicated August 2022. um it’s had very positive response. There was over 200 people there for the dedication in August. Um that was all done by donations. Spring of this year, the process began to add uh flagpole, and United States flag to that monument display.

00:43:20,900	um that would not only add to the look of the monument, but also give Burleigh County a visible US flag. Excuse me, on the grounds of the courthouse. um there is leftover donations from the original monument that can be put forward towards that purchase, but there would need to be some additional funds.

00:43:50,800	approved to complete that uh process so we can get it ordered, um, and hopefully done this year, maybe by Veterans Day. so it would 25 ft pole, I believe you have. um estimate and the flagpole information in your packets. With that, I stand for questions.

00:44:18,000	Yeah, I don’t see anything in the, um, in the packet for electrical for lighting? Is that. There is not in this point. OK. Mr. Chair. Comm what? Uh, the North Dakota flag, would that fly underneath the US flag. normally. Chair Bittner, Comm Woodcoox, the, the flagpole is big enough. Big enough for two flags to fly. OK Mr. Buck.

00:44:49,530	Um, so has the discussion been taken up about getting electrical service there for um, that or would it be a solar um on top of the flagpole so that it’s lit, or would that be taken down every day or? Uh, Chair Bittner, Comm Buck, and that was not part of the estimate, that has not been

00:45:13,000	part of what has been done, what was started by the former director, uh, last spring, lighting was not part of this. That would be a different project.

00:45:32,800	It currently what, um, we have a light pole that’s on the north northwest end of the, of the building, and I don’t believe there’s lights there, so they’re putting the flag up and taking it down everyday, I believe. Mr.

00:45:50,970	Chair, and, and there is uh an option that we can provide that has a solar-powered light that would fit on top of the flagpole, so you would have light, uh, with that, um, personally, I would donate that if that’s what it takes to get that part of the project going until we can actually put lights on it if we wanted to put others, right? So it, it would mount on the top and then shine down. Yep, mounts on top of the flagpole. I did one, very similar, uh, to the, uh, Optimus Park.

00:46:09,000	uh, and we’re at year 9. since we put that up and that thing is running just fine. It’s just like putting up a fur a fencer. Correct. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I, I have no, I have no problem.

00:46:26,270	I have, I have battery, uh, solar powered lights on my, my flagpole at home, so I understand that that’s not a problem. but I think we should go that route. Yes, and I appreciate your generosity and if you want any of us others to, uh, join you in that, I’d be happy to.

00:46:47,700	We’ll get it taken care of, but I would move to approve the, the project, uh, for the flagpole and the labor for the installation, uh, utilizing the $4,514 available in the reserve in the uh donated funds, uh, my question would be the 11:28, 20 is the commission, uh, thinking they would rather have that come out of the General Reserve Fund, or is there enough money left in the courthouse maintenance fund.

00:47:10,500	That was my other question was, do we have courthouse funds for that. My understanding is we do have um I guess I’m not familiar with the amount of money in that fund today, and I don’t know that Lee’s had any chance to look at that. So I don’t have any problem with that. If you’ve, you know, talked to somebody about it.

00:47:28,630	I, I think if the funding is there, we’re kind of wrapping up our most of our projects Welcome Chair Bitner, Comm Munsen, um, due to another project that I was helping on the courthouse for Exterior maintenance, dealing with concrete. I had inquired on what the balance was in in the outside maintenance fund, and there would be adequate funding for this project also.

00:47:59,100	would you be comfortable with the funds coming out of that fund for Yes, I would. I, I had a discussion with Lee, uh, with the balance of the fund. OK. To make, to make it the rest of the year, and I’d be very comfortable with that. OK, thanks, Trent. I appreciate you taking the time.

00:48:15,800	You want to amend your motion? So I will, yeah, I will finish that motion by uh utilizing $1,128.20 from the, uh, outdoor courthouse maintenance. Yeah, I’m OK with that. Anybody else have any further comments? Call the rule. Here’s your Schwab. Yes. Comm Woodcocks? Yes. Comm Munsen? Yes. Comm Bakken? Yes. Chair Bitner? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Thank you.

00:48:40,100	Um, you’re gonna follow up on, yep No. To get that light up. Good. Good. OK. Yeah, it’s best if it happens at the same time, right? Yep. OK. OK, next under me, um, 3 items, uh, discussion of auditors salary in the past here when we were having discussions about the duties of the auditor’s office.

00:49:02,100	We had discussions of what the salary was going to be for the auditor treasurer under the current uh duties and responsibilities. Um, I don’t have any particular thoughts in mind, however, the duties have changed substantially, so Comm, um, I think a little bit of conversation might be in order

00:49:22,330	on that. This will be, this, this would be for the 2026 budget, right? Because that. Um, this, this would affect the 2026 budget, right. And so that’s probably why we’re, you know. Not, it won’t do anything this year. No.

00:49:44,730	Um, any decisions we make, um, on, on the auditor’s salary will not impact the current term of the auditor. So it would be for anybody that gets elected to that position. after the next election and about the only thing I, I looked at is um what’s the statutory minimum that auditors get paid, and there’s a section in the North Dakota Century Code that says

00:50:07,170	um what uh what the statutory minimum is, and then there’s a thing for county based on size, that based on your size for every 1000 citizens, there’s a certain increase until you get to a you know, a number that reflects the um uh.

00:50:27,970	population and then I had a conversation with State’s attorney lawyer and and she recommended, and I thank you that um we probably would, would start with a level that had a path for increasing the salary based on completing the the necessary training, the courses, you know, the election stuff, the, the, you know, whatever training is available through North Dakota

00:50:48,470	Association of Counties and what have you. So those things that kind of give the county a better idea that the training has been accomplished, then you, you know, deserve a, um, you know.

00:51:10,700	more salary, I guess So, um, I don’t recall the numbers, but I think in the past the HR director had provided information for um Auditors’ salaries around the state. I just didn’t have a chance to go back through 4,282 emails to, to look for that. um and so if, you know, if Comm would go.

00:51:33,630	Should this discussion be held next year, the budget cycle cause it won’t affect, we’re not going to affect the 2026 expenditures, no, it’s, it’s going to affect um. When will it take effect soon as. It’ll take effect as soon as somebody, um, like in January when somebody decides that they can start, uh, the election is until a year from then, a year from there election would be November.

00:51:50,230	Of next year, next year. Right. So you start running. Yeah, you start collecting signatures in January. Since January. Yes. For June and then November elections. Right. So there’s decision needs to be made. prior to January. So anybody that’s deciding to run knows what the salary for the job’s going to be. Correct.

00:52:10,970	I think that’s the most. I think that’s the most important part of this is, yes, there’s a month’s worth of budget to be concerned with, but I think the hosting of that salary for the person choosing to run for the auditor is something we have to have that’s, that’s determined right there so we don’t wanna kick it

00:52:28,170	on down the road, you know. My question would be, sorry, Mr. Chair, if I may. No, go ahead. My question would be for state’s attorney lawyer. So auditor Swanskowski, auditor treasurer Swanskowski, when he took over office. his duty started later than when we were sworn in in November. because of the election cycle.

00:52:52,700	So when is the effective date of the auditors start. So, by statute, um, the auditor has a start date and the treasurer has a start date. I believe the auditor’s April 1st and the treasurer is May 1st and with the consolidation of those positions, um, the county chose April 1st for that person to

00:53:11,100	take office. So now that we’ve split them again, it would be by statute with the auditor, it’s April 1st. So they wouldn’t take over in November. So. No. But they, we still need to establish the wage Correct? That way if somebody is interested in running for the position, they’d have to start that or think about that

00:53:26,900	starting in January, but the position wouldn’t, uh, they wouldn’t take that office until April 1st of 2027. So it wouldn’t affect 26’s budget. Correct. Yeah. Well, the only point is that it’ll affects anybody that’s going to run for it. Correct. Right.

00:53:45,000	That I, that I think is totally fair that people need to know what what salary for the position will be. I wonder, um, Pam, do you have any input, any thoughts on that? Sorry to put you on the spot like that cause.

00:54:08,000	I didn’t think to call you and warn you Chair Bittner, Commissioners, um, Julie’s right, April 1st is when the new salary would take place. We can’t do anything prior to that, um, and we would have to look at the job descriptions and that’s what we need to do going forward. We don’t need to do it right now because we have them split.

00:54:26,630	I’m still waiting for the auditor’s job description to be approved so that I can give it to the auditor. from the separation that we did in July Um, so we have to do that and then we’ll have to. put them through a ranking system, but I think we have to pull the elected officials out of our pay grade and pay sta structure.

00:54:42,170	I don’t think they can be in this, should be in this structure if we’re going to be negotiating rates for them. So, um, if we move this to the agenda for the next meeting, can you, um, kind of give us an idea of what the salaries and and whatnot are, and then I didn’t see anything on the

00:55:01,430	agenda for the job description approval. Nope, that was emailed, I think a month and a half ago to the commission. I was looking for input and I never received any.

00:55:21,730	So I will email it out or I can bring it to the next job, our next meeting, and I can also bring some data reemail that so everybody has a chance to review it because it’s already it’s way back there already. Um. So. OK. And then just cautionary, any input that she’s looking for should be done at an open meeting, not through email. Thank you. That makes sense. Um, but anyway, everybody needs to know what, what she’s proposing and.

00:55:40,730	and whatnot. OK, so we’ll put that on the agenda for the next regular countycom Commission meeting, and we’ll look for information. Yeah. Thanks, Pam. Appreciate it. Next, uh, item on the agenda. kind of along the same lines, uh, North Dakota Department of Labor number NDR-42466.

00:56:11,900	um, there was a complaint filed with it’s a human rights complaint filed Biner versus Burle County Auditor treasurer. and, uh, the reason it’s on the agenda is, is because I had gotten a series of emails um, from the North Dakota Department of Labor asking for the county’s position on one item.

00:56:34,270	and that item was, um, as the employer, or we interested or not in um mediation. When I responded to the North Dakota Department of Labor, I said, as far as I’m concerned, as as a Comm, as far as I’m concerned because the my portfolios at the time, and one of them still is.

00:56:54,070	I just said, I think it’s up to the parties involved to make that decision. And so for me to answer the question from the North Dakota Department of Labor.

00:57:06,470	I needed to put it on the agenda for a commission decision on whether you want to do that, and I don’t know if um Pam wants to put any input in on that prior to. making that decision, that’s up to her.

00:57:29,730	Um, what my understanding is, if we choose mediation that there would, there would be mediation involving North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights and um if we chose not to do mediation, my understanding is that they will just close the case. With no decision at all? Right. That doesn’t make sense. Uh, that was my understanding. um that’s way back there And so, um, we want to get this solved.

00:57:52,330	We don’t want to just let it die and say we didn’t do anything, so. Right. I would certainly, uh like to have mediation happen and we get a decision and go from there. I don’t know if either party doesn’t want to do mediation, then. then I don’t have to get a lawyer to decide what happens then. Right.

00:58:17,730	I, I haven’t asked the, um, Pam, do you have any opinion? Get back on the hot seat, huh is that correct what I pretty much laid out. Um, Chair Bitner, Comm, this is kind of an awkward position for me, um, because my last name is on that complaint, but I’m all, it’s as the HR director.

00:58:35,370	It is not as me personally Um mediation, I’m not sure if there can even be mediation just because of the special circumstances of the complaint. Uh, my understanding from dealing with several other complaints that were employee-based, um if they don’t get a response from the employer.

00:58:59,100	or the other party, then what will happen is they’ll review the evidence that they do have and make a decision accordingly. So I’m not sure if they’ll drop the case, but I’m not sure if there’s really anything that can be done either. OK there will be a, there will be a decision. If we don’t do anything they review the, the evidence and go from there.

00:59:18,170	The Department of Labor will have to make a decision. Yes, they will have to make a decision. Yeah, whether that’s we close the case because there’s nothing we can do and you have chosen not to mediate whatever that is Julie have any influence? I was going to ask you. State’s attorney lawyer has any input.

00:59:43,330	No OK I guess it’s fair to ask if the auditor has any input on that. Thank you. Not at this time Sure. Well, Commissioners, the question is, do, do we as the employer want to request mediation or not.

01:00:03,600	and I, I personally at the time didn’t think that mediation was going to do much Um. and I felt it was up to the parties like I said, so. I’m. flexible, Mr. Chair, um, if I can, my input would be we have an employee that is looking to us to protect that employee and I think it is in our best interest to do mediation.

01:00:26,530	to make sure we are A proving to that employee that we care about them. It doesn’t matter who that employee is. but I think it’s our job to be involved to make sure that this case is resolved in the best way it can be. Good When you, Mr. Chair, when you mentioned required or requested.

01:00:47,530	There’s a difference. Do we require mediation or are we just request that they do mediation. So that’s entirely different. That’s two different. I don’t know that we can require mediation.

01:01:10,870	No, just from what I remember, it was, it was a request of uh of um do we want to, do we wanna request, I’m gonna find it. It’s gonna take a while Chair, I would concur with, uh, Comm Munsen, just, you know. Daylight’s the best, uh best, uh, antiseptic, so OK.

01:01:34,430	It says we, yeah, I, I don’t, I don’t have any I just, you know, I just didn’t think that, you know, I, I thought it would be, I thought it should be up to the parties involved, but if this, if this means looking out for the interests of an employee. I believe we should do that. So we received your email Are you accepting or rejecting of mediation on behalf of Burleigh County.

01:01:50,800	As part of the process, our department needs a formal response from Burleigh County, the charging party’s employer. So that’s why it’s here. So if they want a formal response, then that would be in the form of a motion, I’m guessing. Correct. That’s where I’m at. So.

01:02:08,070	Cause I, I, you know, as, as the chair, you don’t speak for the commission on something that you have not decided as a commission. So, so I would make a motion to accept the mediation. on the Department of Labor’s behalf. 2nd 2nd. OK. Yeah, motion the second and the 3rd. Any further discussion? Seeing none called the rule. Comm Woodcock, yes, Comm Munsen.

01:02:29,230	Yes. Comm Bakken? Yes. Comm Schwab. Yes. Chair Bitner. Yes, motion carries. Um well, we’re gonna stop right there cause we’re a couple of minutes late Um we’ve got property tax and sales tax home rule charter amendment, and then other business left to go, um.

01:02:54,370	that went a little longer than I thought at 6:00 p.m., uh, the final budget public hearing. um, is now open um. and it’s for the purpose of discussion on the proposed budget as published in adoption of the final budget for the year ending on December 31st, 2026.

01:03:16,730	Any taxpayer who may appear shall be heard in favor of or against any proposed expenditures or tax levies. When the hearing shall be concluded, the board shall adopt such estimate as finally is determined. All taxes shall be levied in specific amounts and shall not exceed the amount specified in the preliminary budget. So I’m opening the public hearing regarding the final 2026 budget.

01:03:45,100	and um uh we approved a preliminary budget some time ago, knowing full well that we were going to go through the budget further and, and look for additional things to uh change or add.

01:04:09,100	Um, I think at this point, I would ask, uh, finance director and slash treasurer Lee Jacobs to um update us on just a little bit of what, what we see in the packet. See? Thank you wow gee, I don’t know if I should thank you for this. Choking some horses now. killing with some trees. Yeah. Sorry, I had to ask for that because I had conflicting information in my budget information. So, thank you, Lee.

01:04:38,970	Do I need just the same one I just got I too. This is going to be OK, let me have that. Thanks for doing this, Lee. Appreciate it. Chair Bittner and Commissioners we are here to discuss the final budget uh, where we left off in the preliminary was a appropriation of 14 million and overall with the levy of 21.

01:05:19,000	9 million, and in the general fund an appropriation of 406.9 million with a levy of $10.5 million. uh. since we last met or we the, the commission voted to uh pay for the Provident renovation out of uh reserves, um and so there is no longer necessary to have the bond on the budget so that’s one,

01:05:55,900	presumed change. there are a handful, very, very small handful of corrections, um, one of which is to add the treasurer that was an oversight on my part, so we’re adding a treasurer $111,000447 salary and 42,688 fringe. We’re also removing the deputy treasurer. position.

01:06:27,470	I don’t have the exact dollar amount, um, but we felt that with some improvements to processes and uh things like that that we would be able to get along with the treasure and without a deputy. um, at this point.

01:06:48,870	That’s really the structure, you know, I, I, I could see a point in time where maybe an accountant became a deputy and then, you know, type of situation, but really, um at this point, we want to see how the next tax season goes before we start adding staff. uh so for that department treasurer, the total salaries and benefits should be 561. 060 and 89 cents.

01:07:19,270	Uh, I also was approached by extension about a couple of small items, um, one of which was some NDSU salaries and the other one was a slight increase to computer services so I stop you there? Yeah. OK, in front of us on the table, we had 2026 extension budget draft.

01:07:38,530	And I wonder if you can tell me if you have, do you have that information? Yeah. Yes. OK. I wonder if you, can you tell me what the increase amount on that budget is by percent. I’m talking about the 3% cap. I can, yeah, I can do the math here because we have an increase of, uh. Would you please 35,000 It’d be something like 7.

01:08:06,100	5% 7%, that’s an increase on the on the budget. I can’t I, uh, off the top of my head, I can’t tell you if they have sources of revenue that are funding that, um department or not and the the cap is technically on the total amount levied rather than on a fund by fund basis.

01:08:31,730	Right, but I think that, um, if we’re expecting you know, it’s, it’s we probably need to lean on all departments in the county to be aware of that 3% cap, not commissioners, I mean, we, we, you know, if we’re if we’ve got one department that’s requesting a large increase that wipes out the availability

01:08:52,800	of any other increase for these other departments, and I think that just assuming first off, I don’t think they should even assume that they’re going to get an automatic 3% increase because we’ve got bigger needs in some departments than we have in other based on percentages, you know.

01:09:07,600	I don’t, I don’t believe I don’t think it’s appropriate that we just automatically approve a 7% increase in a in a in a in a in a single department’s budget at this point. You know, we’re going to talk about a whole lot more going forward, but.

01:09:23,500	that was what I really wanted to ask, what the, what the percentage was. I think we can talk about that a little bit later, but. Yeah, certainly. OK. Thanks. So those are some of the changes that, I mean, those would have to be emotion and so if we wanna wait and I would recommend that we move to uh remove the bond payment from the final, uh, what that’s

01:09:48,230	gonna do if I’m understanding the entry code correctly is since the levy was, you know, 10.5 million at the preliminary and we’re now lowering it to 6.4.

01:10:10,500	if we have to make some changes in other departments, we will be able to increase from there because we’ll we’re still gonna be below where we were at the preliminary for the levy. So as I, as I understand the entry code, the, the change from the preliminary budget, uh, we cannot exceed the levy. but we can change, uh, we can some certain appropriations can go up as long as there’s not a levy, a levy associated with it.

01:10:29,170	So what you’re asking for is for us to just remove the provident building fund for the prominent renovation fund via motion, right? I would recommend that, yes. OK. Commissioners, I would recommend doing that. Mr.

01:10:47,370	Chair, the question I guess I would have is, do you want to go through a lot of this stuff before you have the public hearing, or do you want to have the public hearing first and then go through some, we are in the public hearing. OK. OK.

01:10:59,730	Um, but I think that this is a, this is kind of a no-brainer to, to get this one out of it. So before we get it down the road and and forget about it, I would move to uh remove the uh Provident Building renovation Bond Fund of 3,713868.57. from our preliminary budget. Second, Most of the second, Comm Whitcott.

01:11:23,630	I’d like to ask Julie, can we do a motion in, in the middle of a public hearing. Well, there’s nothing that says you can’t if you want to open it up to the public for their input before you. Vote on it. I mean, you can certainly do that, but there’s nothing that says you can’t. Well, after you close the hearing, we normally do some action of some type.

01:11:41,170	Correct. But this is in the middle of a public hearing. We want to make sure we’re done right. So. There’s nothing that says you can’t do it that way. OK. I think it’s just a housekeeping thing so that we’re just out here. Yeah. Any other comments? Call the rule. Comm Bakken. Yes.

01:12:01,070	Comm Schwab? Yes. Comm Woodcock. Yes. Comm Munsen, Chair Bitner. Yes, motion carries. OK, go ahead. Then I should add there’s just, uh, I, I had a couple of, a couple of housekeeping issues, had a couple of errors that made their way into the uh via my formulas into the agenda

01:12:19,170	packet. So these would be, this is a repeat offender here, the weed board should read 1.31 mLs. Uh, I think I corrected it in the copy I handed out. Uh, it reads 3.

01:12:41,530	something um where do I find that? That is on page 2 or 3 of exactly what you’re looking at, but it should be corrected in the copy that I, I, I handed out to you. It’s just on the agenda packet. And the other issue is the the capital projects appropriation is showing 16.7 million. That should read 5.7.

01:13:10,000	I made some uh, changes based on other actions including transferring 11 million to the capital projects fund and those made their way to my uh, to my spreadsheet, unfortunately. But those, your, the, the copies that I handed out should be correct. So this is mainly for the benefit of anybody looking at the agenda packet online.

01:13:37,100	And I made a couple of just updates to the projections of the general fund, uh, with some of the events, you know, that have transpired since the original projections were done in May and um basically reduced the tax, estimated tax collection, reduced the estimated interest revenue, and we’re still on track to increase our general fund balance at year end for

01:13:54,970	2025. So if I’ve never used this thing, but, um, if we, if I could uh. turn on the Elmo, we’ve got, uh, uh, uh, Comm Munsen asked me to prepare just sort of a, some, some information on how the budget is funded. if, if it’s appropriate to talk about it at this time, I would. Yeah, it is.

01:14:22,230	Be happy to do that. Sure. If it’s public here, that’s what we want them to see. So, as you can see, we have uh quite a few sources of revenue. The, the general fund budget this year is 46.8 million as mentioned, and you can see in the first line we are removing the Provident renovation Bond 3.

01:14:55,100	7 million. for a subtotal of 43. 2 million, uh, our projected expenditures are approximately 37, so we have a, a budget variance there. Uh, we are using $16.2 million worth of sales tax to fund the 2026 budget. We are also receiving 1.5 million approximately in primary residence credit.

01:15:27,100	and nearly 5 million in state aid, another 200,000 in homestead and veterans credits. We’re projecting substantial, uh, inmate board revenue from the jail, uh, 6.4 million. We are projecting $400,000 in revenue from the county recorder, which is, you know, fees and whatnot, um for, for records and preservation and things of that nature we’re projecting approximately 2.

