By MaryHelen Swanson

Itís going to be catch-up time for Chisago County, according to County Administrator John Moosey. Speaking to the county board last week, he said the county has been hit hard with state cuts for a couple of years and the affects are accumulating. ìItís starting to really hit us,î he said.

He said the county has been able to push the problem off to the future, but for 2005 itís time to catch up.

The board approved a 14 percent levy increase that very day.

Moosey said he knew the board wanted to keep taxes down, but he said these are tough times for county government, especially when the state is slashing funding and still wants the county to do as much or more with less money.

The 14 percent increase didnít come easily.

Commissioner Ben Montzka made the first motion to adopt a 14.75 percent increase saying he didnít think the county can meet its needs with less.

Commissioner Lora Walker would not support that number saying she wanted something more under 10 percent.

Montzka pointed out that 14.75 would produce a single digit (8 percent) net increase, quite similar to previous years. He put the responsibility for the increase clearing on the stateís reduced funding. But Montzkaís motion failed.

ìWho do you want to lay off?î Montzka then asked.

Walker said no one, but asked if road projects could be held or if the voters could be asked at election time what they want done with the roads.

County Treasurer Lee Olson noted that the 2005 budget didnít call for road projects as it is. Auditor Dennis Freed said the $300,000 line item was for salt and seal-coating services only.

Are you talking about a bond, asked Commissioner Bob Gustafson of Walker? She said she was talking about asking the voters how much theyíd like to look at road projects.

She said if the board pulled this line item and put it to the voters and it failed, these highway projects would not be done.
Commissioner Rick Olseen wasnít in favor of bonding right now. Gustafson said if the county bonded, wouldnít they want to do it for more than $300,000?

The voter response idea was squelched, however, when the auditor informed the board there isnít enough time to get anything on the ballot for Nov. 2.

Back to the 14 percent, Gustafson said some of his constituents have indicated theyíre ready to move if the county goes with 14 percent.
He said he wasnít

ìmarriedî to 14 percent and if anything could be cut, he would be willing to do it.

Cutting roads is a safety issue, he said, and puts residents in jeopardy.

Montzka again made the motion, with Olseenís second, this time for 14 percent.

The motion passed 4-1 with Commissioner Mike Robinson opposing. He said just because the board can increase the levy doesnít mean it should. He said people in his district are not getting raises. He also said itís no surprise that the state is cutting funding.

He went on saying if the county raises its levy to compensate for the loss, the state will just smile and say itís not them doing the raising.
ìI donít want to play that game,î Robinson said.

Responding to the previous discussion on bonding for road projects (a suggestion from Walker if the voters would have voted yes on road projects), Robinson said the board should only bond for non-essentials, luxury items. The necessities, he said, are the countyís responsibility.

Gustafson said he agreed in general, but added that this is not a normal year. Later, Gustafson reiterated that the county is not locked into 14 percent. He said he didnít intend to vote for 14 percent at the end of the year.

Jail, justice center

At a work session that day, the commissioners unanimously agreed that the hired jail planner, Liebert and Associates, should look at both a new jail and justice center.

Recent confusion over whether the planner and the appointed jail/justice task force should be considering both aspects led to this discussion.
Approximately $93,000 was approved for the jail planner, and it will take a little more than $30,00 to add the justice center focus.

The commissioners agreed that this would be done using money, not to exceed $34,900, from the 2003 carryover in the Sheriffís Departmentís capital equipment fund.

The original $93,000 is to come from the countyís contingency fund.

In other business, the board agreed to ask Ecumen (formerly Board of Social Ministries) to share the appraisal they have on the Green Acres Country Care Center property at the request of Commissioner Olseen. The county is considering giving the property to Ecumen rather than $1.3 million as part of the nursing home take-over process.

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