County entities and partners present 2020 budgets to commission

On Tuesday, July 2, the Eddy County Commission met with Lake Region Law Enforcement Center Rob Johnson, who shared a draft of the LEC’s budget and informed the commissioners about some of their major areas of concern, including the 911 program and the Re-entry Center.  

Johnson reminded the commissioners that the numbers in his budget were still very fluid, as their board still has many decisions to make. However, he wanted to make partner counties aware of the budget shortfalls and that one of their courses of action would be to look to their participating counties for additional funding.

The 911 operators are taking over 10,000 calls per month. Less than third, or about 3,000 of them, are actual emergency calls. Johnson said the remaining are calls forwarded from other entities. For example, the Eddy County Sheriff’s Department forwards its office calls to LEC in Devils Lake after hours, which include anything from barking dogs to reports of theft.

From May 15 through June 19 of this year, LEC 911 dispatchers answered a total of 163 calls, and just 37 were considered an emergency. The other 126 calls from Eddy County fit the latter description.

These dispatchers also serve in the control room in the jail. Commissioner Neal Rud asked whether the fee charged per phone can be raised. Johnson replied that the $2 fee now assessed is the maximum allowed.

Johnson said that there have been significant improvements on the jail side of the facility, but there are still existing problems on the re-entry side. The re-entry facility is used for people who are re-entering from a prison The process of leaving prison can be very difficult, especially for ex-offenders and felons that have served lengthy sentences. Re-entry programs can be a valuable resource for someone trying to make a successful re-entrance. However, the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) requires that there is always one male and one female officer on duty at all times, effectively doubling the staffing they previously had at the re-entry center and increasing labor costs. The LEC board is looking at options that could make that department run more efficiently and be more cost-effective as they make budgetary decisions, and Johnson said that they would keep the keep the commissioners informed as their budget numbers are firmed up a little. Commissioner Dave Gehrtz is Eddy County’s representative on the LEC board, and he requested that Johnson speak to the Commission. As their budget is finalized, Gerhtz and Eddy County Auditor Patty Williams will receive copies, which will be shared with the full commission and the public.

Stuart Richter appeared before the commission on behalf of the City of New Rockford, in regards to airport. He said his goal is to get the city and the county to work together on the airport. First, to build a new hangar which was destroyed in the windstorm last summer. Going forward, to work together to address the ongoing needs of the airport. The airport is state funded, which means that it receives 80 percent reimbursement from the state. The remaining 20 percent must be funded from local sources.

They have $307,000 in insurance money and from the city’s budget to build a new hangar and a new underlayment on the runway. They have been advised by the state aeronautic commission that it is advantageous for the city and the county to work together in support of the airport, and a representative is willing to come out and meet with representatives of both commissions.

Commissioner Gehrtz agreed to represent the county commission at the meeting to initiate dialogue between the two entities. Commissioners would like to have county taxpayers provide input regarding their wishes about the airport.

Other department budgets reviewed included the following:

 • Eddy County Weed Board—Bryant Huso informed the commission that the weed board’s budget for spraying road right-of-ways has increased somewhat, but is reimbursed by the state for spraying highways. Otherwise, the budget is unchanged and was approved by the commission.

 • Eddy County Sheriff’s Department—Sheriff Paul Lies presented the department’s budget, which includes an increase in anticipation of the Statewide Interoperable Radio Network (SIRN) which provides critically needed reliable radio communications. The existing communications systems used by many of the emergency personnel provide poor coverage, limited interoperability and are at the end of their repairable life. These issues place the first responders and citizens at risk.

The county is budgeting for five vehicle radios and five portable radios; however, the department will not be budgeting for a new squad car in 2020. The commissioners approved the budget, which was otherwise unchanged.

 • Eddy County Water Resource District: Travis Peterson represented the water board with their budget. Peterson said that their budget is remaining mostly constant other than some additional expenses for legal and secretarial expenses related to the Rosefield Dam lawsuit. There is also a slight increase for dues due to rising costs. Other than that, the budget remained the same and was approved by the commissioners.

 • Eddy County Road Superintendent Todd Weber discussed the road department’s budget. He has included a request to purchase a trailer to pull behind a truck. Workers would use the trailer to haul equipment around rather than drive it to and from work sites. There is also an increase for gravel expenses that will address the prioritized road issues. Upon review, the road department budget was approved.

 • Eddy County State’s Attorney Ashley Lies presented the budget for her office. Lies created new accounts for expenses that had been allocated under miscellaneous expenses, so that it was clear on what the money was being spent. Upon review, the commissioners approved the State’s Attorney budget.

 • The Eddy County Extension Office budget was sent in and reviewed by commissioners. There was an increase in the budget so that they could do more marketing and aggressive promotion of 4-H and its programs to bring the numbers of enrolled 4-H members back up again. NDSU Extension Agent Donna Anderson also requested money to make improvements to the barn, setting aside an area for hog washing during the fair and to do some cement work in the walkways of the barn. Chandy Howard has also agreed to clean the Extension Agent building and commissioners discussed the additional rate that would be added to her wage. As a result of that discussion, the budget will be adjusted and tabled for approval at the next meeting.

Other business discussed included an update by Ashley Lies regarding the quiet title action, saying that she had heard from one of the parties and would be speaking with his attorney, which is necessary in order to move forward. She also told the commissioners that she had reached out with questions about the Kimberly Larson lawsuit that had been dismissed with prejudice. She has not received a response, as of yet, but will keep the commission posted. They are also looking for a place in the courthouse to store some important records, although she is waiting for a response regarding which records can be scanned and stored digitally.

The commission will host an employee appreciation picnic on July 16.

The next meeting of the Eddy County Commission will be held Tuesday, July 16 at 8:30 a.m.