01:15:57,000	5 million in interest revenue. This includes, uh, you know, the sales taxes that we’re collecting and saving for future periods, uh, general fund reserves, things like that. And then about 1.

01:16:20,500	4 million in uh miscellaneous revenues, so the actual levy to the taxpayer in 2026 based on the preliminary budget is just under 5 million compared with uh a little over 20 million in 2025 and if you pay before, uh, I think it’s February 15th, then you get a 5% discount, so the net levy would be 4. 75 million, a difference of 14. 5 14.6 from the previous year.

01:16:48,270	can pause for any questions. No, I just wanted to make sure this is, is heard that, that what the sales tax is doing for them and, and the uh primary resident’s credit. essentially is dropping the uh property tax collected from 19.3 million to 4.

01:17:17,270	75 million, 75% reduction in Burleigh County Burleigh County portion of your partial collection. Yeah, that is partial collection. We expect that next year the property taxes in Burleigh County will go down even further because of the full year collection on the sales tax because this is only 9 months of the sales tax and so the result of that action

01:17:33,630	and the Home Rule charter change. and whatnot is the $14.5 million reduction in the Burleigh County portion of your property taxes. I happen to be very happy about that, and I’m sure other commissioners join me in that. So this is what we promised the residents. When we talked about sales tax. Right.

01:17:52,330	Yeah. And so. Well, this is what they had faith in us delivering when they voted for that. Right, so a 75% discount in Burley Burleig County portion of the property taxes this year. Um, so with that, I, I think we’ll, we’ll probably move on. That was a really good presentation. Thank you. Mr.

01:18:13,000	Chair. Mr. Woodco. Quick question, that reduction of, uh, 14.5 million. That goes to everybody across the board. Businesses, farm, residents, apartments, whatever they might be, right? Yeah. And that’s what I was hoping to get to on item 12C of the regular Burleigh County budget for the Coney agenda, you’re way ahead of me. I just, OK, never mind.

01:18:37,170	Yeah, um just, just so the public understands, we have an item on the agenda um for the regular Burleigh County Commission meeting that we ended up running out of time for it, but we were gonna have a, well, we’re still gonna have the discussion about property tax and sales tax homeru

01:18:55,270	charter amendment. because it occurred to me after the discussion, you know, brought up the sales tax offsetting property taxes. We all thought that was a good idea and we went for it and the citizens agreed.

01:19:17,170	One of the things that we didn’t think about is that um it provides a substantial windfall to out of area property owners, such as Walmart’s Target’s, where I don’t know where their owners are from, uh, the Fleet Farms, everybody that comes here and, and makes money off of us that but doesn’t actually pay the sales tax that we moved to.

01:19:39,630	And so I felt that once I realized that, I felt that we should have a discussion about that because it should be, I believe that it should be more like the state homestead, I mean, primary residences credit where the full credit of the sales tax reform for property taxes should be directly related to the citizens that pay the sales

01:20:01,100	tax. um you know I, I didn’t think about it ahead of time, and I guess, you know, that, that was, that was, that was. my bad, but we did think about that since then and we were gonna talk about that today yet.

01:20:17,000	so we’ll continue on with the budget, but just so you know, we’re gonna have that conversation as well. Lee,, wanna carry on, I should add that number of 1.5 million primary residence credits is Burleigh County’s share only.

01:20:43,170	They, uh, the because we’re reducing our levy so much, um, we’re actually reducing the share that we get at the primary residences credit, but the actual taxpayers should still feel the same, uh, the same difference, it’s just that relatively more of it will go to the schools or the OK, I, I should explain that just a, a little bit more, um, currently, the Burleigh County portion of your property taxes is roughly 17% of your total property tax bill.

01:21:01,270	and I understand a lot of people don’t see their property tax bills, so they don’t really know that they’re, they’re, uh, property taxes are being paid through escrow with your mortgage and whatnot, but, but trust me, 17% is about what Burleigh County portion of your property taxes is and what Lee just mentioned is that because

01:21:18,000	we’re dropping the the mill levy for property taxes, we will get less of that. So more of what was our 17%, so we’ll probably go to, I don’t know, a really small percentage, 5% 5%, but then that money will still be in the, in the pot that’s gonna go towards reduction in property taxes for schools, for

01:21:42,970	parks and wrecks or city taxes or whatever. So those dollars are not disappearing. You’re going to get the, the equivalent of the, the, uh, primary resident’s credit just not quite as much on the county portion, but it’s a wash for property taxes, so. OK.

01:22:04,900	So, then, then I, I asked the, the question, how did I calculate property taxes this year, you know, usually they’re a plug figure, um, in the budget. What I did is I took each fund and ran it through the, the formula for your um you know, essentially your property tax cap formula and for example, for the general fund, I ran it

01:22:28,370	through the formula, found our max this year, quote unquote, it’s not really our max, but, um, found what would be our max this year if we weren’t reducing property taxes with sales tax. Took that max and reduced it dollar for dollar by sales tax.

01:22:51,900	and so you know, the reason I did it that way is because under 1176, if you don’t do the max every year, you, you lose. That’s the way the bill is written, um, just as it uh as an easy math, suppose the levy’s $100,000 and you increase it 1% this year, uh, and you, you’re allowed to save your 2%, the difference between the max and your 1%,

01:23:12,630	you can take the 2% and carry it forward, so OK, I do 1% this year. I’m at 101,000. I carry forward my 2%. Next year, I do my 5%. OK? So this is 5% of 101,000 that amounts to $1,060,050.

01:23:37,170	On the other hand, if I just do the max every year, the first year I raised it to 103,000. The second year I raised 103 by 3%. That comes to $10,600,090. So that’s a difference of $40 which is basically your compound interest and you lose that forever.

01:23:58,600	um so that’s you know, if it was a story problem in high school algebra, there’d be a right answer. And, uh, a right answer in terms of what gives you the most, not necessarily of what is the right thing for us to do, but I I thought it would be responsible to start with that number and then um leave it up to you guys.

01:24:18,970	And of course I’m, I’m here to offer any input that I can. But that’s why, uh why we’re at the levy that why I chose, uh, the levy that that I did. I wanted to mention also just sort of going forward and this is a little bit about the future, maybe not so much, um.

01:24:44,500	this budget in particular, but I did a little exercise where I analyzed what Burleigh County’s budget would look like had the property tax caps started in 2020 instead of 2025. And so I just looked at the countywide levies only, so I didn’t look at the weed board in the library.

01:25:05,500	and what I concluded is that um for our budget that was passed in last year of October 2024. had property tax caps started in 2020, we would have 2.5 million less in property tax revenue to fund the budget that we’re currently in. So it it adds up quickly and unfortunately, uh, sales tax make it worse because sales tax growth in Burleigh County has averaged 2.

01:25:34,370	57% in the last 10 years, which is below the cap of 3%. And so fortunately we have a couple of years before this is gonna fully affect us because the bill is the max is based on your last 3 years.

01:26:02,000	And so right now our last 3 years are fairly high, relatively speaking, 21 million, uh, 21, 16 million, I think is what it is. So this year, say we pass uh a budget with $7 million in the general fund. Then we’re going to have 21 million, 21 million, and 7 million.

01:26:20,530	And that’s, this is gonna continue until the 3rd year, we’re going to have, you know, 7 million 8 million, 9 million, or whatever. So our max in the future is gonna be based on that much lower number. which means we’re gonna be dependent on sales tax, which could go up and can go down. This year it’s down about 3.6% um July to June, which is the Home Rule charter period over the same period last year.

01:26:44,170	So we’ve got, you know, some maybe some challenging years ahead, but I wanted to, to, um to bring that up so we can think about how, uh, not just the budget that we’re in, but the future budgets and I, I mentioned this at a department head meeting um oh, I think it was the last one in August.

01:27:07,630	And basically just kind of made some of these similar comments and the consensus that I got from the department heads is that they’re really looking to the commission for guidance on how to navigate through this property tax cap or landscape, um, I did commit that I’ll keep bringing the the discussion

01:27:29,970	back and uh and help in any way I can, but I think they’re really looking to the, the board, uh, at this point. So that’s, that’s the end of my notes. I could pause for any questions or sit down and let somebody else talk, Mr. Chair, I, I’ve got one question.

01:27:54,500	So, Lee at based on the preliminary budget that was approved. levied to taxpayers at a few dollars under $5 million. We’re expecting 5 to 6 million additional sales tax dollars. next year Correct. Could we actually be at zero? 0 levy to the taxpayers in a perfect world, in a perfect world that, that was the goal.

01:28:22,230	Yeah, but whether, whether or not we get there depends on what we do with that item 12C. Right. You know, right. Um. but then when I look at 1176 and I look at a three-year uh, you know, average or the 3, the highest of 3 years, when we get out 28, 29, 30, and all of a sudden we

01:28:40,800	have a year or two of zero, and then we’re dead in the water. Then we’re dead. We’re dead in the water, yeah. That concerns I think, that I think is, is part of what I was talking with, with, uh, legislators during this session.

01:28:54,430	and I was assured that they knew that there was going to be some changes needed to that, um, to this 3% cap thing, because we were the outlier. There’s, there’s nobody’s doing what we’re doing, and and consequently, they couldn’t really come up with a solution because they were, they were really struggling

01:29:10,800	with where they were going to end up with the, with the uh uh primary residences credit. and I’m glad that they got that far, but the guys that I’ve talked to are, are aware that they have to do some additional work to address this.

01:29:25,330	and at this point, about all I can say is we gotta work with them. We got all. you know, work together towards um appropriate legislation that reflects the reality of, of the situation in Burleigh County because while we’re doing all of this to take the burden off of property taxes, suddenly we’re getting

01:29:46,100	punished for doing the right thing. Well, that’s my my fear in 28, 29, 30 is being punished and you know there’s a part of me that doesn’t trust legislators.

01:30:07,430	I’ve seen enough in the last session that made me question, um, I have faith, so I’m, I can be hopeful, uh, but I’m not 100% until I see the actual legislation in 2 years to go or 1.5 years to go through, um, I’m, I’m skeptical at least. See, I don’t. that’s why I, I kind of look at it as we’re not eliminating property taxes. We’re buying them down. It’s not dissimilar from what the state’s done for decades.

01:30:25,600	so I don’t think we’re gonna have a problem with that formula. I, I just, I have faith in that because we’re not part of the state formula anymore. Well, and then, you know, even the weather we’re talking about the 3% cap, or we’re talking about the primary resident credit.

01:30:44,870	that only got passed for two years, right? Um-hum. So, in two years, we could be facing more or less property tax credit. We could be facing a different cap. We don’t know. Right. Well, it’s uncertain times for everybody. Yeah. So but I’m glad we’re ahead of the curve.

01:31:05,730	Yeah, we’re, we’re doing, you know, what’s, what we think’s best for the citizens of Burleigh County and we just have to trust that it’s gonna work out, um, that, you know, we’re, we’re showing how this can be done. We’ll just see what happens, um Hey Lee anything else No, that’s all I have. I can sit down and OK. Open it up for the next person.

01:31:27,630	All right. I’m sure there’ll be some additional questions. I Yeah. You’re not getting out of it this easy, huh? Well, commissioners, where do you want to start? And we’re in public hearing, right? Yeah. Yep. Do you have any residents that have questions? I guess that would be a fair thing.

01:31:50,630	I mean, um you know, the point in having a public hearing is so that we go through all of this in the public hearing. Um, before we go talking about any specifics, anybody want us to talk about anything, uh, related to the budget. um before we get into this OK? I’m not seeing any.

01:32:16,100	So I think if we just start right at the top county board anybody have any concerns with the, uh, budget request for the county board. That would be us Yeah, I think that went down um, that went down because we created the finance. Um-hum. And we, and we split the finance up. Right. Yep.

01:32:50,230	And so I, I think it’s in line with, with, um, my expectations on the county board. Anybody else OK, we’ll move on The finance department OK, this is where we moved some of the salaries and the fringe benefits and kind of, kind of created this. and based on the numbers, it does not seem out of line to me.

01:33:18,000	It’s, um, you know, the, the 2026 budget request. Excuse me, is lower than uh uh 2024 actual was 608,674, 2025 budget was 642,351, and this year’s request is 557,603, so I don’t have a problem with that, Commissioners. OK, we’ll move on OK. District and juvenile court related expenses.

01:33:59,170	Uh I I don’t really have, uh, I don’t know who has that portfolio, but I don’t have any issues with that. Commissioners any concerns with the district court and the juvenile court budget. Mr. Chair. Mr. Woodco. Just for the public.

01:34:21,530	Just for the public to know that the new rates at the, at the for juveniles is uh,, $160 charge for education and additional $600 per day if it’s not suicide watch. So he recommended increasing juvenile detention to 280,000. Well, we’re going to 380. So we have plenty of room there, but, uh, the rates that they charge us, we, we don’t have anything to do about it.

01:34:38,630	They just, it’s what it is. So the big concern there was the juvenile. I mean the suicide watch versus OK, that was the big what I recall from the, the, uh, preliminary is, we have no control over what they’re charging us, and they’re charging us a heck of a lot more per body than we’re charging anybody.

01:34:59,970	and we just don’t have a choice Ouch. Yes something’s wrong with that Well, the other option is to create our own juvenile detention center, and I don’t, don’t, I don’t think the sheriff wants to. He was very adamant about that in the meeting. That wasn’t going to happen.

01:35:16,700	He’s shaking his head no. Take it easy. OK. I, I just don’t see a choice on that one. We, we have the ability of adding a pot out there, but I don’t think it would be for juveniles. No, I, I don’t think that. No. OK, so then, uh, the treasurer again.

01:35:33,330	Um, I thought we just did that Well, not treasure. Did we, did we need to make a motion on removing the deputy and adding the treasurer’s. Yes Salary and how does that change that budget? OK, Lee, can you explain that to me? Uh, the, the change will be an increase.

01:36:01,100	I don’t have in my notes here exactly how much the deputy treasurer is, but, but the total salaries and benefits. with this change would be 561 060 and 89 cents. OK, which page are you on right now for? Page. OK If you follow the. OK, yep, yep, I’m, I’m on the right page. I just was confused with finance and treasurer, that’s all.

01:36:32,430	You wanna give me that total again? The total for, just for salaries and benefits would be 561 06089 cents. I can go do the math on exactly what that does to the total total. Would you? Yeah Do we need a motion to approve that? Do we.

01:37:05,230	He’s going to give us, he’s going to give us the amount that for the bottom line OK. So we’ll change that change the last number. So, my, my next question, we’ve split the treasurer and the auditor, your sheet number 8 is actually been duplicated. You’ve got two sheets, one for auditor and one for treasurer. Yeah. Right.

01:37:31,630	So, last year are adopted budget for 20, well, for 25 was 856 for the two combined. and right now we are going to be quite a bit higher. when you combine those two or we’re not creating any new jobs correctly? Correct. Right. Correct.

01:37:57,270	Part of that is the influx with the so that budget goes low, high, low, every other year because of an election. Election year, correct. Yep. Yeah, so you want to look. So, actually O Swonskowski and I had, well, Lee’s doing the calculations, had a conversation about that today.

01:38:18,500	Um we’re going forward, we might look at just doing a flat line budget for that, and I did have a conversation with Lee about this too, and that’s would be something we could look at from a check balancing perspective. Um-hum.

01:38:38,430	Picking a number, every other year is, yeah, if we went to a flat level number put it into a bucket and now we’re not pulling it out of the general fund and putting money back into the general fund, just level that number from year to year, so it’s the same and have a carryover inform, but with a trigger on it, so an overage minus what a reserve fund if there needs to be a special election, would dump back into the into the general fund would function more like a special

01:39:01,270	fund. Right, it, it would be a bucket. So we’re discussing what that’s going to look like going forward because it, it’s gonna make the accounting a lot easier. and the budgeting a lot easier. That makes sense. Mark, did I lay that out correctly? Yes, that’s correct. OK. Thank you.

01:39:23,270	If you want to put these aside and come back to them. Yeah, gets us the number just let him finish his, uh, work there. We’re going to skip to you’re going to get me all out of order now. Well, page 8 and page 8. Is that? Yep. That’s why I said they were both labeled 81 and one for treasure.

01:39:39,170	OK, like A and B, maybe. OK, Page 9 is tax equalization. Um. I, nothing stood out for me on Tax equalization, Comm. OK. um Mr. Chair, Comm. public to know if we’re going through these in tentatively approving them as we go through them.

01:40:07,100	If anybody has any objection to a certain department and what we’re, we’re looking at now is the time, right? Sure, sure. I don’t know that they’re sitting there with this giant stack of paper, but that’s, you know, we’re listening to us, so what they’re hearing, they can certainly come up. Right.

01:40:22,000	Well, I, I think the biggest concern is when we get to the public health and things like that, you know, City recreational and those sort of things. Um next is state’s attorney budget, uh, victim witness budget. OK, this is, uh, basically page 12. you all on that? Yep. OK.

01:40:58,370	Um I am not aware of any changes that are needed with the state’s attorney’s budget only wish is that she gets to hire all the people to utilize all the salaries. Well, you know, it’s, it’s actually been a benefit to the Burley County bottom line that, you know, she, she hasn’t because she’s returned money every year to the general fund reserves, so. But she’s got a little burnout over there.

01:41:14,270	Oh, yeah, I know It’s got to be quick, quit be such a slave driver, so people will come to work. OK, I, uh, I didn’t have anything else on page 12.

01:41:38,800	Gate, county recorder I’m about the only concern that I had with that was that there was an item that was brought to my attention for um temporary services Pardon me? Temporary services second one down. OK. The 8000. Right. Uh, Missy, are you here? She’s here, yeah. Good evening. Welcome. Thank you. Um Comm Woodcox brought up a temporary services is the question.

01:42:13,100	Can you enlighten Can you? I haven’t had that on my budget, um, up till now, um, last year, we had some shortfalls in our office with having trouble, um, hiring employees and things like that, so I had to, um, hire a temp.

01:42:32,170	to actually temps in the office and had to use some other funds to fund that and so that’s just a fund in case we have a shortfall again of people where we would have to hire temporary services. OK, so it’s in case. It’s an in case, yeah. Not, not a known, can you? Correct. I hope to heck we don’t need to have that again. Yeah.

01:42:50,870	Yeah, what did you do? What did you What did you draw from there was um some salaries that were not used. Um, we had an employee that we were having a hard time hiring for, um, so it was, it was in the salaries that we were able to use that for.

01:43:04,970	Seems to me that if we had the need for a temporary service, it’d be because we didn’t have the person in, in the seat, so wouldn’t, wouldn’t that fund it? A lot, a lot of times temp services actually charge more than. Um-hum. Um, the temp services that we had actually charged like $27 an hour straight from it shocked me actually how much it was.

01:43:26,630	Yeah, that, that’s not what benefits and stuff. Correct. That was just a flat rate. Right. Typically, when you compare them against a normal employee, even with fringe. it’s typically higher per hour. to do the stand up and hurt a lot of times. Yeah, you’re OK for the temp agencies’s administration. Um. OK.

01:43:47,500	So, are you, um there was, there was something somebody was telling me about was furniture and equipment. Was that in your budget? Where is that? 5000 or No, that was a big amount.

01:44:09,370	I don’t know if it was on this or, or where it was, but, it’s not on this one, so it was something like, I don’t know, 50 or 70,000 someplace. Oh, I don’t have anything that big. I don’t think. I don’t see it. That’s why. Yeah. There’s a 5000 for furniture and equipment. Yeah. Yeah OK. That could have been a miss, uh type or something OK, I don’t have any other issues with that. Any other, uh, questions we’re missing? See you then. Thanks.

01:44:35,170	Thank you. Um, 14, superintendent of schools. This one basically just chugs along and has a kind of a, every now and then increase just because the cost of living and stuff like that, Mr. Chair, Mr. Wood. That’s one of my portfolios, and that is what this is, is just cost of living increase.

01:44:55,370	They’re doing fine. They’re real close, are doing great. Uh, they are concerned about long term funding from the feds on rural schools, and that’s in the mill right now. So. Sure. We don’t really know anything about it until it happens. OK. So, I didn’t see any issues with that. Um, Public and.

01:45:11,900	Before we get too far down the road. Lee, did you finish those calculations? I did The total for the treasurer is so the total for the salaries line is 341-407 87 for fringe benefits 219 653 02 and the total is 692 523 89 cents So that’s with the deputy? Without. It’s with the treasurer, without the deputy.

01:46:15,900	OK. It’s $32,000 cha uh difference increase with salaries and benefits. and then the auditors doesn’t change. from the 302 Correct 302, I think, no, that, that is correct. That is the um auditor and the elections coordinator, although you may need to vote for the auditor’s salary separately under Century Code.

01:46:52,230	Say that again, I think there was a discussion a few weeks back about the need to vote for the auditor’s salary as a separate line item or maybe I misunderstood. That might be a question for the the conversation that we’re moving to the next, we’re moving to the next Commission meeting for, for, um, further discussion. OK.

01:47:13,170	Yeah. So what’s that total number again? Because that’s not going to affect this, this budget anymore. Right. So public administrator 692 523 89. Would we want to make a motion to adjust that now or I, I think we should so we don’t forget, you know.

01:47:49,900	We want to make a motion to a approve the budget up to this page. up to page up to 17 to 17, up to 16. 17 is the public administrator. You don’t like to, I don’t like the look on your face, Mark, uh, for the sake of the minutes, I really don’t like that. If you could include the departments.

01:48:10,630	in that that that are being approved in that motion, that would be much more understandable. if that’s possible Anything’s possible but it’s what you wanna do Um, no, I, I think emotion just for, you know, page 8 with the, with the treasurer’s budget would be fine at this point.

01:48:29,330	I would move to approve the treasurer’s budget, uh, adjustment to 692,523 89 cents. Second Motion is second. Any further discussion? Call the roll. Mr. Woodcock, yes, Comm Munsen, yes, Comm Bakken. Yes. Comm Schwab? Yes. Chair Bittner? Yes. Motion carries.

01:48:54,100	Is that, nothing else, I don’t think we changed anything else along the way to that point, right. OK, um, page 17, uh, public administrator. Now, it’s been my understanding with this public administrator. now correct me if I’m wrong, but North Dakota Association of Counties worked with the legislature and so this is actually handled through the North Dakota Association of Counties, and it’s funded by the state. Mr. Chair.

01:49:18,600	Comm Linco. If, if, if I might, uh, there’s $25,000 has been the same for a long time, and way back 10 or 15 years ago, they used to rent from us at the Provident Life Building.

01:49:33,600	They’re on the main floor, and they take care of all the people that are slipping through the cracks, and they do an excellent job, but we back then, dedicated this 25,000 as a rent reduction at the, at the prominent life building. And when they moved to the north, they’re up north now up by Anderson East up in that area.

01:49:51,000	Uh, we just carried the, that rent reduction over to there because they do this virtually for free for us. Right. But there’s services are now funded by the state. That could be. I’m not sure if that is. Yeah. I, I don’t have this as, that’s not one of my portfolios, so I don’t know. Yeah, I don’t either. OK.

01:50:09,370	My understanding is that I, I have an email someplace in there. from North Dakota, North Dakota Association of Counties that said, yeah, we handle that, so there’s no need for a funding source from Burleigh County for the public administrator.

01:50:35,800	Could be Um, let’s see Uh, is anybody here to represent them at all? Um, who else was on that email chain? Uh, Mary, do you remember the email that that who that was from Does anybody have this portfolio? No, it’s not a Not a portfolio OK. Chaitner, I just forwarded you the email. Is that the one from the association? Yes, yeah.

01:51:06,900	That’s the one Yeah OK Uh, should I read it? OK. The answer is the public’s administrator support service program PAS that North Dakota Association County runs as a direct appropriation to the service providers and not the counties.

01:51:59,370	Presumably the county could have a staff member providing the service in which, in which would make them eligible. Here’s a brief, brief history. Public administrators essentially guardians for indigent people were a county function. It is actually an elected official in county government until 1984 when it was moved to an appointed position.

01:52:20,800	North Dakota’s Central Code 11-21 puts courts in charge of appointing that guardian for the county, which means counties have been on the hook to pay for the service. Over the years, counties oops what did I do Sometimes when I touch the side of my screen here things just disappear. um so, the county was on the hook to pay for the service. Over the years, counties divested themselves from having an employee provide that service.

01:52:48,330	and just and just would contract with private service providers. Ward County was the last to have an employee and he retired about 8 years ago, about 15 years ago, we had North Coast Association Counties tried to move this program, at least the cost to the state, and that was what

01:53:04,800	started the legislature giving us money to pay so the counties would not have to. This session, the legislature finally went all in and has now created a new state agency to do this work and associated economists will be wrapping up our role at some point.

01:53:22,970	So the bottom line is counties don’t get money from this program, nor does Associated Counties, but it relieved counties from paying. I was career curious when watching last night Burleigh County still has a line item for guardianships. I’m not sure what that is for.

01:53:41,630	Are you paying out some of the Guardian providers? Is that money going to gaps as far as public administrator guardianists, Burleigh County. should not have to be paying for that service So he says maybe they’re doing something else for the county, but I sure would be interested in finding that out here in Burst, so. Right. So, it’s a it’s something that we’ve just been budgeting for that essentially went away.

01:54:00,800	but we’ve been paying somebody what we’ve budgeted The last several years. Apparently, we’ve been doing it, I guess, I guess, I guess they don’t mind sending them a check. That 25,000 was a, was a, a rent reduction at the Pro, but we continued to pay it even though they moved out, and I don’t know why that is, but, OK.

01:54:19,000	Uh, there’s no need for us to do it. I don’t think so. I, I, I can’t find any reason to continue that. And so I would entertain a motion to change that to zero. Don’t move Second. Motion is second to change public administrator to zero. Any further discussion? Caro Mr. Schwab Yes. Comm Woodcoxck. Yes.

01:54:43,170	Comm Munsen? Yes. Comm Bakken. Yes. Chair Bittner. Yes, Motioncurious. Um, next is, uh, courthouse building and grounds. Now this is one of my portfolios. and um uh, you’ll notice that building maintenance, uh, we, we had a, a lot in, uh, the subject of building maintenance because we were replacing the boilers and, um, we just have some

01:55:13,470	additional work, additional work to do. relative to that, so that kind of reflects a little bit of an increase there. um I don’t, I don’t have anything that, um, is of real concern there because we’re, we’re gonna remove essentially 1.4. million from the building maintenance line.

01:55:40,170	Mister Chair, where did the salary go for? the head or the Bobzil position Um I don’t have that answer. Had, it’s head maintenance person. I don’t have that answer. We got 77,000 in here. Right. Right. That’s might be a Pam, can you answer that question for us? They have maintenance person was a combination of two or three different. Yeah. Well Budgets.

01:56:06,600	We’ll ask, Chair Bitner Commissioners, our buildings and grounds employees come out of 3 different budgets. Um, there are 3 of them that are in the detention budget. There is one that is in the courthouse budget.

01:56:34,630	That’s actually Mike and there is one building maintenance tech and then the facilities director comes out of the Provident budget, so we get the courthouse is actually Mike’s salary. That’s good. Thank you, Pam. Appreciate it. Mr. Chair. Yes, Comm Yes,, on the,, uh, uh, building maintenance, uh, the new budget figure is 340,000, but that’s still considerably higher than than the 2024. It’s 100,000 more.

01:56:58,700	Is there any, have we got more things that we got to do with the Provident? Well, this is Cordos, not Corde. This is C Courthouse. I’m sorry, it’s courthouse. Yeah, we, we, you’ve probably heard reference to, um, some concret concrete concerns. There, there may be some addi there will be some additional work coming up on the exterior.

01:57:18,100	um, and we just had wanted to have money in, in there to be prepared for that. Mr. Chair, I don’t know where we ended up with the conversation of a of a general maintenance. uh budget taking say this line item out of here and putting it into capital improvement project.

01:57:42,430	Have we, I, I really would encourage the commission over the next year to have that conversation prior to next year’s budget. Right. So that we can continue to have that, you know, we have 340 for, for your facility here, but maybe there’s some unused in other places that can go back and forth.

01:57:57,470	Sure, I, I think that would be appropriate, you know, because you know, here this is kind of a speculative number. Well, right, you know, yep, um, just because we don’t know, we know that we’re right in the middle of a, a project replacing the boilers um, but we don’t know what sort of change orders they might run

01:58:14,600	into, what sort of anything else, so we’re just kind of insurance, when we get to Kimball, we’re gonna have that conversation as well, you know. Yeah. The report we heard earlier was 2.4 to 3.1 million.

01:58:32,170	Well, I can’t budget for that in one year, you know, that would be, so what I did put in that budget was a portion. for the next 3 years or 4 years, depending on what that cost was. But it would be nice to put that in a maintenance or a capital improvement fund so that it could be used countywide. Yeah, I think we’ve got a further develop that.

01:58:49,170	Yeah. You know. Makes sense, but anyway, I have no, no issues with the courthouse. Anybody else Election expense, um, again, this is an election year coming up. So that’s, that’s the increase.

01:59:34,500	Um, discussion we had was, uh, we probably could see some additional cost savings by going the other route with level budgeting for this So Mark, do you wanna expound on this a little bit Mr. Chair, as he’s walking up. When are we going to be able to eliminate computer services. Every budget’s got something in there for IT or whatever.

01:59:58,000	When are we going to be able to get rid of that? In Providence Online Pardon me, When the problem done. Is online. That’s. Can I, can I quote you on that? Yeah. Yeah. Good. I get to, every department’s got 20, 300,000 on it, yeah. It all adds up Hm. I’m sorry, I interrupted.

02:00:15,800	Otter Swanskowski, uh, thoughts on this budget? Yes, so, um, uh, Thomas and myself were looking through the budget, trying to see what we could do to help you guys. And, uh, one thing that’s always been kind of stuck out to me ever since I became auditor is how fluctuating this, this budget is for the elections and what I always wanted to do is make it. uh consistent year over year.

02:00:32,730	So just for the benefit of being on the budget for a little bit uh better so, uh, we looked at it and based on the actuals of the last several elections, uh, what we think that we could probably make work is instead of budgeting $545,545,500 for 2026.

02:00:58,370	We could probably make uh 395,000 worked for 2026. and so that would be returning 15 uh reducing our budget by $150,000 and then moving forward we’d probably be budging now this number is subject to change, but probably budging closer to somewhere around $250,000 a year.

02:01:17,700	consistently and that would be that would be more of the bucket system that way it would give us enough money to run a special election in an off year if necessary, but then on the election years, that bucket would potentially be full or near full, and it would even out. That way it’d be more consistent for budgeting purposes.

02:01:34,800	so you’re OK with going to the 395,000 for this budget. I believe we can make that work, yeah, OK. Then that would be my motion to reduce the election budget by 150,000 to 395,000. So. Motion secondly for the discussion. Caro. Christian Munsen, Comm Bakken. Yes, Comm Schwab. Yes. Comm Woodcoxck? Yes.

02:01:59,800	Chair Bittner? Yes, motion carries. Thank you for your, uh, good work on that auditor. No. OK, next city county building, um, basically we are building rent. um building maintenance fee and that’s about it, um. we’re going to be here for at least another, probably two years yet, so, you know, I don’t see anything we can do there.

02:02:24,270	Publishing and printing uh, page 21 Any concerns there, Commissioners Mr. Chair, Mr. Chair. Mr. Whit. Do we have to have this separate? I mean, doesn’t every every department have budgeting and printing in their own budgets. Or is this for some particular reason? You know, I don’t have an answer for it.

02:02:57,430	I’d be curious to what the actual. Expenses are going. Who’s in charge of this fund? I think that’d be an auditor question Uh, so basically that’s up for question right now, whether I’m in charge of this fund or the uh interim treasurer’s in charge of this fund, uh, originally, I, I’m the one who oversaw this prior to myself, the finance director

02:03:21,430	position, uh, would oversee what, what the budget would be for this particular item. So as of right now it’s kind of up in the air who’s exactly watching it But can you give me an idea of what the expenditures are from it. Uh, so Lee may be able to help with this.

02:03:38,070	My understanding, it would have been more the, more of the big purchases that would be under this one, but, uh, Wes Leon, that’s stay on it. There’s a number of part of it has to do with the structure of the, of the ledger, um some of these that are just general administrative expenses, just hang out on their own

02:03:56,370	department, and it looks like they’re in their own department because they kind of are. If we had a different, uh, our ledgers structured differently. You might have general funddministrative.

02:04:14,370	you know, publishing and printing, general Fund administrative telephone, that type of thing, but because the ledger has only 3 columns, it’s just what we got. Now, some of these items are, are mandated by the Century Code, so you, the commission, are required to, uh, supply certain things like telephones to people, so that’s why you see a general fund telephone department is, is for that reason.

02:04:35,170	Um, I don’t know if there’s specifically a entry code citation on publishing and printing, but basically it’s just an a general and administrative expense that’s in its own department due to the structure of the ledger if that makes sense. No. I didn’t.

02:04:55,100	I mean, it’s such a small amount, why keep an individual, I see if you got 3 columns in your, your ledger and you don’t have a fork to put this in. I can see that, but I think we could eliminate this and move it to wherever they’re, who’s using it, what department’s using it, and we’re spending it in the regular budget.

02:05:09,970	or even spending more than we’re budgeting most years. I’d be curious to see what that exposures are. For, for example, we just printed budget hearing notices and I, I believe we’ll, we’ll, um, expense some out of this line item So it’s a lot of the structure of the ledger is from the century code that’s just how, um, I, I don’t know

02:05:34,900	if it predated the previous finance director and the previous auditor, but when you go through the entry code and you go through the ledger there’s a lot of the stuff is in there because it’s required by law. Mr.

02:05:53,270	Chair, if I could, Comm Munsen, not enough information to make a decision on this, but if Lee could give me or give us an idea what bills went to this line item in the past year, so that we could at least have an understanding of what expenses are being drawn from it. Mr. Chair, Fisher. Um, the next one we’ve got is supplies the department of supplies.

02:06:16,530	And the next one we got is telephone and postage, uh, as a separate department or separate budget. I mean, I’m just trying to streamline our budget. Maybe this is not the time to do it, uh, with all the irons in the fire we’ve got going with the budget.

02:06:37,330	Well, I, I believe that the telephone for one thing, is gonna get more self-corrected when we get into the Provident building as well. Um-hum. Um I, I don’t see that we can change anything with any of this. Chair Veterining Comm, the, the publishing line item contains a number of um notices.

02:07:05,730	to the Tribune, a lot of notices to the Tribune, so it’s just a general administrative expense, um, like I said, it, it, a better structure would be, you know, general fund, administrative. and then you’d have a third column, you know, telephone, da da da da da da da.

02:07:25,500	That’s just not what we’ve got, but this is just general, general printing and noticing, most of it is to the Tribune um hearings or public hearings or. Yeah, stuff like that. Yeah. OK. Well, now that makes sense. Yeah. Now, this, you know, again general fund county board.

02:07:40,900	and then another column for publishing a telephone would, would be a logical way to do it, but we don’t have enough columns in the ledger to do that. So that’s why it’s off on its own. Oh It’s a column thing I think we need to find more columns. Yeah I didn’t know we were limited We’ll talk about that more. Thanks, Lee. That’s good. Um, so then, uh, supplies is the same situation. Yes And the telephone.

02:08:04,270	And the telephone and postage, same situation. likely because I guess we can see that the. numbers are tracking pretty close to the request. Right. It’s not over budgeted, but it’s. No, it’s a low item thing, but still. Well, yeah, it’s. Accounting wise, we got. Yeah, the little stuff matters. Technology. um.

02:08:34,230	and looks like something we just don’t have a whole lot of room to do something about because we’re talking contracted services, so. What, what is that contractor with whom? Uh, I think Mary might be able to give us an answer on that.

02:08:53,430	I think this probably is, is more the contracted services with the City of Bismarck, but I’d let her. Hm. Or, oh, OK. One. I Arm wrestle Are we talking about the IT budget? No, no. Tech technology. 41 850. That might have to do when Lee was probably gonna talk about it’s the um auditors software and finance for visions. Oh, OK. We’ll let him take that then.

02:09:21,370	Thanks, ma’am. Gladly There again, because the column doesn’t exist in the auditors, and, you know, Chair Bitner and Comm, I should have mentioned this, but we, we have an increase in this line item.

02:09:48,100	This is our uh accounting software and our tax software, so it’s the parcel Man and the accounting software and we have an increase of. Double. About 70 or 80 000 because this is part of the conversion to the cloud for this software that a they’re not, they’re no longer, I think, either update, they’re no longer updating the desktop version, so we’re kind of falling behind there A and B, that’s hosted at the at the

02:10:16,170	city on the city’s server, and so this was anticipating the move to the Provident. We were hoping to move it to the cloud. and then we would not be, you know, have to holdster have our own server and stuff like that, but it’s equally because they’re not updating the desktop version anymore, so to

02:10:37,270	get all the latest stuff, we need to clar. So it’s eventually cost savings. I think it will be because I think it’s going to improve, um, you know, a lot of efficiencies.

02:10:55,470	We’ll get, for example, getting reports pushed to us automatically instead of us having to log in and sit there and run while they spin, spin, spin, you know, you have them run at midnight and you come to work and they’re there. So I think we will save quite a few hours on this with some of those features. Thanks, Lee OK, page 25.

02:11:20,870	Now we’re talking information technology Um, last year’s budget was 602, 987, this year’s request is 609,649, 14. Anybody want any clarification on that? Mr. Chair, is this the line item where we were talking switches, and is that did that change Uh, I don’t, I don’t know about switches.

02:11:46,700	Mary is, uh, was a switches question in here or was that a separate under the something else How’s your foot doing, by the way? It’s getting there. All right. The more steps you give her, the better it’s going to be. Oh, that’s better Um, the contract is OK. We are not replacing all of the switches at once.

02:12:05,630	That would be irresponsible, so we’re gonna keep 2 on hand and switch them out as needed. OK. And, and is that reflected in this budget here? Um or is that a different. The current budget for, um, IT keeps in mind the city contract and some additional switches, but not all of them are being replaced at the same time. OK. No question. Thank you, ma’am.

02:12:24,530	Mr. Chair. Mr. Woodco. Um it’s not just for you, but they, these salary items on every department, at what date are those up through? When it says current is, uh, 70,000. Is that up through September 1st or June for, uh, this is every department, I just it’s calendar year.

02:12:45,430	Pardon me? But the It’s calendar year. In this report Is that up to what date? Oh. I think it’s the 31st of July. I think I, I’m just, uh, cause some of these are so low, there’s only 32,000 in fringe benefits and all, it’s going to be 97 by the end of the year.

02:13:02,870	That doesn’t make turnover maybe Some may have started OK. What page were you specifically talking about? Well, I’m looking at the IT department, but there’s a lot of them that when they actually spent over the 1st 7 months, uh, 20,000, they were, and the whole budget is 80,000.

02:13:22,170	That doesn’t make sense to me. Hm You got what I mean No, you Awesome, but that’s I’m easy to lose You what? Sorry, I’m a little lost, but that’s OK. I didn’t know which line you were on, so. Yeah, I wasn’t on Eline. I was on the salary line of all the departments.

02:13:47,630	At what point did those says actual 142,000 whatever it is, at what point is that? July 31st. Is that salary for that? Up to that point, you’re date up to July 31st. But, how much of the year is gone? I take that back.

02:14:01,500	I think that would have been much earlier in the year because I think it was closer to maybe May when we ran those reports for the department heads. OK. Yeah. So, I, I apologize. I ran the actual report that I’m giving you August 1st, but no, that would have been much sooner in the year.

02:14:18,700	So you’re correct, those numbers are, are low. I think, I think it was June 1st, I think was the first when we were doing the preliminary, we had, uh, numbers up to June 1st for, for this year’s. That, that may be, but for that department head request sheet that you’re looking at where they wrote in their request.

02:14:35,000	That would have been much earlier in the year because we give those to the department heads pretty early on, so they can start to, to create their budget. It’s not a lot, it’s not very useful at that point in the year, um, so I kind of question, maybe there’s a better way we can do it next year. Yeah.

02:14:51,170	Now, I follow you Hey, human resources. um looks to me like just a slights. How about r. Oh. Well, I had it in my hand huh Yeah, OK Risk management, um, this I know is workman’s Co. um, unemployment compensation, and just general risk management. uh. activities, and that’s just an increase in rates.

02:15:23,900	Yeah, um, and the, the reason that you see zeros all before that is because basically we’re separating this out of the HR, right, right. So, you know, this is to kind of make it cleaner, but this represents more accurately what those numbers are. So I don’t have any issue with that. No. Get Chair bit near me, I, uh. Sure.

02:15:46,230	Workers’ Comp, I think, was an item that we could probably reduce a little bit, um, we had a budget between the 3 areas, it’s, there’s a general fund, a jail, and, um, a highway, and we had a budget of 400,000 between the three of those.

02:16:09,800	I got an estimate from the Association of Counties at 2 at 2:45, but I’m told that’s too low, because our experience rating is such that that normal estimate that they give with like the average experience rating doesn’t does not apply to us when you’re experience rating is low or high, you pay more and whatever way it is, we’re paying more, um, so.

02:16:29,530	Your cream span. OK Chair Bittner, Commissioners, the WSI, um, what the North Dakota Association of Counties does is they bill us what they think our premium will be, but they don’t always have our experience and because we’re one of the larger counties we take on most of our experience and unfortunately we have that thing called the detention

02:16:57,370	center where inmates can get unruly, and we have um detention officers that get hurt actually quite often. And that’s just part of the job. So we have a lot of little claims, but we’ve also had some a few major claims. with um injuries that have taken a long time to heal.

02:17:19,170	Um had a lot of expense to them. So we are rated on a 3-year average. We’re hoping that some of those really large expenses are going to drop off, um, and then we will, uh, we will go down. with the claims, um, that is what we’re thinking will happen, but we still have to budget.

02:17:40,630	The problem is the last two years we weren’t budgeting for that, so when they were in my human resources budget, they would blow my whole budget line items just from the WSI claims. So I could, there was no way I could budget or stay within my budget. So that’s why we carved those out because those belong to the county as a whole.

02:17:57,000	And you’re, you’re comfortable enough with this number that Yes. We shouldn’t cut it because you. Um, as Lee said, Lee and I had talked, we could cut it a little bit because we do get some reimbursements and we are thinking that our claims experience will go down, but I

02:18:11,370	would not cut it to the 245, 245,000 because I know that’s low. Well, it’s only at 189. Right. On this. It needs to go higher, yeah. but that’s just the general fund. We also have highway that has a line item and detention that has a line on them and the BMDC budget.

02:18:30,100	So the three together are what makes that $400,000 claim. or $400,000 premium. So I don’t think we should mess with the 180 or any of the other budget line items that our WSI for the other two budgets. Yeah, Le, leave them alone for another year, maybe we’ll be able to get a better gauge next year.

02:18:53,530	that sounds prudent to me. Thanks. Thanks, Pam Yes, you could cut it, but you don’t dare. Um, next is, uh, well, human resources. Um. you know, I I went through the budget with Pam. It’s consistent with previous years, and I don’t have any issues with that. No.

02:19:20,230	Mr. Chair, do these Fisher would go. Do these uh does the state pick up all the balance on this whole department. Did they reimburse it? Not human. None of this? No. OK. Human services. Humaner human resources. OK. Uh, OK, skip that worksheet, skip that. Go to page 30. Property insurance. I think that’s pretty much self-explanatory.

02:19:53,900	Uh, planning Mr. Chair. Comm, with, uh, Comm Munsen. This may be a little late in the year to be talking about this, but with the ETA conversation. how are we going to handle additional staff to handle the additional requests. What’s, I mean, let, let’s back up. Our ETA conversation probably won’t finalize for the next 6 months.

02:20:16,800	Once that finalizes talking to Mitch, we’re gonna be understaffed. We’re going to have double the amount of of work. Um, I, it’s, we probably can’t address it today in this budget because we’ve already approved our preliminary. Um-hum.

02:20:35,100	But it is something that we need to be concerned with next budget cycle. I, I think we have to be really careful moving forward that we’re, we’re picking up things where they’re self-funded, like permits and. Right. You know fees and whatnot.

02:20:54,370	Because that, that whole department, a lot of it has to do with fees and and whatnot, you know, there’s permit revenue that that covers a lot of that, so until we find out where we’re at or where, where we can project because there’s really nothing to project at this point because we haven’t, you know. Just wanted to bring it up as a point, it’s it’s for the following. It’s a good point, but this budget is, is, um, Mr.

02:21:11,330	Chair? Yes, Commissionerman. Uh, down the computer services, one of my special this year it went up to 32,000 and the last 3 or 4 years is right right around 4000. Those are. No. Yeah. Actual. And the actual is 3025 actual was 32,000. Yeah, but the budget was 4500. Right.

02:21:34,000	Why would that jump? And now we’re back to 4500. Mitch, you probably want to. I’m just curious why did it jump that high? Uh, that’s over budget. Something is By a long way. Something is wrong across the board with the 2025 actual on this sheet.

02:21:50,970	because there’s no way that we have 97,000, start at the top, there’s no way we had 97,000 in salaries and 44,000 infringe. you know. That’s just there’s something wrong So. This is one of those that was run early, I guess. I’m guessing. Yeah. Um-hum. It, it, it was probably just an oversight.

02:22:12,270	You know what I’m talking about, Mitch? Uh, with the computer services or, or, uh, this is, well, if you start at the top, you know, but computer services is what brought it up, yes. I don’t remember you talking to me about.

02:22:33,500	That, yeah, that, I think that was a miss, um, calculation on that budget earlier because we had a uh we had the contract for uh Smartov, and we also had data transfer that was about $9000 that added up to that 35,000. So I think that’s what that is it, it wasn’t, yeah, we never had 32,000 in computer services. They that money was intended for the contractor services. Yeah. From SmartGov and uh the data, uh, transfer.

02:23:01,370	Because you got 35,000, right. OK. Oh, now I see it. Yeah. Yeah, OK. We’re good, I think. It’s just a, it’s, it’s just like typos on. It was recorded to the wrong account. To the wrong department. Yeah. Good catch for an old Guy Thank you, Wayne. Never ends, does it? Nope.

02:23:30,100	OK, Sheriff’s department budget, uh you got page 32, 33, 34. uh, uh 37, that’s a lot of justification. 39. OK. It’s only so many pages because he printed large enough for us to read them. Yeah. I appreciate that. Yes, thank you. And I still got to go like this here. Um, so, page 39, sheriff’s uh well, page 39 and 40.

02:24:03,270	Um, for the sheriff’s department budget. Um. I personally don’t have any concerns with that. It’s not one of my portfolios, so. I know they do, um they work hard on their budget, so, yeah. I’m good I think we should cut something just to kind of upset the sheriff.

02:24:25,100	What do you think? It’s your speeding ticket. Well, I already got that. No, I didn’t, but uh. Good, Mr. Chair. Could we, could we get. Hey, speaking about that. I got to get 10 bucks out of this Guy, Mr. Chair. I, Mr. Chair, Comm Wood.

02:24:43,800	We’ve been working on a couple contracts with the, uh, state and the feds. Can we get an update on where we’re at with that? I, I don’t want to reveal any new secret information, but the interesting thing of where we’re at No, uh, certainly, Mr.

02:25:05,370	Chair, Commissioners, um, as we talked about, you know, for quite a while, uh, with the detention center, um, you know, obviously we have a 555 bed facility, pre-COVID, 300 average, average daily population and then we drop quite a bit post COVID. I give you those numbers all the time.

02:25:28,270	Um, this year, um, and I’ve been in consultation with Lee a lot as we try and project the revenue and uh we have really put an effort um as we’ve seen what I would say is our homegrown prisoners, the people of Burleigh and Morton County. We’ve talked about the decline in the city of Bismarck prisoners and the revenue impact that’s had on the facility.

02:25:47,270	So basically we’ve gone to work, um, with the contract prisoners. Uh, the first part, ones we looked to was, you know, the, um, state, um, the federal marshals and also Cass County, as you’ve probably seen in the newscasts County, uh, had a bed shortage and so we worked with them. Typically what we do is there’s some reciprocity with counties.

02:26:08,170	So, like if we have a person picked up on a warrant, um, in Grand Forks, they wouldn’t bill us and we would return that favor.

02:26:23,730	So like CAS had some prisoners in our facility every month that we didn’t bill them for, but the overflow that they asked us to house for them was built. Uh, we did a lot of work on the daily rates out at the detention center. Uh, we are still working on those, um, the first of the year.

02:26:46,630	Everybody except the Three cities, Lincoln, Bismarck, and Mandan will go to 115, which is, is the current federal rate and um and the cities will go to 100. So we’re getting them very close to the rate of everybody else, and it’s taking some time. We got to work within budget cycles to get this done. Uh, the news Comm Woodcock is referring to.

02:27:09,530	as we had discussions with DOCR in regards to their overpopulation issue, and, uh, basically as I’ve said many times and, you know, former, the former commission that had the insight or the view, I should say the vision on the jail Sheriff Heinart, um, we built at a time and it, it’s kind of funny that my first year in office, I’m being questioned if we

02:27:28,800	overbuilt the jail. And now, um, we are able to bring in contracts, um, which are very lucrative for Burleigh County. I would say, you know, you never run a jail like a business, um.

02:27:47,500	and you never wanna build just to try and maximize contracts because in the end, I don’t think that’s good through the ebbs and the flows, but we built the facility back in 17 with a vision of what we would need in the future and then times change.

02:28:09,870	Criminal justice reform, the courts look at different, uh, sentencing and, um, holding practices, but ultimately, um, we were in a position when everybody else got in trouble with Bed’s face. So, uh, we have brought in martial prisoners, far exceeding what we ever held. Uh, we’ve contracted with ICE to house federal, uh, illegal immigration detainees and um the big thing is, uh, we have been bringing in Department of Corrections, Prisoners, but not on a grand scale.

02:28:34,900	Uh, we were approached, um, about it, I wanna say probably like 8 months ago, give or take, uh, potentially renting out one of our empty pods, so we for a while in the facility to kind of give you a, a quick rundown.

02:28:56,800	Our 500 pod was never opened, um, until we got the AARPA funded positions during COVID, and then we had to open it out a necessity. The 7 and 800 pods are dorm style pods, and we’ve never had a need to have both those pods open until recently, uh, when I did a big immigration roundup in the western part of North Dakota, basically.

02:29:20,800	And so for a short time we actually had every pod open and running. The problem is we’re not staffed to do that. And, you know, so I’ve said many times from the beginning, the limitations are on staffing, not on bed space. And for a lot of other jails, that’s unheard of.

02:29:40,230	Um, the state did approach us uh for a long term contract, um, potentially 8 years um and so we’re in the very preliminary stages of negotiating that contract and potential rate. Uh, we did have a meeting, myself, Major Trent Wong, and, uh, the director of DOCR and then Lance Anderson, another key player at DOCR.

02:30:04,100	They want, uh, one of our pods of the 7 or 800, that’s 120 bed capacity, uh, we would rent that out at the negotiated rate.

02:30:23,800	Um, we have to agree on that final rate, but that would be guaranteed beds, um, and what I mean by that is if they had 100 in there, we would still be paid at that 120 inmates per day. So, uh, they would bring in some caseworkers and manage their people, uh, basically we would provide security and we would feed and house them for the negotiated rate, um, the, our plan is, like I said, it’s very preliminary, but I would

02:30:47,370	say we’re at about 99.9%, if not higher. um, that, that’s why in the detention budget, when I met with the governance board Committee, and we talked budgets. We have increased 4 detention officers and 1 nurse.

02:31:08,870	One of the other things and just a little caveat there, um, if you do the math and even if you just said 120 inmates at $100 a day for 365 days. It adds up to a lot of money.

02:31:28,430	Uh, one of the things I’ve said though is we don’t know what we don’t know, and, uh, so we’re gonna have to be flex When we signed this contract, and I think it’s going to get done. Um, we’re going to have be having a board meeting at some point. to talk about negotiated rates and things we want in the contract. And, uh, ultimately, we won’t sign a contract with a flat rate for 8 years that would be an escalation.

02:31:48,900	Yes, there would have to be something built in or a clause that when we renegotiate other rates, that rate gets renegotiated. Sure. But, um, the good thing is, this is a good thing for Burleigh County. And I, I, I’ll end with this before we, um before you open it up to questions.

02:32:13,330	I think last year we returned to Burleigh County roughly. $2.7 million in the detention center. I’ll be coming to you, uh, very soon for my quarterly detention report were projecting over $5 million in revenue on the detention center. So, um, when you look at the proposed budget roughly 13 million.

02:32:45,370	You take off our projected revenue, which for 2026, very conservatively could be in that 6 to $8 million. Take that off the top, we’re down to a $5 million budget and then you take Morin County paying their share of that budget, we have reduced the cost of that facility to taxpayers, um, very greatly and, and I can’t thank the detention staff enough.

02:33:06,700	They’re doing the heavy lifting, uh, guarding those prisoners because it, it’s kind of like an engine, you slowly rev it up and listen to the que squeaks and groans, but, uh, our population has, I think, Trent can correct me, but I think our, we’ve hit new highs consistently and I think we were almost 370 for an inmate count.

02:33:29,530	So that’s a lot of inmates Great information, Comm. Sheriff, just a quick question on the staffing side. Is there a scenario where, um, because you mentioned the, the caseworker side that the state would supply for, for some of that.

02:33:51,000	Is, is there a scenario that some of the detention officers for that pod would be state employees versus Burleigh County employees or, and we’re just providing the bed space. What does that look like? Mr. Chair. Because, that’s our limiting factor, and that’s a good question.

02:34:10,730	Here, here’s what I would say our hesitancy to do that, and that was the initial proposal Grand Forks County was given, uh, or they were in negotiation with the state. Um, my hesitation to do that is you create a facility inside your facility. Um, pretty soon we’ve got staff that we didn’t hire working inside our building even though when I asked because that was the original Grand Forks County proposal.

02:34:31,000	So that, that’s I would be hesitant to, uh, enter into a contract like that because even though they’re, um, you know, I trust the state and, and I, it’s not that, but. But they’re not your employees. We want our employees running the building. We’re, we’re the ones liable for their conduct. OK. Right.

02:34:48,370	Yeah, I just, I knew that was the original contract, so that’s why I asked. so. Well, somebody, you know, changed the subject a little bit. Yes. OK with that. Somebody asked me recently about body cameras, and I said, you know, I don’t remember the conversation, but we had determined at one point that didn’t think that was something that we should be

02:35:01,700	doing. and I and he was saying, well, they’re so cheap these days, why not? And I said, well, that’s kind of a sheriff department thing. And so I guess uh just.

02:35:18,170	for his sake I mean, he showed me a, a thing where it’s all, you know, night vision and 64 gig. hard drive and GPS and all that and it was like $144 and I thought, well. I don’t know anything about it, so it’s a server that uh Mr. Chair, Commissioners, I’ve had this conversation, and if you look at future budget considerations under the sheriff’s side of the budget.

02:35:42,630	I explain in there, um the cameras are cheap Um, in fact, I think if you negotiate hard enough, they’d give you the cameras. Um, I was asked to speak at, uh, uh interim legislative committee meeting by the Association of Counties and, uh, because of my view, and I would estimate this.

02:36:08,370	for us to implement a body camera program with the technology companies that are out there today. Um, it would, I would say easily $200,000 a year, um, reoccurring cost year after year. The cameras are the cheap part, um, now what these companies have done and they figured it out is they want you to be on the cloud.

02:36:31,730	So we’re even running into that with our in-car cameras. We can no longer have our own server so we got a rent and that’s where I had the opportunity to have this conversation with Senator Kramer, um, and my concern is that at some point the federal government mandates them.

02:36:53,630	I, I, I think the technology is good, but I also think when I look at our department and, and I always say I hope I never regret saying this. Um, if I have to fight for $200,000 at this table.

02:37:13,900	I’m going to use it for celery to make sure we’ve got good quality employees because the cameras don’t stop allegations as of excessive force. They don’t stop allegations of racial disparity. Good supervisors stop that. Good employees don’t commit that. And so, um I think there’s a tool, but these companies will keep coming with tools as long as you’re willing to buy them.

02:37:32,170	Pul you up, huh? So OK. No, that’s. So, you know, I, I, I say it like this to, to Comm Woodcock. If this board wants them, they got to fund them.

02:37:51,270	If the public demands that we have them, they got to come to this board and tell that you guys or tell me to, they want them. And, um, knock on wood, our complaints are, are very minimal and, you know, our uses of force are very thoroughly researched and so I think they have a place, but I also think there are costs to the taxpayer. OK, well I appreciate your position on that. Thank you.

02:38:12,270	I hope he sees that on TV. What’s that? I hope this Guy that was asking. Oh. Saw that, well, and feel free to give them my number. Honestly, I would. I got one more question. OK. Um. Sheriff, um, on the line item for youth works, er, just explain that.

02:38:32,270	Let me pull out my phone and you want to just look at it? It’s on Nash Yeah, if I can just. Yeah. It’s just explain why it’s 0 and it’s always been 0, so is that grant funded Mr. Chair, Comm, this is under the detention center. Oh, OK.

02:38:55,370	So, it’s probably honestly a line item that can be struck out of there. OK. Uh, we fund it on the sheriff’s side. OK, that’s OK. Thank you. Well, I guess that gets us to detention center, um, 4748.

02:39:15,100	um as you’ve heard um, I figure why you were up there you know, about 41 and 42 Well. Am I too far down the road? 41. You’re talking about detention, right? Yeah, but you get 47, 48 is the The detention center? Yeah Yeah, the 41 through, 46, it’s just information.

02:39:43,500	and I, and I think we’ve all had a chance to read that. So I don’t have a problem with the sheriff’s department budget and then we get that takes us to the detention center budget. Anything you want to enlighten us on on that or? I don’t know, I’m not seeing. We talked about the income coming in. Yeah so.

02:39:58,270	Yeah, I don’t think there’s anything we need to change there. No, um. so I’d like, as far as I’m concerned, I’m just gonna move on. Thank you. Thank you, Kelly, I appreciate it. Uh, next is emergency management.

02:40:19,800	That’s one of my portfolios, and, um, I don’t really see any, any problem with an emergency management. or within the budget, I should say Mhm. OK, we’re gonna move on Ambulance, that’s zero. Anybody want to reduce that? Oh. OK Youth Bureau, uh 94,000. Bismarck Police Youth Bureau Um I take it we have some sort of responsibility, even though it’s under Bismarckli Youth Bureau.

02:41:13,530	How’s your knee doing? More steps. Yeah Mr. Chair, Comm, um, historically we have funded one place youth worker, um, through the police department, and that’s what that is every year, uh, they send us basically a bill, uh, we have that service even though it’s housed in the police department.

02:41:39,170	um, and maintained through them anytime one of our deputies has an incident involving a youth, and they have questions or need help with a placement for secure or non-secure housing. That’s what we get for that money. OK, you’re comfortable with it? Yes. OK. Thank you. Bismarck Burleigh Public Health. I guess it’s the age 52.

02:42:03,230	Uh, the first thing right off the bat here um revenue, expenses, the city share and the county share and that whole thing. First off. Not, not to use your words, but this is my portfolio and I’m very comfortable with it. Yeah. I mean, and a half.

02:42:28,730	What, what’s the what do you, what do you, what do you, what are you comfortable with? It’s the proposal The, the proposal is 99,960,000 for in the middle with 6040, that’s 6040. Now. I, over the last year, I have brought to this commission 3 different times. um the listing of items that are mandatory by Burleigh County Public Health to provide.

02:42:51,230	Uh, a few months ago, uh, HR provided with me a document if Burleigh County were to do this on our own. uh just staffing was close to $900,000. My proposal here is, is actually right in line with what Travis is talking about. Eventually this needs to be a Burleigh County process.

02:43:13,170	This does not need to be a shared program. But in order for us to have the funding to do it. completely on her own The proposal I have in here for $960,000 just to get us to that point.

02:43:34,700	because I do believe next year when we decide to do this again on our own, it’s going to cost us more than that 960. And when you’re looking at the 3% cap. eventually that’s gonna bite us. So my proposal is to stay at that 960 so that we’re prepared 40, 60/40 split, but we’re prepared for doing this on our own, eventually. Ballpark 1.2 to 1.

02:44:03,370	3 is what it’s gonna cost us to have our own Burleigh County Public Health. providing the services that are required. by law So this is a stepping stone for us to get it in our budget to that point. Yes, I understand that 60% this dollar goes to the City of Bismarck this time.

02:44:23,100	but eventually it’s got to be in our budget to handle it ourselves. In my opinion $6,600,000 is, is half of what we’re going to need and if we go back to that dollar amount this time.

02:44:45,730	The next time when we want to put it in our budget, we’re going to go back to the citizens of Burleigh County and ask for another $600,000 and that’s gonna be tough to swallow. So it’s, it’s, this is my way of preparing us to get to that number eventually running our own department. to take over the. You’re not on. There’s our own department include taking care of the responsibilities of the cityside right now. We would be required by law to take care of city residents.

02:45:18,870	Yes, but we don’t have to take over. Correct. Distributing needles. We don’t have to take on any of those other programs thing that we had here, I actually want to cut the budget. Tur. I think that budget should be just blown away, and we start right now on our thing. That’s how mad I am about that.

02:45:38,530	It’s a budget that follows the way things were done in San Francisco, and I am not going to waste money giving out clean syringes to people that don’t give a ***. and haven’t made up their mind that they’re gonna get off drugs.

02:46:04,000	And when you look at this whole thing, there’s housing in it, transportation, pay legal fees, a staff, ad staff, add this, add that. No way we can’t afford that and the city can’t afford that. This is a Christmas tree.

02:46:29,170	of confusion and it’s not gonna work If you can’t get the people to say, we’re gonna get off drugs why would you want to aid and abet him and give him clean ields and pretty soon you’re going to give them drugs, maybe cigarettes, whatever. No way. Comm Buck, um, Renee, you’re actually here, Renee Mack from Public Health. Public Health actually doesn’t have a needle exchange program if I recall. Correct. OK.

02:46:53,170	So, You’re correct, Comm Bakken, um, we do not have a needle exchange program at Bismarck Burley Public Health, so we’re not giving. we do not have a needle exchange program at Bismarck Burleigh Public Health.

02:47:08,630	We don’t, we don’t give we don’t out we don’t as your we don’t proposal for your triage center that has nothing to do with that through the stuff that you gave us the last meeting, and you said, this is what we can use the money for and I believe you will. The plans haven’t been developed yet.

02:47:26,230	I don’t trust you What would give you the reason not to trust everything that I’m bringing forward is commission approved, and it’s valid information and for you to make accusations that I’m not being honest. I think it’s inappropriate. I said, I can’t trust you. Why can’t you trust me? That’s an accusation that I’m not trustworthy $50,000.

02:47:42,730	He went over to the city and what did you do? He said Well, give me 100 and when I get the money from the county. That is the way. That is not. That is not what happened. It isn’t. It is not what happened. I had 2, I had 2 proposals for $50,000 apiece. I went to the Burleigh County Budget Committee meeting, who you have two commissioners here.

02:48:00,900	One is my portfolio holder and one is Comm Woodcock, and I had just found out that the North Dakota Opioid Settlement Grant did not fund our proposal and so I brought that forward to the budget committee to talk about it with the potential of having the county funds and the city opioid settlement funds, which are specifically used for types

02:48:18,500	of, uh, programs like this to help individuals with opioid, uh, disorders, um, to be able to have a cost share and during that budget committee meeting, they asked that I bring that forward to the full com Commission for consideration. So I came forward but was completely cut off and did not even get a chance to explain.

02:48:38,800	what we wanted to do and so I, I went, I had already had the commission, um, scheduled on the city side. and Comm Cleary said, either we have no contract to award because we don’t have the funding or Bismarck absorbs the entire $100,000 and they voted to move forward with funding the entire

02:49:02,800	amount. There was no request for Burleigh County reimbursement. That was maybe having side conversations amongst the commissioners on the city side, but that was not my proposal. Why was it in there that one Guy voted and said, this hinges upon you getting the money the other 50,000 from the county.

02:49:30,000	I’m not that that was not in the 100,000 total, 50/50. I wanted 50,000 from Burleigh, 500,000 from the county, 50 from the city, the county said, well, you and I haven’t got your documentation, right? Next day you went over, you got $100,000 to cover the county’s. side of it And I believe you told them.

02:49:49,370	that. when you get the money I did not state that. I’ll go back and record and we’ll it’s recorded and you can go back and check. And there was, there may have been a conversation from one of the commissioners that they had mentioned that, but that was not my promosal nor my statement.

02:50:06,470	nor the, nor the approval from the city. Correct. Well, let’s get back to the subject at hand. Thanks for uh, that little thing there, but um you had 582,502,000 near 2025 budget. and then you want a 3% increase automatically this year.

02:50:37,330	You maybe heard me earlier when I was talking about the question with the extension budget that they were at 7% and how, I don’t think it’s appropriate to just increase budgets automatically by a certain percentage. How do you address that? So, the city of Bismarck approved uh the salary increase, cost of living salary increase of 3% across the board.

02:50:53,800	A lot of what we have funded in our general fund is salary infringe benefits with, they also approved a 2% merit, um, increase, and in addition to that, um, we are looking at increased costs for healthcare supplies and um vaccine supplies as well that we, that we purchase and so that was, um, the overall request, uh.

02:51:15,730	for that amount It wasn’t 3% planned, it was just 3% is how it came out. Correct. Renee, did, um, uh, do you have any further stability on some of the grant funding that kind of was in flux.

02:51:39,370	Um, up to this point, there, I believe, a total of the impacts to us, um, it was $208,000. Uh that was federal funding that has been pulled back. Um, I haven’t heard of no other impacts at this point.

02:51:59,170	Um, there were some programs that were potentially at risk, um, but the, uh, state Health department received notice that they were funded and so we’re funded for another year, uh, for Women’s Way program and a few of the others. OK Mr. Chair, Comm Wood. So, I’m clear, you’re, you’re requesting the 60,000,310. No. No. 960, 496, and 3. OK. That’s the 6040 the 6040. Wait a minute, wait a minute. You see that’s why confused.

02:52:20,970	She was requesting something, but the 600, or the the 960 is Comm Munsen’s request. That’s what I’m trying to clear 960 is my request. So she’s not, she’s asking for 625 split. Yep. Yeah, the 600 310, and like I said, I have an issue with the 3% automatic increase, but.

02:52:43,000	um Yeah, I’m the one requesting the 960. Right. And, of course, I’m not able to support that. I understood your justification. I think it’s premature to say that we’re gonna move to our own thing and um use that money and at some point in the future. I just don’t think we’re anywhere near doing that yet.

02:53:02,630	I think we have to be. I think we have to hurt, we have to move forward to getting on our own. It’s Fairly common. Well, at this point, yeah, thinking and talking about it is one thing, but, but committing 960,000 to something that we haven’t even remotely discussed that would

02:53:20,270	be premature ish er we still have this really come to a conclusion on we don’t need to absorb what the city wants to do. No. And their health department. Correct. That’s number one. No. No.

02:53:43,100	Number two if you can waste money to get validation to do something that is not the county’s best interests, in my opinion. but to stamp something that you’re pushing I would like to see the budget cut 50,000.

02:54:11,970	Well just coming back to the discussion, we’re, we’re not in a position to, to stand up something else on our own right now, and I am supportive of the 7525 split because it does provide services to to county residents of which residents of Bismarck are. Um the 60/40 that’s up for debate, but I would be supportive of the 75, 25 for sure.

02:54:43,730	We’re not in a position to incur if we’re gonna jump, we’re gonna have to jump and we’re not in a position to set that up or know what that looks like at this point in time, so when we jump, we’re going to the It’s for a big dollar. It’s going to be a jump. Yep. Mr. Chair Wish you with that.

02:55:00,000	I, I’ve, I have to be convinced of why we’d want to do that because I’m against having more, no more employees than we have to. Uh, we would be creating a new department, a new department with 3 or 4 or 5 employees in an office and all the other things that go along with it.

02:55:14,000	And I have, if there’s a need, I can see where we might want to do it, but I don’t see the need there. Our our county residents now getting enough care out of this $600,000. Are they getting are we getting value out of that 600,000. If, if we aren’t, and if there’s something wrong, I, but I don’t think there is something wrong.

02:55:31,070	I think this is a you, if you look at what our potential, what it would cost us. This is a bargain compared to what we might have to spend if we were to go immediately to our our own health department. Yeah, and I, I, I see the value in, in what we’re providing with the 25%.

02:55:47,600	Uh, Comm Munsen, so when you’re talking the, the cost share. And increasing that are there’s two roads to go down. One standing up our own department or two taking over what currently exists with public health and then retooling it. Right. And that’s where you would like to go eventually.

02:56:12,530	Honestly, I would prefer to start our own. because I think there are, there’s a lot of services that our current public health department provide that they’re allowed to charge insurances for. There are a lot of grant programs that Renee’s staff are getting and being able to provide services to our residents that I think are very useful.

02:56:38,730	Um what I honestly hate is this bickering between the city and the county? And quite honestly, it’s driving me nuts and I’d rather stand on our own. though that would not be accomplished by doing 60/40 split.

02:57:01,270	You know, you would, you would have some funding, but you’re turning that money over to the city, and that’s disappearing. As I said, so that’s not an answer until we actually get a city manager hired and move forward with being able to do our own department You’re right, that 960 goes to the city, but when we decide to jump and we want to go back to the citizens for another 6 $800,000 to do this

02:57:25,730	That’s a tougher conversation for me to have with the residents than putting a little bit more in the budget today and a little bit more in the budget next year. I’m, I’m just not buying that.

02:57:44,970	Um, have you had any conversations with the city at all about, uh, reducing the taxes on the city residents that would reflect an additional investment on our behalf. I think they just did their budget. Yep, and they are more, they, they have had that conversation. We’ve had that conversation together that whatever we put into the pot, they will reduce their amount by that amount.

02:58:02,000	So if, if we increase our, our budget by $600 or $360,000 they will reduce their liability to the citizens of Bismarck by that of Moto, that amount of money. Well, I’m not, I’m not supporting any increase. Aren’t you, in effect, been taking them over by doing stuff like that. I have the problem with eating and betting.

02:58:21,800	drug use, and that’s what I see in this thing. Why would we want to do that? It isn’t that I’m I don’t think you need a health department. but they are going into the housing business, the low income, uh, housing.

02:58:49,530	If you read this thing that we had 2 months ago I don’t think they’re qualified to put up low income housing and uh that’s, that’s the low barrier shelter. That’s. That’s a different. That’s a different discussion the way it was word. So, that’s a different group, I think. I don’t think that’s public health. No. This thing is heading towards, uh turning Bismarck into uh San Francisco. Well, yeah, I. Period. Our, our budgets, Mr.

02:59:11,430	Chair, our budget that we’ve got now includes the, the 600,000, correct? The 75. What’s in there now. It includes our budget includes the 960, our preliminary includes the nines. Yes. Right. Oh, the, the preliminary request OK. Was for 960, 496.

02:59:34,900	And we’re currently at 582,502, and I simply can’t support that, so. frankly, I can’t support the 600, um, because I think a 3% increase is, should not be applied across the board, because I think just salary increase alone doesn’t, doesn’t cut it. I think there’s been too much mission creep.

02:59:52,630	Um, I think they’re doing things you say you, you provided, uh, the things that they need to do statutorily, and I don’t, um. I don’t think that, uh, what they’re doing is necessarily in line with that. We have a resident that would like to visit. I’ll keep it short All right. I’ve already kind of opened with it. Um I still, I’m just gonna.

03:00:15,500	For the record Travis Jensen. OK, thanks. ETA resident. Yeah, I know that. I’m just going to reiterate, I think that if you guys are contributing there has to be some open communication, and there has not been that Comm Munsen, you may disagree with this statement. but there has not been open communication.

03:00:38,430	Otherwise, Comm Schwabab and others that have questions would be well aware of what is going on. So I am gonna stand up here and I’m gonna say if, if the county’s going to pay for it.

03:00:51,900	we should have a seat at the table, a better seat at the table, um, there has to be, you can’t run, I mean, you guys are basically acting like divorced parents right now where when one parent says no, she runs to the other parent. and that’s where the foot needs to come down.

03:01:09,070	is we need to start saying no, you’re, you’re not gonna get told no at this board and then run to the other board and just for public record, I I inquired on who does her reviews. who, who is setting. the salaries for public health Do you gentlemen have a say in that, or how are we deciding? basically, I mean, salaries dictate performance. Who is dictating if the performance of public health.

03:01:37,870	is sufficient or not So that’s why I would stand up here and I would say the idea of having a public health board just like we have a planning and zoning board and numerous other. advisory boards, um, composed of both citizens. and, uh, you know, people that have. experience in those fields would be beneficial because right now we don’t have a bridge between both boards.

03:01:57,630	and you’re allowing her to bounce back and forth and go to whoever is going to give her her way. And as all of you know as parents, that doesn’t work. Well, thanks, Travis. I don’t think that this is really a conversation that, um, is about her.

03:02:15,630	This is a conversation about budgets, but Mr. Chair Comm Woodcott. I, I, on page 52. At the top, it says total request from Bertie County for public health,,, $600,310. But you’re, you’re saying this, our budget that we presented here, the numbers we got tonight has the 960,000 in. Correct. Not the 600,000.

03:02:38,730	That’s Comm Munsen’s request. That 960 was requested at the preliminary hearing, and that’s why it’s on this sheet. OK. Renee? Yeah. But these numbers we got now are with the 960 in it. Yes, right. Yep.

03:02:56,230	And we, if we want, just Chair, I, I would move that we change the 960 back to, uh, 600 $310 which is a 75 25% split. Sure. Do you, Renee? Um, I just wanted to, I made a, I, I, there’s a motion on the table. Sorry. Is there, if there’s a second, then we’ll, we can move on.

03:03:16,100	Is there a second to that? Second for discussion. OK. Um, I’d like to hear from you, you want to add something? I was just going to add Mr. Jensen’s comments about a board we had brought forward that at one time, um, to bring forth, uh, representation of a combined, uh, board of health because right now the boards of

03:03:34,530	Health are the City Commission and the county Commission, which is, it does make things challenging for me because if you say no and the city says yes, um, that can be cumbersome Um, we had looked into that and that was turned down by this commission to, to do that. So just wanted to mention that.

03:03:51,270	Thank you. Kate, we have a um, which I think that’s would be a good discussion going forward to see what we can do to stand that up. Stand that up so we can knock it down and we go on our own. um maybe, maybe we’ll talk about that in the future.

03:04:12,000	I don’t know, but, um, right now the motion on the table is for the 600 310 And for the record, I don’t 24 cents What’s that? And 24 cents. 24 cents. No, 24 cents on this one. No. Which number is correct, then? It’s 75, 25 spit, 600 $310.

03:04:35,000	That’s what I got. Yeah, that’s on page 52... 0, I’m sorry to 24 cents extra on this sheet here. Yep. OK, well, 24 cents matters. Which one do you want to use? Sheet 54 or? My motion was 600 $310. OK.

03:04:55,430	So we have a motion in a second any further discussion? Comm well. I’m not going to support this. because I don’t believe it’s going to do anybody any good. We should just break away from them right now as far as I’m concerned.

03:05:24,270	This is we, we I mean, you know, it, it’s COVID money and there was so much opioid addiction on account of COVID and good old Steve here has never met a Guy in town or a gal. It’s said this COVID, you know, I it caused me to get addicted Has anybody really not. And that’s what brings up all this other stuff that’s in, that’s in this what we can do with this money.

03:05:48,170	We can’t afford it because if you add it up, it’s if we were with the, the city of Bismarck, you can look at it down the road. We are going to be in the millions, multi-million dollars to run this operation that’s being proposed.

03:06:07,070	And I’ll tell you what, we’re all are going to be deserved to be run out. We all got it coming then. Anyway, um Mr. Chair. OK, Comm Wilcox The sheriff is still here, but I’d like to ask his opinion on hiring medical people, but we’ve had at the jail and the, and the, uh, uh,

03:06:27,070	detention center and the sheriff’s office, and I, I know that’s when you, I, I like the idea of cutting it off to 0, but we would immediately have to hire a medical staff. They’re not ready for that today, but go ahead. Well. Answer the question. Mr.

03:06:42,100	Chair, Comm, I can tell you we have struggled at the detention center to hire nurses, uh, back when we had a lot of turnover. Uh you were talking about temporary services with Missy. Um, I, I would love $27 an hour when we have temporary nurses, um, because we were going broke. Uh, basically, we struggle.

03:07:05,530	Um, now, maybe some of that is where detention center. Most people I was going to say we’re talking about two totally different, you know, works really. But I think, I, I will say this, when I see the bonuses being paid for CNAs and nurses at these private facilities, uh, by the grace of God, we keep positions filled.

03:07:26,370	Well, uh, thanks. Thank you With regards to the vote on this huh I’ll have to explain to you later. about why my vote’s going to be what it is. I do.

03:07:55,270	But, um, uh, um, any further discussion? Follow Trisha Schwab What are we voting for to reduce, reduce this 960 was presented down to 600,000, which is a 75, 25. I want it down to zero. No. Richard Woodcocks. Yes. K Christian Munsen. No. Comm Bakken. Yes. Chain Bitner, yes. even though that breaks my heart. Yeah, because I want it to be down to zero also.

03:08:19,700	but I knew that if I voted no then it it wasn’t likely gonna go to zero today, so. I, I really think there’s middle ground here to figure this thing out. I think there is. And I know it’s going to take time but I get really frustrated.

03:08:40,500	when somebody can’t answer the questions you ask them, and you go over to the city, they put up buildings and charges rent. Don’t even let us know they’re doing it. Well, I’m not going to, that is wrong. I, I think we were left out, I think we were left out of the loop, and I agree with you, and I think that’s pretty offensive.

03:08:53,370	Especially when you’re in here asking for a half a million dollars of, of county dollars. Yeah. Um, it’s I can tell you, I can tell you a little bit more about my experience with it. um, when we, when we first voted on this, I voted against doing this simply because I got erroneous information from the health department.

03:09:10,370	I mean, flat out erroneous information. Uh, matter of fact, I met with the county state’s attorney over that. And so I, I feel the pain. but I also think that as of today we’re not prepared to um make that le today. I know we’re not.

03:09:26,970	And, and I, I think strongly that we need to look at that for the future because there’s been enough of a rift with this thing that we got to fix it. So, and I think we will. I want to move on unless you wanna add? No. OK Maybe that said enough OK. Income maintenance.

03:09:43,000	This one’s a slam dunk. 00 Uh nifa I Are we on, uh, 56? Are we all on the same page? 56. Yep. Yep. OK. OK, uh, I’m not quite clear on this one here. This looks like um, so at at knife, a big jump. What we, what do we do.

03:10:15,000	So at nightfall, we had, uh, we did not vote on the opportunity to hire a consultant for 25 to add a boat ramp at Nael. Now that we have the new ADA ramp and everything else out there, my proposal is, is to eventually add a ramp, uh, the $50,000 was the bid for Houston Engineering last year

03:10:35,270	to do the, uh, to do all the work out there to, to try to add that ramp, and so that’s why it’s in this in this budget OK Well, I, I appreciate that, Comm Munsen, but I got to tell you, there’s not a fisherman out there that I’ve heard from

03:10:52,970	that thinks another ramp at that location is a good idea. No. Because of the because of the siltation and the, and everything that’s going on right there and the erosion and the whole picture right there.

03:11:06,630	I don’t know, maybe you can find an engineer to make you comfortable with it, but Comm, I’ve bod out of that ramp and I just can’t imagine that that’s gonna be successful. Having had some preliminary conversations with Houston They believe they can find a ramp uh, south of the current ramp going actually back in your boat in to the southwest.

03:11:29,730	There was a ramp there years ago. you know many many years removed, yeah, no. I don’t know why. I, I think because it’s just a really bad location on the river. With the river doing what it’s done. Now I, I, I really really would like to get us a uh uh uh an additional ramp.

03:11:50,900	Somewhere, because we’re going to lose one shortly. I, I think, well, we’re not the city, but the borders in our I do, I do think that’s the thing. Um, I just think that’s a really bad location for and, and the heavy duty fisherman that I’ve talked to are of the same opinion because you’ve got to limp around in there.

03:12:07,800	It’s, it’s, it’s just not a good spot on the river, Comm Woods. Uh the 2025 actual budget says for capital outlay says 85,000. These prints are so small. Yep, yeah. And then, uh what’s. We want to go from 85 to 135. So that’s 50,000 more than we did, than we’re doing this year.

03:12:38,100	So, Nyl went from 161 in 25, budgeted to 173. Right, but they were supposed to be ADA upgrades for 85,000, wasn’t there? So, that was done at Steckel. So that was the next person. So Steel and niel got separated, so you kind of like the auditor treasurer did. You had um so if you add the, the nify and the Stey.

03:12:59,170	You go from 161 to 16, what would be ADA upgrades. So what we did for ADA upgrades at Seckle was put in, uh, new handicap, uh, vault toilet, handicap ramps, and the handicap, um uh, shelter that ramp, that vault toilet at Kneel that’s Steckle. I know what they’re talking about, but the vault toilet atniel is, is for handicapped. Correct.

03:13:29,600	There’s nothing we’re gonna do with that at Knifel. Yeah. So what is the 85,000 for at night? What’s the 135,000 for? The, the budget, the new budget, what’s that? Right. Well, I haven’t justified the 85,000 from the 25 budget. Because that’s supposedly that’s 885,000 So, yeah, so we had 80, 8DA upgrades of 85.

03:13:52,900	That’s, again, a duplicate of our plan of what we did out at Nafall, or excuse me, up at Se. So ramps and don’t need that. new because now with that new ADA ramp up there, we’re gonna need more ADA accessible.

03:14:21,730	um, sidewalks as well as, um shelters shelters picnic shelter no uh you know, that, that’s set up as a fishing facility, not a camping facility. That’s. Well, I guess it is a campground. Yeah, there’s a lot of people camping there. I and Stuckle both have camping. They’re there all the time. Yep. All right.

03:14:35,800	Well, I, I think this, this, um, budget for Knifeel is pretty long in the tooth here. I think that’s way more money than we’d be spending up there. One thing, the consultant fees for a new boat ramp, I think, is a real non-starter in the ADA upgrades aren’t gonna cost anywhere near that.

03:14:55,100	not for some sidewalks, you got $4 a square foot for trying out out how much you want to I want to build 2 25 we approved here a few, a few months ago. Yeah. Well, again, that’s a long ways from 5. Yeah, yeah.

03:15:11,530	Yeah, but that’s not just sidewat like we were proposing um, yeah, I just think for a second ramp, it’s not the location on the river for it. I can’t, I can’t justify it in any way. I mean, I got a big boat and I can’t can’t use it What’s another location Exactly. Well, I’ve got to figure that out someplace because we’re figure that out, you know, it’s, it’s basically, um, another place you’re starting all over.

03:15:32,170	Um-hum. From scratch. Yeah. Yeah. It’s better than pouring money into that might be better money spent, though. Yeah. Well, that’s why otherwise it’s going to be, it’s going to wash away again. That’s why I wanted to do the study. See, that’s why. So that the engineer.

03:15:46,000	There was a time, yeah, there, there was a time when we wanted to extend the campground right there. We wanted to go a little fur, you know, the campground where the. Um-hum. Where it starts with the fish cleaning station and we approached the corps of Engineers in the state of North Dakota about enhancing that area that’s down in the Willows for some additional camping.

03:16:02,530	Nice shade, nice whatever and they just shot that down right now. Yeah. Yeah. Because of the flooding and the whole, uh, the erosion cause that we use, we used to actually fish right off of that until the river started to take it all away and, and, and whatnot, but it’s just not stable.

03:16:19,470	And now there’s been some movement where the river is moving east, um, if we’d had hindsight, you know, if we could go back 50, 75 years and do on our side of the river what Morton County did on their side.

03:16:38,430	we’d, we’d be having a different conversation right now, but I just, I just don’t see this as being a, a realistic budget. I think that um you know, even the, even the 2024 budget. was totally adequate 2023 was higher. Well, if we remove the 50,000 for the looking at putting another ramp there and then do you think the 25 was adequate and on the other for the ADA. For sidewalks? Yeah. Absolutely.

03:17:10,900	Yeah, 25 for sidewalks, absolutely. OK. Yeah. So, what besides the sidewalks, whether they’re ADA do we need? Again, we were, according to the ADA audit that we had done 3 years ago. Right. Um, we, they were requesting a uh a shelter, a handicapped shelter.

03:17:34,430	that’s at this, yeah, that’s a request for something that doesn’t exist, so we don’t have to you know, we don’t, we don’t have a shelter there right. Right, that’s, we don’t have a shelter there. Right. I don’t, I don’t see that we need to do an ADA upgrade in order to have one.

03:17:47,330	I mean, if we’re gonna put one in, we’ll put it in as an ADA structure, right, right, and that was part of this 85 was putting it in an ’88, I don’t, I’m not going to support a picnic shelter up there. Um.

03:18:07,730	I think we should determine whether that’s gonna be a camping area or a, or a boat launch, you know, we’re seeing, it’s not a good bull, you might as well keep it a campground. Yeah. Of course, I’m not really excited about the campground up there either, because we’ve got more issues with. Yeah. Our residents there. time and time again Well yeah.

03:18:28,870	So, hence the reason I was trying to put that into a better boat ramp. More parking where the campground is Yeah, I understand that, but like I said, I just can’t see a boat ramp surviving up there.

03:18:50,730	So then, according to what you were saying, even if we left 25,000 for sidewalks and whatnot and and I would support, I would certainly support that because I think getting somebody um you know, I’m, I’m pretty sensitive because I’m getting a little more crippled up as I get older, but, um you know, adequate sidewalks to get from a parking area, um, to that specifically to that handicap ramping or handicap

03:19:08,900	loading. uh, unit is a, is an awesome idea. you know. Well, my question is too, is, so because we haven’t gone through a season yet. No. But with the C removing that boat ramp, do we know what the increase in traffic there is.

03:19:34,170	And then with the ADA boat ramp or loading is that slowing up ingress and egress for fisherman. That’s the other I. They’re still doing that. They’re still got that on the board that they’re going to shut that down, huh? The city? Yeah. Yeah. They already started removing started St removing structures and stuff. I know they’re doing down there. Which is funny.

03:19:53,230	I just watched an aerial America this weekend, and it was on the Dakotas, and guess what was on there, which is no longer there. The long boat OK, well, Comm, what do you want to do here? Um Mr.

03:20:19,900	Munsen, are we OK dropping this, taking the 50,000 consulting fee off and the difference on the upgrades and dropping that down to 25. So, you’re, you’re taking 110 out, so you’d be down to 63,000. Yeah. So that, for the niyl. I disagree, but. Uh, I, I’m, I’m asking. I’m a minority here. It’s your portfolio, I’m asking. Well, I think. Can I survive with it? Yes.

03:20:38,530	Can I make the improvements on it that we can with the budget you’re giving me? Yes. Eventually, we’re gonna have to figure out where we’re going to have to spend it eventually too, but I, I think the better discussion is, is there another place that’s suitable for another boat ramp that’s not there. No.

03:20:53,530	And not you know, can we identify a, a different location. Yeah. Yeah. But then we got to build stuff out. We got to build from scratch when we go somewhere else. But there’s also there’s also some discussions coming with the state on some subsequent Burleigh County property that, as well that I think is gonna play into that.

03:21:13,870	So, we’ll hold off for a year and see where that goes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think he’s right about that. So. So. on a motion Yeah, yeah, that would be a motion. So what is the motion To drop it down to 110. No, drop it down to 63. 6363.

03:21:32,000	Well, good thing I’m not making the motion. 63 There’s a second Second Motion of second. Any further discussion? Oh no. Krier Woodcoxox. Yes. Comm Munsen? Nope. Comm Bakken. Yes. Comm, uh, Schwab, Chair Bitner. Yes, motion carries. page 57 Steckle pretty minor budget other than adding just a few touches to our ADA.

03:22:06,800	uh compliance, uh, items that we started up there this year. Good. What are contracted services. So Moing and Mowing and garbage dump and that’s about it, those two. Yeah. Mowing and garbage moved to prove Well actually, I think we’ll just, we’ll just move on. Yeah, I, I would support that.

03:22:30,270	OK. So. Um, McLean I don’t see any issues with that. Pretty minor. Move on. Kimble here’s my big 10, yeah. I thought niel was the big 10, no. This is the big one.

03:22:52,630	As, as you heard earlier with the, uh, report on the, the repairs that are going to be needed there I didn’t know how, and I brought this up a month ago with you guys too. Um, I put in 800 for this budget for a portion of those repairs, hoping over the next 3 to 4 years, we would assemble enough money to make those repairs.

03:23:13,530	I’m not, I’m not married to 800. I don’t know how else to do it. Um, talking to Lee, we could possibly bond. all of that but then we would have payments after the fact in our budget.

03:23:33,800	Well, but that will play better into the state law instead of the 3% cap you’re able to, you’d be able to do something that. Yep. That follows the law. Yeah. But having it put in today with the way our budget system, system is looking. it also, in my mind, played into we talk about the the capital improvement projects.

03:23:55,630	So if that money stayed in the capital improvement projects as we move forward. were not up upping our budget next year, the year after or whenever that happens, uh, even for the, the bond payments either way. So I’m not married to that number. I just didn’t know how else to put it in there. Cause I would rather have it in a or a capital improvement fund.

03:24:15,900	next year or this year or whenever. So, um but that’s not gonna be a, it’s not gonna be a cheap venture down there. No, we don’t even have a design yet, right? No. And it’s two years of permitting. So that’s where I figured that 800 this year, 800 next year.

03:24:35,170	By the time the project was done, I’d have 2.4 million sitting available to pay for it but I’m still gonna be short depending on whether we choose option A or B. Well, I think at that point we could probably bond the difference. Yeah, I think that’s more of a thing. I don’t, I don’t think.

03:24:51,700	We’re, first off, it’s unfortunate that we didn’t have the discussion about that. Um. sooner because I think we just deferred that to the next commission meeting where we’re going to talk about the you know, the things that I wanted to be able to review that lease

03:25:05,630	and whatnot and see what’s, see what’s going on. I mean, do we even want to, do we even want to continue with a lease down there. Well, and we talked about that with Houston Engineering. We have to return it to the condition it was in before we took over the lease.

03:25:20,430	OK, well, I bet you that, that boat ramp and that rock and whatever just has to be dug out, right? Yeah, but it. Yeah.

03:25:33,530	He was an Engineering felt it would cost us more to return it to the condition it was I don’t have a, I don’t have a hard number on it, but that was their opinion during our meetings. because that was my exact same question to them. Can we walk away? You know, will the cores let us out? Well, this comes back to the other question too. It’s like, identifying some better locations. Is that part of the discussion as well, so maybe we.

03:25:52,530	try to identify a better location and put a bigger facility in in a better place. Yeah. I mean, that, that might be the alternative, because if you’re combining the two there’s a cost savings if we’re, if we’re gonna, if we find another spot to do it, yeah.

03:26:10,270	So, but that might come into some of the state conversations as well. And the heart, the hard part is, uh, you know, listening to being part of those meetings with Houston over the last 6 months.

03:26:30,430	Um I don’t know where on the river you’re ever going to be where you’re not going to have some of this Maintenance because it’s, you look at, you look at what we saw on the map, how much it shifted over the last 50 years. um and it’s continuing. It’s, it’s never going to stop. It’s never, you know, at least with the maintenance we’re looking at doing, um, out here at Kimball.

03:26:46,500	they’re fairly confident that at least we’re going to have we’ll still, we’ll still not keep the, the silt off of the, the ramp 100%, but at least we’re gonna have a bank that’s stabilized and we won’t lose any more land.

03:27:06,330	I’m OK with leaving this in the budget, um, at that 800, but knowing that we might pivot, pivot at some point. At some point we can reallocate those dollars for a better project, or go ahead with this one. Yep. Mr. Chair. I, I know the, he mentioned the fact that, uh, we have to keep dredging.

03:27:22,870	But what does it cost us to dredge that out every year?? 68 grands. I think last year was about 10 because we had more. 10,000? Yeah. And you compare that to 800,000 a year for 3 or 4 years. It doesn’t make sense. Well, I’m not, I’m not supporting an 8, 800,000, and then you got the ADA upgrades on top of that, 85,000 miscellaneous.

03:27:41,700	I just think that. I mean, we could dredge for 30, 40 years. But, but it’s not the dredging so much as what the Core wants us, that bank has to be stabilized to core standards. Whether we dredge or not, we are going to be required to rebuild that. Yeah, this is a core issue.

03:27:57,370	It’s a core issue. We’re going to be required to rebuild it. Have we gotten a letter on that or you said? Many. Many? Where, where are they at? I’d like to see them. I haven’t I seen I, I certainly can forward them to you. Yeah.

03:28:07,170	So, I’m not, I’m just like I haven’t any, I’m just not going to support it at this point the tone’s getting. We can do something in the future, isn’t it? The tone is getting tougher and tougher. We’ve started receiving those letters uh before I took over, before I was elected.

03:28:22,630	we were getting those letters So they just have gotten worse. OK, so if we leave that number in for the bank stabilization, whatever that winds up doing, uh, and maybe that project goes forward, maybe it doesn’t. Maybe it, like you said.

03:28:46,000	But maybe we find a better location, maybe the conversations of the state address the better location. Can we drop the ADA upgrades off of that until we know what we’re doing because we’re not gonna spend $85,000 on 8DA upgrades we’re not if that’s going to go away. Right, correct. So can we take that off? Oh, absolutely.

03:29:14,800	And just leave the so what’s the miscellaneous on here Heatsby Comm Munsen I might have to say the same thing. That was a while ago. OK Um it’s, where is there any miscellaneous? Down in Cali. Yeah. I got a miscellaneous line there Mr. Chair. We, we mis your work. We talk about the value we get out of the health department at 610,000 or whatever it was.

03:29:42,630	Look at the value we’re going to get out of 800,000 doing essentially nothing. Next to nothing, right? And that’s not just the 80, it’s because you’re making a commitment to continue this on for 2 or 3 years. So, you talk about value at the health department.

03:29:59,370	This is well, just in that before Warren Comm, before Warren that before Warren Comm, I’m not supporting that. OK. Well, and that’s I don’t think we need to. I think we can address that. We’re going to have to do something there, though. Sure. Cause the Core is. We don’t even know what.

03:30:08,630	Acquiring, well, but if we’re not budgeting for it, we don’t know what we can do. The Core is gonna require bank stabilization. That’s going to happen or we get out of the lease and return it back to the core, which is going to cost something.

03:30:23,230	um We have to return it to like. So, we’re, we’re going to have to budget this this money for something. We don’t know what that something is yet, but we’re gonna have to budget this money for something. That would be my position on it. I’m just telling you, it’s premature, so. Forward the letters from the court. Yep.

03:30:40,230	I’d like to see that letter, please. Yeah, sure. Somebody make a motion. Let’s get on with it. I will move to approve. I have a question on this. I don’t have a boat, so I don’t use these ramps.

03:31:03,970	But how do you return it back to its original condition if so much of it’s been washed away already. That’s not possible. I don’t have that. That’s the Cores, that’s core’s decision. Right. Well, that’s, that’s, part of it, you know. That’s, that’s the hard part. It’s the core decides the road, the parking lot, all the ramp, all that has to come out. Come out.

03:31:18,170	And then you just roll some semis in there and get a track hoe in about two days, you’re done. Serious They’re over the game and fish. No. No. No. There was even in our meetings 5 semis and 2 tracks.

03:31:38,430	Conversations of tree replacement for everyone we damage doing this bank stabilization, we got to plant 5. from the core from the cop, yep. Oh, another reason not to do it because you’re going to damage trees. You can’t get in there. Absolutely. That’s part of the budget, part of the, the bid or the estimate of cost. OK, um, I think you made a motion.

03:31:54,600	I haven’t heard a second. I didn’t really get the most though because Grisel Schwab started asking the questions, so I stopped. But I would move, um, to approve the 845, 500, which is a reduction of 85,000. I would second that Motion the second any further discussion? Paul the roll. Richard Munsen. Yes. Chris Comm Bakken. Yes.

03:32:16,370	Comm Schwab? No. Comm Woodcocks? No. Chair Bittner? No. OK, motion fails All right. What do you want it at Well, I’m going to take out the, uh, 895,000. Right. We’re going to have to do something Yeah, we’re going to have to do something one way or another. Um-hum. But we don’t have to solve it tonight.

03:32:37,730	We don’t even know what the plan will be, so we have options in the future I think we’re good So I would entertain a motion to reduce it by 895,000. about Have a motion is there a second Second Motion a second to reduce it by 895,000. Is there any further discussion? Call the rule. Comm Bakken. Yes.

03:33:09,230	Comm Schwab. Yes. Mr. Woodcock. Yes. Comm Munsen? No. Chair Bitner? Yes, motion carries OK, let’s move on Suns and boat ramp is pretty much the lawn maintenance and garbage and um boat landing. Boat Laing, yep. that needs to come off. There’s no. There’s no boat landing there. Swinson. Nope.

03:33:40,870	So I outside of that, I don’t see a problem, I’ve, I’ve moved to approve that $7900 which is a $1000 deductible. OK And motion is there a second? Second. Motion a second for 7900 for Swenson Do you have further discussion, call real quick Mr. Bakken? Yes. Mr. Schwab. Yes. Fisher Woodcocks. Yes. Fisher Munsen. Yes. Chair Bitner. Yes.

03:34:03,730	Motion carries. Next one is Mitchchell Lake, which is out by Wing, pretty much my whole budget is mowing lawn and a little garbage. uh I’m OK with that one. I don’t have any issues. It’s just mowing lawns. Yeah. Next, Sibley Park.

03:34:26,100	So Driscoll, this is the one that we recognized uh for the boat landing in our preliminary budget, but I see it’s still here. That was the site I was doing. So, this one should be at 8300. And it moved to approve s to approve 8300. Yeah, 83. OK, just take out that 1000. Motion second, any further discussion? Call the roll. Fisher Schwab Yes. Miss Woodcock. Yes. Mr. Munsen. Yes. Comm Bakken. Yes. Chair Bitner.

03:34:51,270	Yes, motion carries. Next, uh, page 63. City recreation. OK. We’ve been beating this one around and I can’t believe that we’re still paying this. Um what was, where did it go again? I want to know where. So. Where it goes.

03:35:15,970	Well, it, somehow or another, it, we gave direction at a commission meeting that it was to be on the agenda for the next Commission meeting and somehow it just didn’t happen. To reduce it. Yeah, to reduce it, make it go away.

03:35:36,000	Because we have a one year JPA with the city where the city parks and reck Um and we were, we were having active conversations about canceling it, and so the only thing is we were in the middle of the budget discussions like this. and we said, put it on the agenda, and then it was not on the agenda that I, I haven’t looked at that close enough yet.

03:35:49,530	All I know is that it was not on the agenda the way it appears. No, it was never put back on the agenda. I personally would never put it back on the agenda. So if somebody else wants it on the agenda, they’re going to have to instruct the auditor to do that.

03:36:03,270	So did you work to not have it done? Oh, hell no. OK, cause that, the intent over the last couple of years has been to eliminate this. I think this has gone on far too long. If you want it, you instruct it I personally don’t want to remove it, and so.

03:36:27,800	did I actively compa campaign to have not have it under? Absolutely not. OK, well um auditor Swonskowskis, put that on the agenda for the next. county commission meeting We’re going to leave it there now for that According to the JPA, we have to give them a year’s notice.

03:36:52,630	That doesn’t mean we have to give them an increase. um, the 2025 budget. It, it’s 6.6.675 of a mil. Oh. That’s, yeah. OK What do we actually get for So, what they provide for the 0.675 of a mil is maintenance on riverfront security on riverfront, which does include um everything outside of Burleigh County.

03:37:27,100	It does not include any Burleigh County parks. It’s just city parks along the river is what it, and then again, it’s security, it’s maintenance um, trees, it’s removal of a boat ramp. No, that’s being paid for by the city. That’s a different line item.

03:37:47,900	I think to see one less thing they got to manage though, I think the Park District was actually very surprised that they did not actually own that ramp. There’s still something. There’s still something coming through Water Resource District that the Burleyig County may have a vote on yeah or yeah nay, whether they can do that, so. Really? That’s Yeah. Still, in the middle.

03:38:07,630	Wouldn’t that be something? They might have to put the long boat back. After they just removed it. Yeah. The original condition, really. Yeah. Well, So we, we have to leave it for now. We have to leave it for now. It’s on the agenda for the next meeting. Yes. And it is uh, that valuable a mill, so. Yep. Oh.

03:38:32,170	County Advertising Which I’m not sure. A advertising. Lewis and Clark Lewis and Clark Development Company, our group, um, which again, they came in with a reduction uh based on their presentation here. Um was it last month? Yeah. Yeah.

03:38:56,730	I, I don’t know, I, I think they’re going to do their thing that with or without any funding from us. They do, do a lot of things with low cost housing, and I’m in favor of that, so. That’s. Uh, I, I would, one of the big things like support you’re doing, yeah. Anybody else have any concerns with that? No. OK, uh, communication center. ikes.

03:39:32,170	You know we’ve had some problems up there, folks. Mr. Chair, Comm. I, I had asked for a, a breakdown of this number. We just got a number. We don’t have anything what communication center, 917,000 What does that, what’s that breakdown? What is it salaries and rent and toilet paper, and who knows? I mean, it. Well, I, I have no idea.

03:39:53,900	Here comes Lee Mr. Woodcoox, that is a deal that we have with the city. We have another joint powers agreement with them. It’s um it’s a case where I’m not sure if we are required to provide 911 services or not, but there’s a tariff on your phone and the county has the tariff.

03:40:28,000	so we, we have the authority to levy the, the, the tax on the phone and then they roll over to, uh, Association of Counties. They, we, it’s still our tariff. They are now redispers collecting the, yeah, they’re collecting the money, we get it back. Yeah.

03:40:46,230	And so, we’ve, we’ve ventured into a joint powers agreement with, I think it’s the city of Mandan and the city of Bismarck and Burleigh County and uh, the city of Bismarck basically runs it and we provide funding through the tariff, and then I, as I understand it, it’s still not quite enough, so then we have this additional um money that we’re contributing, which

03:41:08,170	I believe is this line item that we’re discussing. It’s like 2. 2.6 million or something the tariff or maybe that’s the total, the total expense, um, but anyway, the, the tariff’s not enough, so we’re. Right. Kicking in a little additional. cash.

03:41:30,270	Oh Well, I’m hearing that there’s some, uh, difficulties up there, um I think Comm Bakken has been working through some issues with the communication center? Yes, we are. And one of the only things we control is the budget. that help us any? Uh, with the, with the weight of the JPA is written. No, it doesn’t.

03:41:53,000	Um, cause it’s, again, a requirement. It’s needed, um, falls under a big piece of public safety, um. um, we’re working on remedying the some of the situation, but as of right now, uh, we’re kind of stuck in this OK. Move on.

03:42:22,270	Can you expand on that or is, or is it, uh, Um, do we need an expansion on that? There’s a lot of moving parts So. That’s a good, that’s a good, uh. Yeah. Uh, I, um, I’m working with the parties involved, including the city on rectifying some of the situations up there Um, it one of the rectifications may have great benefit for the county, so. we’re working through that.

03:42:46,270	OK. Victim witness advocate. Um, I don’t know anything about that one. Um, I went how about computer programs That’s a. Oh, no, sorry Um, are we on the same. Yeah, we’re on the same. She had 68, 68, OK. Uh, looks reasonable Mr. Chair, I went over that with you.

03:43:13,530	That’s, that’s under, under her department, but, uh, we went over this and there’s nothing unusual there that I would certainly support what’s, what’s submitted. OK, let’s move on. It’s actually a reduction in, uh. Yeah. Yeah. Abandoned cemetery, page 69. Um I think that’s just a maintenance items that mowing lawn mowing. Mowing abandoned cemetery. That’s mowing our, our 4 or 5 abandoned cemeteries.

03:43:38,100	Yeah, yeah. I don’t, I don’t think there’s any. And he does an excellent job. He, he, he puts in a lot more work than the amount of money that’s, uh OK. There. All right. Uh, transfers out. Uh good question. Bless you. Thank you. Bless you. Um, I don’t know what I’m really seeing here, OK. Here.

03:44:06,430	Here comes Trent I don’t think he’s coming to speak Um Lee, do you wanna shed any light on transfers out or 1.4 million down to 50,000 50,000. And we spent 1.35 this year. Oh, that’s might be a change of something.

03:44:31,170	Yeah, cause I’m not quite sure that 50,000 at the top, but then there’s something down below where the total is 299, 210. right? Clarify for us. I, I don’t recall what, I’ll scroll through here quick and see if I can find it. I don’t recall exactly what is being transferred in and out, um.

03:44:58,230	you know, this year we had some I think some money coming in to the general fund from the uh jail maintenance account to pay for um. the boiler and stuff like that, but we, the, the number 299 is pretty consistent with what we’ve had in prior years. That’s not a, a strange number.

03:45:23,530	Uh, one example we have transfers in that are budgeted from the uh from the sheriff, from the detention center, so that’s cash that comes in from, um one or two of their programs that just helps fund the general fund. but I don’t recall exactly what, what these specific line items are, they may come from multiple different budgets. Yeah.

03:45:41,530	Different departments me like a bookkeeping issue, not a. Yeah, it’s, it essentially is, it’s not a, doesn’t affect the budget, right? OK, Ro and bridge Here he comes I thought I’d just come up. Yeah, I, I’d say that was a good call.

03:46:09,270	Did you, did you call in for pizza already? There’s a uh, back there, there is a, a menu being tested around, yeah. Would you like me to just start, uh. Yeah, you might, you might as well do. My ramblings. I can’t. I got to tell you, these numbers are so small, I can’t see a thing here. So, well, the numbers aren’t right on Marcus’s Sheet. Right.

03:46:34,870	Versus the leg. right. Where are we talking here? Um county road and Bridge B uh, yeah, I can’t even read the page numbers here there. typed over Do you read your page numbers? No. You want to look at expenses first? Is that what we’re looking at? Do you want page 73.

03:47:07,000	Isip type over I, I can’t make any sense out of those numbers. Do you want to start with the one with the two signatures at the top. That’s the line item that you’re looking for. No, we don’t have that. Yep. What’s the page number on the bottom? Uh, the page number I have is 154, but I know that’s not.

03:47:25,000	No, that’s not. I got like 58 Yeah. Yep, that’s the only two dates on top there. OK So that, now, that is page 58. Holy moly. Age 59 and page 60. OK, that’s where I’m at. OK. Yeah. All right. So Comm, as you know, the highway department’s budget is fairly complex.

03:47:57,070	Uh, the things that are coming in, things are going out, what we can use them for, what we can’t use them for. I’d love to spend hours with you, uh, uh, talking about that, but I don’t think anybody behind me would appreciate that.

03:48:11,530	So, um, I’m gonna jump to the thing that I think is the most important for this evening’s discussion, and that is the mill levy. That’s what we’re really at, what we’re really looking at, uh, this evening and stuff.

03:48:31,230	So, um, originally when we uh put our, uh, our budget together, uh, a main focus was to really start looking at that big backlog of projects that we have out there, uh, just bring together a list, we, we put that together.. $160 million worth of projects.

03:48:46,730	Now you can argue a little bit here, a little bit there, up, down, that project, maybe not that project, but needless to say, there’s a large number of projects out there that need to be done and need to be addressed at some point and somehow. Uh, we do get money from state, um, sometimes we do get some money from the feds, but the one thing that we can really count on is the mill levy and how we adjust that.

03:49:00,700	So, uh, in this year’s particular budget, originally when we went to the budget committee, we put a mill levy value in No, I can’t find it, uh, 7.23. Uh, now this is above what we had last year. That was an increase in the mill levy from the, the previous year. And basically, we were looking at two things that we were trying to clean up.

03:49:20,900	Number one was the legacy fund. Our legacy Se fund is set aside $2 million we decided last year’s budget for this year and for next year to put a million dollars in each year’s budget. Well, during the legislative session, they removed that legacy money.

03:49:38,430	Uh, so that was no longer there, so we we kind of wanted to, to, to accommodate trying to put that back into our budget somehow in the mill levy was the, the, the mechanism we were using.

03:49:56,100	The other thing that we were looking at doing is uh, last year, for this year’s budget, uh, we were doing some transfer from the general fund to cover the expenditures and uh talking with Lee, talking with the others, we didn’t really think that was the best approach if we’re going to spend the money in highway department, that’s where we should tax it, really. We shouldn’t be doing it in the general fund and then moving it over to the, the highway fund.

03:50:10,530	So we wanted to be more consistent with that. So at that time, putting those two things together. We came up with the mill levy of 7.23. Um, and that’s what we originally put our budget together.

03:50:27,530	When we sat down with the budget committee, uh, we talked about the projects that we had out there. And at that time, the budget committee felt that we should look at the maximum, the highway, the road and bridge fund can be, which is at 10 mills. So they’d ask us to put that in as 10 mLs. Basically, we, we took that any addition over the 7.23 and we just put that into projects.

03:50:46,000	That’s all we’re gonna use it for is projects. We didn’t put a list together on what projects we’re gonna use, uh, we just put a placeholder in there and we said in January, let’s sit down, uh, with the board at a board workshop and we can, we’ll give

03:50:57,630	you a list of projects. We can do it with the board letter at a board meeting or with the workshop. Either way works fine. Uh, we can give you a list of projects, uh, probably the ones we recommend and some other alternatives if you’d like to see something move someplace.

03:51:11,900	So, um, that was the intent at that time, and that’s where we came in with the 10 mills that we’re showing in the current budget. So, uh, with that in mind, I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have. Um.

03:51:28,630	and I think, uh, if it is OK with the board, if you do want to cut, I think uh, the best way to do is not necessarily look at a line item, say cut that line item or cut that line on cause we’ve put a lot of thought into what those numbers are. I think what the best to do is just say, this is how much money you got to work with.

03:51:42,370	Uh, my staff and, and Comm Schwab will sit down. We’ll go over the things. We’ll come up with, we’ll make that number work, whatever you guys decide, uh, we’ll make that work at the end of the day. So. I’d be happy to answer any questions.

03:51:57,270	Chair. Comm, what numbers are in here now, at 10 mLs or at 7? The 10 mLs number is in here now. here, OK. Yep. Mr. Chair. Comm Munsen. So, um, Marcus Ruffly this year, how much money did we take out of general fund to spend on road construction projects.

03:52:18,530	Um, for this particular year, uh, we took out of I make sure I got the right number here. 1.3 million No. Because I know the bridge that we’re in the process of doing came out of general, right? Um-hum. Mills. Million. Million. K. Yeah, that’s what we use. So, OK.

03:52:47,630	Well, as, as the person on the budget committee that asked Marcus to come in here with the 10. Um, we did that for several reasons. One of them, of course, at that point in, in this discussion. nobody really understood the 3% and what that was going to do to us or how it was going to affect us later on.

03:53:02,970	So, quite honestly, that was the the main reason we asked markers to come back in here for 10 because at the time nobody could really answer the questions. Um, so it was us that directed Marcus to come in with this 10. Um I’d like to, I liked hearing the fact that you know, we’ve got 1.

03:53:24,000	3 million out of the general fund that we’ve already spent on projects this year that were could have been taken care of with the extra funding that, that we’ve requested. So I don’t have an issue moving forward with the budget as it is I don’t imagine you would, Comm. You seem to like to spend a lot of money.

03:53:42,500	Um, and I, and I think that’s just, you know, he comes in starting out at 7.something mills, which is, he knows that that’s a hard sell. because he’s fought for it every year, and you turn around and you want to give him 10 when he’s not even asking for it.

03:54:01,900	But what, what did we do last year at the end of budget? We gave him more extra. We gave him an extra $2 million last year that he was asking for. And we still had to get $1.3 million out of general fund. Yeah. Yeah. To take care of projects that we, that were emergency that’s barely over 1 mil and you’re proposing like.

03:54:25,700	At $780,000 a meal. Yeah. We gave them $3.3 million extra to spend on road construction projects, which is *** near sex Mills. Still not 10 Um, I, I think you, I think you’d just like to spend too much money. That’s the way it looks to me today. Well, Comm. Uh, Mr. Woodcock I’m getting a little goofy.

03:54:45,530	Can we, can we get from Lee, uh, what have we done? I’d like to get the overall budget. I mean, where are we at? Are we, are we decreasing it or increasing it or, or what? We’re, I mean, we’ve increased a lot of stuff tonight, but where are we at? I

03:54:58,070	mean, are, are we I’ll, I’ll go back and find the actual number. You’ve decreased the budget significantly, you, you have, yeah. We’ve already decreased it 15 million. Well, yeah, just 15 million. What just with sales tax alone. There was a 3.

03:55:15,630	7 I’m not talking about sales tax, not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about the whole dollar amount because whether we put it on sales tax or property taxes and increases and increases and increased Comm.

03:55:30,870	Um, what do you really gotta have, Marcus? You know, last year I supported you, you wanted to cut more than you were offering to cut more and I said, well, no, I’m not asking you to reduce the budget. That was, we want to get, we want to do what the county needs. Yeah, Commissioners, I think in the long run you do need to get to 10.

03:55:43,230	Do you, does it have to happen all at one time? I don’t necessarily think so. I’ve said that for years that I think we should, you know, progressively just moving up 3.5 now or what? I think we’re at Three.44. Three.4 right now. So. So I I really do think the 7.23 is the kind of number that we’d like to see.

03:56:00,530	Well, we don’t want to get That’s a bad habit I don’t really have a problem with that either. I’m, I’m just saying that going jumping it to 10 for that. Yeah, 7.23 for 7 and you gave them 10. It’s a bad habit, having to pull money out of the general fund for. Oh, I agree.

03:56:14,270	I agree. Year after year. That, that’s bad. That was, I think that was a extenuating circumstance. Because we didn’t anticipate we weren’t gonna do that project. That wasn’t in the budget.

03:56:30,730	We decided to do that out of the goodness to the public because there was a need that was identified after the budget. So that, that wasn’t something that uh that that wasn’t even a budget issue. Comm Schwab Uh if you guys go Comm, um I guess you’re old guys uh Thanks.

03:56:57,370	Yeah, I take pride in that, you know? You remember that we had talked back about I don’t know if it’s in the budget, but we have two tractors that need to be replaced at 16th, 16,000 hours on and we can’t send these guys out plowing snow with them. Are they Anymore.com about graders. So, that’s. No. He’s talking, he’s talking to Doctors. Tractors with these front mount, uh, PTOs on them and such. Yeah.

03:57:18,170	It is included in the budget, OK. And would and would stay in at a 7.23% budget too. I think I would propose reducing projects on it anymore because, you know, I’ve, I’ve fought you and kept you at that lower middle levy for all these years, and I, I’m actually gonna be OK with the 7.25.

03:57:36,800	I’m just definitely not gonna go to. So if somebody wants to make a motion to move on. OK, so that equates to how many dollars? The 7.25 Lee. I know, that’s a Lee question. He’s guessing. I know. He’s way better than really at that point, don’t want to hear anything about not having we’ve. 5.3 million. 5.

03:58:00,270	3 million is 725 mL. And does that work for you? Yeah. OK. Moved to approve 7.25 mLs Yep. A second Uh, motion a second to approve 7.25 mL. Any other discussion? Uh, what was that dollar amount again, Lee? 5. 5.3 million, OK. To Christian Munsen. No. Comm Bakke? Yes. Comm Schwab. Yes. Comm Woodcocks. Yes. Chair Bitner.

03:58:31,270	Yes, motion carries. Thank you. You’re welcome. OK, next um Lee Comm Chair Bitner, uh, Comm Woodcock, you, you have decreased the budget by 5.2 million. at, at this point in the night before. Well, no, I’m sorry, I take that back. 5.2 million plus. OK. Good. Another two from Rowden Bridge. So about 7.

03:59:01,730	2, yeah, and that includes that bond payment that we took care of at the beginning. And then, uh, real quick, the transfers out this And this is important because um well, two things Number one is we, we, we have paid off the, the bonds now, and so we got our final ownership percentage.

03:59:43,000	We own 83.07% of the jail. So our maintenance, uh, cost going forward is 83.07% um. but up until this point we had money left over in the old jail maintenance fund that we were using to pay our yearly share of the maintenance.

04:00:08,100	So every year, um, we have an agreement with Morin where we we pay $300 in total and so our share of that now, as I said, is 83.07%, so. up until this point, we’ve just been using this money that that was just left over. Well, now that’s, that’s gone. It’s, it’s all allocated. It’s not really gone, but it’s all been allocated to our yearly fee.

04:00:28,370	So we now have to start funding that as an ongoing appropriation basically. So it’s kind of a big deal because it’s a lot of money, um. now we’re not probably gonna spend $300,000 every year, but we still have to, to set that aside in the in the pool per our agreement.

04:00:47,630	So uh, Comm Munsen, that might be a candidate down the road for a capital projects levy if we wanted to just, you know, similar to what we just did in the highway department, get things that are capital related off into their own, you know, part of the, of the ledger, get things that are highway into their onto the highway levy

04:01:03,630	type of thing. So I hope that helps. OK Thank you. Um, so we we must have taken care of the uh downy road and bridge rest of these. under that budget right? Those are pretty straightforward. The highway gas. Yeah. And the special road bridge fund.

04:01:32,430	Um get the all orders done deal So, so, we’re done with the county roads. Yep. Cause I got more more pages here And highway gas tax is included. Special road and bridge, McKenzie Hall Road That’s a no brainer. Other special revenue funds. Burleigh County Library Mr. Chair Commission. Whit.

04:02:01,800	That’s one of my portfolios and we discussed this one over the budget with with, uh, Christine, and it was a minor increase of $6000 I think or something, 7, 7500. and um so I approved it. I don’t see anything. unusual about it at all Well, I OK I can tell you what I think is still unusual about it.

04:02:24,800	Um, this is entirely funded by citizens from outside the city limits, and a part of their operation is still taking books to sites in town. At least that’s the last documentation I saw from them on their schedule. Uh, the bookmobile travels to some city schools, you know, I think even Shiloh, uh, they do.

04:02:45,630	Old folks’ homes and things like that, and the Comm this is paid for by people outside of town. So providing those services in town need to be shifted to the appropriate uh bus centers Mr. Chair. Comm, I’m not sure that that is paid entirely by the residents of rural. I am sure.

04:03:14,530	How, how are you? How, how do you determine that? But we’ve always known that, Comm. Uh, Lee, is that correct? Do you know? Cause I don’t. Pardon me? I don’t know the route. I believe we are paying the bookmobile 5 old route. No, I’m not talking about routes.

04:03:34,800	I’m talking about is a city paying any kind of a mill levy for this, for the library. They do it for the library, but for this I think so, yes. No, no. No. It’s not the question. No, no, no, that’s next question. It’s a city library function.

04:03:57,800	but the bookmobile, the county library that pays for the bookmobile is only paid by out of county, out of city residents. Christine’s here Chair Bitner, Comm, I, I misunderstood the question. That’s correct. It is an out of town levy. That’s correct. Within the borders of Burleigh County, outside of the borders of the city of Bismarck includes the ETA but not the city. Right. Yep, OK Right. So that, that’s my whole point.

04:04:24,370	and we, I’ve made that point every year for like 15 years and nothing has changed. So I’m simply not going to support $378,500 on taxed on the citizens outside of the city for services that are rendered in town. It’s just defies logic. Commissionerer a very minor amount that’s rendered in town.

04:04:46,500	All right, I don’t think so. We have a big argument with that, uh, Mr. Chair, because we do collect taxes in Bismart too. So it isn’t I think we’re stating that wrong and we say everybody out of town is supporting the in town because we’re getting it.

04:05:07,530	money from in town This actually doesn’t bother me that much. Well, it matter of whether you want to support the bookmobile or not. That’s the question. Well, I do support the bookmobile. I just don’t. I do support the bookmobile. I just don’t support the entire budget coming out of county.

04:05:30,530	citizens because we don’t have, even though you say that, Comm, there’s no way to differentiate that. because this is directly on the backs of county residents. Yeah, all of them. All 90,000. No, no. Why isn’t it? County outside of city limits is paying this. Really? Yes. I didn’t know. That’s the whole, that’s the whole point of it is accurate. That’s why.

04:05:51,470	That’s what I’m saying. It’s like you can’t, you can’t just say, now if it was OK. You know, if it was that we could, you were drawing some of that, that some of that tax base and, you know, from the city and we were actually applying it to this, then it would be a moot point.

04:06:07,470	but that’s not what’s happening, see. Um. and I, I just have an issue with that and always have. Well, Well, I had an issue Well, with it now, too. Yeah. Well, Comm Bakke. Christine’s here. I, I’d like to visit with her about the route if possible. Is she here? Yeah.

04:06:25,730	Oh, I didn’t she’s here. I’m sorry. She’s hiding behind two posts. We, we’ve talked about this every year going down. Yeah, I know. Um nothing has changed. Christine, what’s the, the route schedule out of in Burleigh County. And do you get to the rural schools? Yes. OK.

04:06:55,700	I’m going to hold on just a second Cause I can imagine the rural schools would be a big component of they go to all of them. Of the. Oh, sure. That’s not my point. They should be going to those schools. Right.

04:07:10,630	But we should also, as long as we’re talking about it, the schools should be paying us, not the county citizens, you know, that should be under the school’s budget. I appreciate you. Um, this is not what the question was, but maybe. Yeah So, yes, it is the case that for the county library service. It is paid with county tax dollars. It is the case that the city libraryer is paid with city taxpayer dollars.

04:07:49,370	Everyone who lives in Burleigh County has reciprocal library services, which means not only are there a few stops in the city. that the bookmobile goes to, but all of the county residents have access to the City Library. Well, access is one thing you say that a lot, you know. I’m talking about the bookmobile itself.

04:08:14,970	The county has 28 locations in Bismarck. Most of them are just to drop items off. The estimated cost for providing stops at those locations. is around $3900. That’s based on information I received from the staff regarding the amount of time that they’re there. and the number of times they visit there each year.

04:08:45,530	Yeah, that’s, is that including, uh, wear and tear and depreciation in fuel and the. probably not, huh I asked them to provide me with what it costs per hour at each stop, and then they shared with me how many hours throughout the year that they’re there. So we’re talking about hours for the, for the staff.

04:09:04,100	All right, go ahead Why don’t you continue on what services do you provide to the people in rural Bertie County They go to all the rural schools. They provide information and kits for all of the rural teachers. A lot of them don’t have their own libraries.

04:09:33,000	They stop at the post office, offices, the neighborhoods um, they go to assisted living facilities. They have little free libraries throughout the entire county, so that if someone’s not available during a stop, they still get, um, access to reading material Those are free Nope, they purchase items and put them in.

04:09:57,630	They’re for rural residents only. Hm So you said there was 28 stops in town. How many stops are out of town 44 And at the 28 locations, they provide 209 visits, and at the 44 locations in the county, they provide 427. visits What’s a visit The number of times they go there in a year. What, what, like.

04:10:39,000	What percentage of, what percentage of your total budget does the county contribute? I mean, the city, city contributes ballpark The city doesn’t contribute to the Pardon me? The City doesn’t contribute to the bookmobile. Well, we get total library. We get about 3.

04:11:04,730	5 million for the city library service and it’s about 321,000 for the county service. OK. The amount that we’re asking for includes state aid. or increase this, uh, for next year is roughly 1.9% and our budget um still accounts for only about 1% of the total county budget. So I understand what you’re saying. You were correct.

04:11:41,630	This, the county pays for the county service, but we share services It’s not like city residents are getting this huge benefit from county library services. It’s reciprocal. Many rural residents also come to the library. OK. The bookmobile takes the service to the citizens. The citizens don’t need to go to the library because of the book movement. But they do, they go there to.

04:12:07,370	Well, look, for have to take your word for that, really. But, you know, it’s easy for you to tell me that and I just, I’ll just have to take your word for it. But I. Why would I lie? I’m just.

04:12:22,800	We’re talking about library services and access to information. Why would I lie about it? I’m not saying you’re lying. I’m just telling you that this service, the bookmobile is funded by out of town people, and there’s your, your spending out of you got 44 out in the county, 44 stops, you got 29.

04:12:46,730	in town That’s close to half of the service you’re doing is being paid for by people outside the city and the city residents don’t contribute anything to that truck. or the van that most of those stops are drop off, and it only accounts for about $4000 out of their budget.

04:13:08,630	This, I’m not, we, we have a lot of shared services, not just this, but, uh, Park districts and, uh, the citizens of rural, rural really kind of get to use the city services for nothing, essentially. What name one What? Name one service that they use for free. Bismarck Parksson right? That’s right.

04:13:24,800	You don’t need you don’t use Parks and Rec for free. OK, what do they do? Well, I mean, if you play golf, don’t you pay for golf? Do you have access to all the parks and all the trails and all the other services for free. Yeah.

04:13:39,100	You don’t pay your taxes, for could that have access, but you want Bo ramps, boat ramps, they can use all those for free. I mean, there’s a lot of them. I disagree. I’m talking about a bookmobile where it’s, it’s a totally different thing. Well, I don’t agree with you.

04:13:57,230	I mean, uh, it’s, we’ve had a book mobile forever and we’ve had hundreds and hundreds of people say that. They love it and it’s a great service and goes on and on and on. Right. And they should help pay for it, Comm. Well, they are. Yeah, the county citizens are paying for the service in the city Well, it’s such a minor amount.

04:14:14,270	If you want to be nitpicking, I mean, that’s, uh. Aren’t we. It’s a different question. Haven’t we been talking about minor amounts on a lot of things here.. $4000 I don’t think we’ve been talking about a reduction of $4000. We had a 79 cent one.

04:14:28,270	I, I don’t believe that it’s $4000. It doesn’t cost you that I provided you. I have a list of all of the, um, expenses that the city library has that the county library does not pay for it all, just by being in our building. that includes membership to our consortium, utilities, janitorial services.

04:14:49,530	building security, and that’s at about $386,000. I don’t see how that helps me. in this question Well, it speaks to your comment that the city residents are getting a huge benefit from the county. I didn’t, I don’t know that. They said Hu benefit, but if you got 44 stops in the county.

04:15:09,800	and 29 stops in the city. But the, the ones in the rural district, they stop at a school, they’ll be there for an hour. The kids will come in and trade books and use the computers.

04:15:23,700	It’s, it’s a not a, not a drop off thing like she’s indicating, where you’ve changed books and move them around. They, they do a lot of work out in the county, a lot of work. And if there’s a little bit in the city, that’s something I think we can absorb without a, because it’s the other way around, uh, when you, when you look at the health service, Healer, the, the

04:15:38,630	county residents get a tremendous amount of, of money into the health service, and that’s a 7525 split. Yeah, and nobody from the county uses it, so. They don’t use this healther? The Really? Have you, have you ever seen somebody up there? I don’t go down to the health service. Well, OK.

04:15:56,270	That’s another thing that’s good. I think it would be a real miscarriage of justice if we were to, to, uh, deny the, oh the bookmobile, really would be.

04:16:14,970	This is not a, this, yeah, it would, yeah, I think it would be a miscarriage of justice because like I said, it’s being paid for by citizens outside the city limits. and it’s being provided to citizens who aren’t contributing a penny. So you do what you want Is there a motion We don’t need a motion. No, we’re on. Move on. What page did we move to 109, I believe. Yeah, 109. senior.

04:17:14,730	Senior There’s a and the increase on that is, uh, a lot of it’s been food service. I don’t, don’t have any problem with it. Anybody have an issue with senior citizens? Move on Mr. Chair, I’d like to ask one question. Uh, is this the total budget of the, of the senior Citizens Center, the whole thing. 1.295.

04:17:42,000	What does the city provide? I know they get funding from the state and I. Right. But I know the, the citizens of Bismarck are using that, that senior citizens that are all the time, and I bet very few of them are rural districts or rural ed residents. Our just a moment here.

04:18:08,600	I had it pulled out and then here it is. The total budget at the uh seniors Center is $3.4 million. So, we’re paying 1.3. And, and our request for, for Malevy is 1.27, but that is includes the match from the state of ’87.5%. So it’s, it’s basically roughly a mal that we’re asking for. The city owns the building.

04:18:46,070	um, and then we periodically, well, um, get CDBG grant funds from them to do improvements. Mr. Chair, I’m not against a senior citizen there. I absolutely, I’m a big supporter of them. Uh, they’ve got great caramel rolls on Wednesday morning. Thank you. And, uh you’d be surprised how many people go out there.

04:19:07,900	I mean, they really do and it’s a fantastic facility and I compliment you on, you can run that whole thing for 3.4 million. The great, great facility. Anybody else? OK. We’re moving on. Let me get to the bottom of this pile, one of these days, huh. What page are you on? Hopefully today.

04:19:40,530	I don’t know. 134 134. I’m a bunch of. Now, this sayslod fund and moved to general fund. Is that correct, Lee Yeah. That’s correct. I believe we had a motion, uh, at the preliminary budget hearing to do so. OK.

04:20:17,270	I can recap if you want, but long story short is we we don’t need the fund anymore because we don’t have any, any more rental. Correct. Income. So, then my question is on, on this sheet, you got 639 and $27. Is that in our budget or is that? Is that in fund 2010 No, it’s 49. 49, 182? OK. That should be in the general fund budget, yes. OK.

04:20:44,730	Should be 10149, 182. So all we’re doing is moving what was previously the Provident Fund. over to over to the general general. So the dollar stay, it’s just moving to the general instead of special, and then we’re closing down that fund and ran back with transfers out transferring the $500,000 fund

04:21:08,100	balance over to the general fund and but just, just a quick housekeeping note. That’s not the entire amount of the maintenance budget. Part of the maintenance budget is going through the courthouse. Part of it is going through the jail.

04:21:25,100	Part of the reason is going through the jail is so that we can get reimbursed, you know, through our agreement with Morton County because we spend a bunch of time at the jail, so OK. So I don’t think any action is necessary. Thankfully, uh, veteran service. made a decrease in that fund or in that budget request.

04:21:52,370	from last year Chair Veitner and Commissioners, could I interject about veteran service? Yes, please. Uh, if you recall earlier, I, I described how I calculated the mill, um, levy in each fund.

04:22:16,900	um, for veteran service, I think we’re, we’re probably a little high on the actual mill because they have around 200,000 in fund balance and with my calculation, they’re actually gonna add about $50,000 to their fund balance at the end of the year. So we could reduce that mil by 50,000, and they they’d stay flat, they’ll still be fully funded, and they’ll still have 200,000 in reserves.

04:22:33,700	I would recommend though if that we move that over to the extension, assuming we’re OK with their budget because they they’re getting pretty low and they’re actually using a little bit of reserves this year in order to, to make their budget work.

04:22:56,430	Alternatively, if you transferring reserve funds from one to the other would transfer the, we would reduce the levy in veteran services by 50,000 and then increase the levy in uh the extension by 50,000. That would keep both funds at approximately the same level of reserves throughout the year. OK, that makes sense to me Mr. Chair. Comm Woodco.

04:23:14,000	What do, what do they need, what do you need a reserve fund? What do you, what could you possibly need a reserve fund for. And and where, where does that money come from? And what do they assume? Well, ultimately, it will come from, from the levee, I think, but I’ll do my best. Um, I’m new at county coordinator and stuff. So this is my 2nd year.

04:23:35,900	As far as the reserve, I believe, and I think last year there was maybe even some questions with Mark and stuff, but I believe it’s like that is money that actually was saved out of our budget each year that has went in there.

04:23:54,100	And I remember like once upon a time with our previous uh portfolio holder, our reserve actually had gone quite high, and we had to use that down. So, if, if I can try to explain, I think where we’re going here. So since these are special revenue funds. any unused money from the budget goes into your reserves. Correct.

04:24:12,970	Is, is my understanding again, I’m sucking you into this extension, not from veterans. So we were asking veterans where why they had, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I got confused with. No, you’re OK, your answer is, your answer is the same whether it’s coming from. Yeah, but, but as long as you’re up there, as long as you, , if you want extension, I’m happy to. Yeah.

04:24:29,270	Why is your budget going up by about 7%. Sorry about that. That was, that was a question. Um, Chair Bittner, if you look and stuff, um, really.

04:24:50,730	it’s actually, if you see the biggest portions of this salary and stuff actually comes from the county side, that fringe line is not NDSU at all. That is County Fringe. Um, and then salary up above that also is county. So when you look down at everything else, um, the biggest change that we had from the preliminary budget is just honestly due to human error, our ITD went up.

04:25:14,700	um, and so the last several years we have been able to keep that the same, and um when I was made aware of that increase in stuff, I reached out to the state on that, um, and they said we’ve been historically undercharged for the services, um, for, for ITD and stuff and so they’re aligning at where we’re at with everything on that increase of that that you see the

04:25:38,170	difference of the 6360 on it. But as far as everything else, um, we didn’t make any drastic increases this year whatsoever. Um, we moved $1000 from one line item to another, and then I know what the preliminary hearing we’ve talked about, increase in the 4H premiums and that has not been increased

04:26:07,100	since 2021, so just to give you background, um our entries for our achievement days this year was at 1654 and 2021, it was only at 7:35. And then also exhibitors, um, this year we had 180 um, back in 2021 we had 11. and so the premiums back in 2021 were $3,000328.51.

04:26:40,170	This year, the premiums paid out was $9,268. And so I know Comm Munsen, you had talked about that postage line at the preliminary budget and, um, just kind of going back again, like I said, I’m newer, but visiting about that, we also had a very surplus of postage going on in our office, and that now is starting to get

04:26:59,970	down there and so that’s why we didn’t want to change that postage whatsoever, um, I send samples off on behalf of citizens for diagnostics plant diagnostics, um.

04:27:18,100	and different things that have to go to NDSU and then also we send out different surveys that we collect in the county that go back to state programs and stuff that they need those. so. other questions Yeah, can you stand, uh, going down to a 3% increase, because you know we have a 3% cap. Yeah, um, as far as that, I can’t change ITD. um if you look at everything else, that’s an increase. There’s a building rental.

04:27:41,530	I can’t change that. Yeah, I think we’ve already been through that simple question was, can you stand I can’t. I mean 7. I, I can’t when again you look at the major parts, it’s the county salaries and fringe that’s going up significantly. and I don’t put those numbers in there. Who does Um, I’ve seen that in the budget when.

04:28:03,900	HR HR thank you. OK. That’s all I had. Thanks. Yep. I think the question was for Mark. Yeah, that’s where the question started from. Mr. Chair, Commissioners, good evening. Mark Landis, Burleigh County Veteran Service Officer. I will try to address the question regarding the reserve fund is really not something I pay any attention to.

04:28:28,430	Uh, it was explained to me by a finance director or one of our previous finance directors. But that’s a result of, uh, money being returned. that we don’t spend out of our budget.

04:28:48,900	Uh, we’ve tried to be very frugal and careful with their budget, not overspend, obviously, and each year we’ve been able to turn some money back. And so it accumulates in this reserve fund. That’s the way I, I was told that it works. And it can be used at your discretion And so, um, that’s really all I know about it.

04:29:07,700	OK, that, that’s no surprise, mark, and that, that’s a pretty fair assessment of, of what’s going on because it’s just a tax that’s collected and it’s not spent, so it’s um able to be used, that nobody is shorting veterans of any sort of funding. Just to make sure you understand. Mark does a fine job Um.

04:29:28,270	you know, I’ve, I’ve worked with him a little bit recently, so anyway, um, so you, you would have no issue, obviously, if we moved 50,000 from the reserves and over 50,000 from this and put it over to that one or something that doesn’t. Just applying 50,000 reserves to our budget this year. Well, removing it from your budget and putting from the Reserve extension. Or from your reserves your reserve.

04:29:45,900	From the Into extension reserve to try to balance them out. No, I can’t see any issue with that. OK. At least that’s what I thought Lee was asking for. Yeah, that, that was. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That, that’s the question. Yep. Rightly. I think we’re We’re, we’re close.

04:30:04,630	Um, Chair Bitner Commissioners, I was talking about the levy. So when we actually go to fund it, the, the mill levy, we would move 50,000 of that levy over to the extension levy. Veterans services reserves are gonna stay flat. OK.

04:30:25,900	They’ve got 200,000 and then if we reduce the levee by 50,000, they’ll end the year with 200,000, so we’re not put that into a form of a motion for us. I you, you could, I suppose, move that you um reduce veterans services levy by 50,000 and increase county agent levied by $50,000. Can we do that? Can we increase? Yeah. Second.

04:30:47,900	Yeah, it, can we increase? their budget? As long as the overall. As long as the overall Lley stays the same or less. Yeah. You can, you can move it around within your budget. decrease the parks District, and we could add that on to the weed control or whatever. Is that? Yeah. As long as it’s.

04:31:04,900	As long as it’s your county budget and not another agency’s budget we’re just transferring the value of the levy. So by $50,000 correct, the rope. Christian Bakken. Yes. Comm Schwab. Yes. Comm Wooddocks. Yes. Comm Munsen. Yes. Chair Bitner. Yes, motion carries. Thank you. Uh, OK, Coy agent. That was extension, so that. We just did that. Oh.

04:31:28,370	Yep weed control, 138. Oh, wait a minute I do it here. Hmm Looks good to me Yep. We control? Yep. Yep. As long as we’re hitting our mills so that everybody gets their reimbursements like we’re supposed to. I’m happy. Yeah. Uh.

04:32:06,270	Darren you want to add anything or no, you’re good? All right. All right Yeah, I spoke to Darren the, uh, yesterday, um, earlier this week, uh, the only question we had was about some tanks and different equipment we might need, uh and some rural locations to save some money, but, uh, uh, we found some other places to find those,

04:32:33,970	those funds, so. Next, next one’s Missouri Valley Complex. Yeah. And I see there’s another item here that didn’t get changed from the preliminary budget. Uh, we had removed the $150,000 for a phase three infrastructure. So this should be 236. We’ve reduced 50? 150. We took this phase three out.

04:33:05,070	Yeah. Oh. That was done in, in the preliminary some or not in the budget hearings. I’m not sure why it’s still here. OK. Well, you had a little redemption there, Comm. Well, thank you. Anybody else have any issues there? OK. No Water resource district. The issues Mr.

04:33:33,900	Chair, that’s one of my, uh, portfolios, and they’re very little change in that when I, uh, 28,000 OK. Same mill levy All right. Just because the levy change. You’re comfortable with it? I am, yeah. OK Um, now we’re getting into, like, uh, fort rice unorganized townships.

04:34:01,700	uh, I don’t know what this basically just reflects and correct me if I’m wrong, Lee, this this reflects budget that’s available in their fund. Is that correct This is not a tax or is it The unorganized townships, um a lot of that is sort of highway related.

04:34:36,270	and because it’s our responsibility, so the unorganized townships have their own levy that we levy, and then it comes back to us, but we use it for roadwork, mainly in those areas of the county, um, so yes, some of them do have some available fund balance, some do not. um some of them have an adequate levy to cover, you know, the services, some don’t.

04:35:00,900	And that’s why they’re. But the unorganized townships, those are at the maximum levies. They’re just, that’s just what it is. Correct, yes, that’s, so the, the, it’s the maximum levy and it’s based on the value in that actual township. Yeah. All right. So, you got that one. They got Lincoln Unorganized on 140. Thanks, Lee. That’s uh.

04:35:25,430	week. Next one is 150. OK. Let’s just skip to that. Yeah. OK, we need to This is, what is, this. Chamber EDC I’m not sure why it’s called job Development Authority. That’s, that’s our chamber. Chamber, yep. I’ll talk to Lee about changing that. Or you just the title? Yeah.

04:35:54,800	Why, why would we call it job development authority. Well, I think because we probably can’t, uh, I think because under the century code, you can only OK, well, we’ll leave. You can only. We’ll leave it alone then. You can only do a job development authority. OK.

04:36:10,800	Cause they’d probably twist your knickers if you. I don’t know. Emergency fund I’d say leave that alone. Yep. What, what is it? Who is it and who controls it and what’s it for? Emergencies. Well, that’s Pets and beer, Comm. Pardon? Beer? We, well, then let’s raise it a little bit. But here’s, let’s the thing that, that’s interesting with it.

04:36:32,730	It’s, it’s, it’s levied, but zero spent, 0 spent, 0 spent. What does that mean? Well, we are, we’re, we’re not using it, in other words, but what’s it, who, who authorizes anything out of there. We would. Yeah, we would. Uh, Chair veer Commissioners, we appropriate the the amount in the fund.

04:36:57,270	We make the appropriation every year so that if there is an emergency, we can spend the money without having to come back to this board and what constitutes an emergency is defined in Sentry code. Who’s we then? You said we can use it. Yeah, you, you, the board of county commissioners.

04:37:19,430	could use that money in an emergency, but because it’s already appropriated, you wouldn’t have to come and do a budget amendment, for example, in order to start spending money.

04:37:34,730	So it just, we just appropriate it every year and then, you know, fortunately we haven’t had to use it, kind of like you call in the helicopters when there’s a big range fire or something, you know, that’s kind of what gets used Um communication center, I thought we already did that. That was different. That was the. That’s, yeah. This is the center that Mr. Bakke is working on, right? Yes. Yeah. Not the last one. Yeah. The last one was just the, the 911 fees that are collected.

04:37:58,630	Oh, yeah. And distributed. This is the actual center. OK. Lee, I’m not sure why you sit down. I, I, um, I, I think we’re this budget is the fees.

04:38:20,230	The other one I think is the, is the actual it’s either the center or it’s what’s left over, but this particular budget is the fees. So these are all this amount of money is already covered. It’s OK. There’s no levy needed. It’s, it’s just I’ll just move on. Thank you. What’s S I R N? Statewide interoperable Radio Network. Oh, good. That was good And, and why did I have a contract with.

04:38:39,100	Why did the budget go from 2025 to from 100,000 to 230,000. placing 11 enhancement. What, what changed there? They’re busy County Park, what’s this now? Oh, you missed communication there. Yeah. 153? Oh. I thought it was the same thing Now, this. Now, there’s two sheets in there with communication Center 49, 120.

04:39:08,070	OK. OK. Yeah. OK.. And that actually went down a little bit. That’s, uh, rent for the building. It went down? Yes. Yeah. How’d that happen? Hm Might as well leave it alone if it went down, huh? Mounty park is the salaries for our part board members. we get paid No, they, they, they get paid.

04:39:34,730	The other two members good for them. Detention center, maintenance and construction. um, building maintenance. that’s been tracking pretty much right there for. A long time. I don’t see any change in that. Nope. Um, county recorder, Now, this is the preservation fund. for the county recorder. OK I’m good. OK.

04:40:13,970	Well, I’m just curious under furniture and equipment. Missy 370,500. She’s got here She was here She should be here. Yeah I guess the question was uh, gonna be what furniture and equipment that we need for 37,500 when we’re moving out of this place and I don’t know that we had decisions from memory, but,

04:40:51,100	yeah, yeah, I don’t, I’m, I’m just answering because Missy had left, but, um, I believe she’s, it was something to do with the replacement of her computers in the back. Something to do with the scanners. Yeah.

04:41:05,970	To get the preservation money comes from that, so she had some computers and scanners, if I remember right, just through a conversation I had with her. I remember scanners as well. That’s used to preserve the old records. Right. Yeah. So that was an update to equipment, so that’s what that that furniture fixtures is, I think it’s all computer equipment for the scanning. gonna have a question about what it was.

04:41:20,470	Yeah that’s fine. It’s not paid for by property taxes and so, and it stays with us. Yeah. The preservation fund is. Um, you know what, you know how much money we got in that preservation fund. like a quarter million dollars or something like that. Um. And we don’t use it.

04:41:33,530	Thought it was more than that, but. Yeah. Um, sheriff’s department, animal care. I don’t, I don’t think there’s any question on that. Uh, sheriff’s department, uh, miscellaneous, acid forfeiture, I don’t think there’s any question on that. Nope. Date’s attorney um whatever, there’s no question on that. No. Furniture and equipment and miscellaneous. That’s.

04:42:03,170	um state’s attorney drug uh forfeiture, nothing on that. You know, does anybody, has anybody seen anything else in that pile that’s really um, because I think we get into something out of the pile? Yeah, I mean, we’re. Cause the rest downw S special assessment district. Yeah. Yeah. Pardon me? OK, hazardous chemical preparedness, that’s 5000.

04:42:24,530	What’s that for? Uh, sheriff for. In case you got a spill. Pardon me? Chemical spill Who’s monitors that or who you. Uh, that would be under Mar Mary. Um not sure if, uh, page 162. That’s a 24/7 program. Yeah, and I, nothing to touch there. And detention center again for inmate.

04:42:52,800	Yeah, there’s nothing Zero Yeah, I don’t see any change to any of this. Special assessments, that’s not anything that. Right. We can change Nope. That you don’t need to because that’s all billed out.

04:43:19,600	I think that takes us to Vennito right Anybody have anything else that they want to add? And since the public has been, huh? Yes. Comm Schwab Uh Darren, you’re still there. Come on up. I get in trouble What can I do for you? We need a this is for informational purposes. He can explain it, but we’re going to have to get to thinking about a building for our chemicals. Oh Lord.

04:43:51,100	We’ve talked, uh, I’ve talked with Steve about this and back and forth, but Mr. Schwab, but, um, going, uh, getting this year under and getting through this one is where I’m really at and going into it later because the facility we do have that, uh, we get through the, at the sheriff’s department.

04:44:11,270	It is a smaller area, um quantity of chemical, I can’t get the whole year’s worth then, but I’ve been purchasing as whenever there’s a sale, so I, I’m kind of bunching it in there.

04:44:32,870	Um, any, and, and to move, you know, from, from there to a different facility or something wouldn’t, um, we’d have to have, you know, no drains, we’d have to have everything with the spill kits and everything too, but it’s just something that’s, uh, you know, might be coming up in the future as, as far as um. for the wheat board and, and, and move on from there. Yeah. OK. Mr. Chair.

04:44:51,430	Um, is there, is there any, is there any reserves? Do they have reserves? Hm I don’t know I think they do. They would know that. No. I don’t believe there’s any reserves there. Well, I think our reserve kind of is you know, he Darren buys a lot of chemicals and then you get that money back and it kind of rolls.

04:45:09,500	Yeah, the, our reserves. So, it’s, it’s the thing is, we’re going to need something about, I’m guessing like about a four-stall garage or something like that. And the problem with that chemicals on account of spills. and it needs to be heated But we may Darren does shop and do a good job of that.

04:45:31,900	We’re going to have to figure out if it’s feasible to rent a little place somewhere. so he could buy more chemical on sale or not? Yeah. And there, when you’re buying stuff on sale, the there’s a pretty hefty discount. Well, uh.

04:45:56,530	When you’re following the, the, the stuff that’s, um, it’s actually on sale in September right now, and, um, like milestone for quarter milestone, it’s on, it’s, it’s 6750 or 6775, whatever court where last year was at 7250.

04:46:17,270	So, I mean, there’s, you had a $5 wing there, but if you, when you’re buying chemical, every, every penny counts, you know, um they do that in the fall, so they don’t have that in their warehouses over the winter and, and they have room for their stuff for new stuff coming in. Then the spring, they’d run something.

04:46:28,500	Normally the one in the fall does do a little better on pricing than the spring. But if a Guy buys some in the fall and then gets another order in the spring. I mean, we’re still saving dollar, you know, still saving dollars with the facility we have.

04:46:42,970	but something bigger, a Guy could take advantage of that fall sale and just not bump it up at all So I was, I was talking to Steve earlier. I mean, but there’s, like this stuff here, um, as the weed board also, I mean, we can, there’s this fall, there’s gonna be some, you know, oh, I wanna get him come in

04:47:01,630	here or have another wheat board meeting so we can discuss some of these ideas and events and, you know, pricings and everything else that you get. There’s the weed board. OK. Well, thank you for that. All right. Any other questions? Nope, not for me. All right.

04:47:22,970	Thank you OK, this is a public hearing regarding the Burleigh County budget, uh, does anybody else wish to speak on this budget? Does anybody else wish to speak on this budget. This is a public hearing. 3rd and final call is anybody wish to speak on the Burleigh County budget for 2026 Seeing none, I will close the public hearing.

04:47:42,730	Commissioners, there’s a kind of a series of things we need to do Um Chair for, um, Comm Bucker. Just Lee, what’s, uh, where are we at as far as the dollar amount that we’ve taken out tonight and, oh, you’re over there. Uh, um, what where were we and where are we? We were at 104 million overall.

04:48:12,600	and we cut 5 2 million how. but we’re down to the exact right around 98, 99 billion overall. um. what we, what we like in last year. So last year we didn’t, we did not have everything on the budget that we should have had.

04:48:48,970	We had things on the budget that we didn’t need on the budget. like ready for the state medical. you know, Ho, that’s, that’s not our levy, um so you can’t just go out on the website and and compare So this year, I added the things that needed to be added like social services and then removed the things that didn’t need OK, so then

04:49:14,470	after, after these changes that we made. what’s the bottom line to the levee? without looking at the sales tag, I mean. 5.2 once we cut, no, I’m sorry, we also cut from the highway, did you not? Yes. Yeah, I was 7.25 or 7. 7.7 m. 2.7 Yeah But Yeah.

04:50:06,270	I apologize. The total is actually going to be. 7.2 the study in, in told 7.2. From the 104. Right. 7. 2. That’s good So what does that do to the mill, everything, I guess. Probably not that easy to pressure I mean, sorry, we, we have a mill of 736,000, so it’s, it’s 9.8 mills, um.

04:50:44,170	you know, when we started the night our levy was almost 22 million and so We just wiped out the property tax portion of. and we’re not done yet I don’t think you’re getting out of here at 10 o’clock. Yeah, I said either. He’s got his stuff put away already. He’s a dreamer.

04:51:19,500	Well, well we can calculate the actual and will calculate the actual levy, um. when the budget’s passed, but we started with 22 uh with a levy of 22 and we cut, you know, 7.2 million out of there. Um That’s like, that’s almost 10 million, it’s 9. OK.

04:51:49,900	All right, so um I’ll ask for a motion to approve appropriate and maximum levies for the unorganized townships. moved to approve. That. Motion is second to approve. the levies for the unorganized township they further discussion, called ro. Where’s your Schwab? Yeah. Fisherwoodcocks. Yes. Comm Munsen. Yes. Comm Bakken. Yes. Chain Bitner. Yes, motion carries. Next is a motion to adopt 2026 final budget and appropriate 2025 mill levies.

04:52:16,070	Were we approved? Second motion is second to approve the 2026 final budget. Um, a further discussion, Comm Schwab. We forgot our friends at the garrison diversion. That’ll be in the budget, won’t it? You know, I didn’t see it. That’s actually not in your budget.

04:52:40,700	They set their own budget and then they send the budget to um the county to collect it for them. so you don’t have a say in what their budget is, they have their own public hearing regarding their budget. don’t have a say. Yeah, but we get to get. So, we can work on that this winter, right? Yes. All right. Finally. Satisfied OK, you got me off my track here.

04:53:00,900	Motionro the final budget. Motion in a second. Yeah, motion in a second. OK. Call the rule Christian Munsen. No. Comm Wake? Yes. Comm Schwab. Yes. Mr. Woodcock. Yes. Chair Bittner.

04:53:32,470	Yes, motion carries Um I will uh, back up to the, this is the last thing, um, before any other business, but um back to the discussion about property tax and sales tax home Rucharter amendment. um you know, as I laid out in the earlier part of the meeting um, when we had all of these discussions about moving to a sales tax, I didn’t think about the fact that we were giving, essentially giving away the ranch to out of county property

04:53:54,470	owners and and whatnot. They don’t live here, they don’t spend sales tax here. They don’t, and it was not my intentions to give away property tax reform to people who come here and pull money out of the local economy.

04:54:16,730	and so I asked the question of the state’s attorney, and I think we can do a home rule charter amendment, but enough water is under the bridge that I kind of forgot the details. Yeah, that. Details, Julie? Yes, details. So in order to modify the amend or um if you want to amend the Home Rule Charter, that’s under 11-09.106, and that can be done by a proposal of the commission.

04:54:46,630	um, if the commission does approve that proposal to amend the Home Rule Charter, then it gets published in the newspaper and then it goes to the electorate, so it goes to the next vote goes to the people. Yeah. So, I think we should do that, Commissioners.

04:55:01,100	I think we should, we should pass a motion for a Home Rule charter amendment. for the sales tax to apply to primary residents. of, of with, with, can you do county owners or can you only do, I can draft something. I, I think I understand what you want.

04:55:24,530	You just want that to go to residents and um, property owner residents, not commercial business owner resident or commercial business owners or nonresidents, but commercial non-residents we don’t want. that are headquartered. We want Yeah, then we drop it I, I, that.

04:55:43,730	So, I can draft a couple versions and then you can take a look at where county you’re looking for? Yeah, I, I was County commercial would stay in. I don’t know. I, I, my focus was on primary residents. property tax. Here it comes up. Uh oh. Mr.

04:56:00,370	Chair and Commissioners, I would caution you to make any decision here this evening until we have guidance from the state of North Dakota because you would be creating a secondary property class for each type of property class, which is not in my opinion as a tax director is not legal.

04:56:14,330	because if you’re going to collect two different types of property taxes because you’re using property tax relief for residences that live in the county versus residents that don’t. We would have to have two property classes, and I believe there is some case law for that. So I would make sure that Julie checks with the states or with the Attorney general’s office. I’ll be looking into all of it. Thank you. OK. I never thought of that.

04:56:29,800	Well, I think that’s why the state did, from what I heard, that’s why the state did the primary resident’s credit. But how about, does that include. Well, that means Primary Primary Apartment rentals, apartments. Would that be included as a primary residence or? Uh, I don’t know. But the state was very clear there property tax was primary resident’s credit. Right.

04:56:53,870	Period So it doesn’t apply to apartment houses, it wouldn’t apply to somebody that lives out of state or out of the county, you know, because if you’re, if it’s not your primary residence. How about the white drug right down here, they still would. It’s not a primary residence. OK.

04:57:13,970	You know, I’m talking about it. Are we going to get a chance to discuss that and voted on it, I hope. Right. Well, we will, yeah, that’s after, you know, but the point was basically how you would apply that, um, reduction off of the tax bill.

04:57:30,800	That’s what we’re looking at doing instead of making it a blanket all the way across. It sounds like the proposal would be to just provide that um credit against the taxes to kind of similar to what the state’s doing. OK, that’s all I had on that.

04:57:51,270	Um, any other business for the good of Burleigh County? Is there a representative of Summer Carbon Solutions here that Half an hour ago. All right. We’re Adjourned. the, the bar across