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It’s a move the county has been wanting to make for the past few years –– putting the Sheriff’s Department in charge of Emergency Management responsibilities just makes sense, says Yellow Medicine County Administrator Ryan Krosch.
Prior to commissioner action during Tuesday’s YMC board meeting, Yellow Medicine was one of the few counties in the state where county Emergency Management duties remain that of the Veterans Service Office.
Decades ago, when the office was still called Civil Defense, it was viewed that veterans, disciplined and trained with a clear line of command, were ideal for emergency administration.
But the job is not what it once was says, YMC Veteran Service Officer Michelle Gatz.
The Veterans Service Office originally was charged with developing a county emergency operation plan in addition to emergency response. Nowadays, Gatz says the federal mandates have inundated the department with additional duties, which seem unrelated to the office as it functions today.
Increasingly, “It's impossible for me to do both,” she said.
The retirement of Veteran’s Service Administrative Assistant LeAnn Maynor in August made it an ideal time to transition responsibilities over to the more apt sherriff’s office, as the change could be made without cutting back the position of an existing employee, noted Krosch.
Setting out to develop a realignment solution that would not create excessive additional cost for the taxpayer, the county hiring committee would consider two options before providing the board with a single recommendation.
Both of the possibilities entertained involved the reduction of the Veterans Service Office from one full-time director and one full time administrative assistant, to a full-time director and a part-time assistant without benefits.
Where the choices varied was the Sheriff’s Department. Here it was determined that the county could either hire a part-time or full-time deputy –– both would receive benefits –– who would have duties solely with Emergency Management in the former circumstance, and with Emergency Management as well as court security, in the latter.
With Sheriff Bill Flaten and Gatz both present, commissioners weighed pros and cons before approving the hire of a full-time deputy.
Krosch said that by hiring full-time the county would benefit from a pool of more qualified job seekers and also noted that the dollar amount varied relatively little when taking into account the deputy’s time working court security, which the county would have to pay anyway.
The combination of the three positions associated with the chosen option will cost the county a combined $118,079 per year. The part-time alternative would have cost $111,771. When the responsibilities remained with the Veteran Service Office, the combined expense was $114,492.
It’s a move the county has been wanting to make for the past few years –– putting the Sheriff’s Department in charge of Emergency Management responsibilities just makes sense, says Yellow Medicine County Administrator Ryan Krosch.
Prior to commissioner action during Tuesday’s YMC board meeting, Yellow Medicine was one of the few counties in the state where county Emergency Management duties remain that of the Veterans Service Office.
Decades ago, when the office was still called Civil Defense, it was viewed that veterans, disciplined and trained with a clear line of command, were ideal for emergency administration.
But the job is not what it once was says, YMC Veteran Service Officer Michelle Gatz.
The Veterans Service Office originally was charged with developing a county emergency operation plan in addition to emergency response. Nowadays, Gatz says the federal mandates have inundated the department with additional duties, which seem unrelated to the office as it functions today.
Increasingly, “It's impossible for me to do both,” she said.
The retirement of Veteran’s Service Administrative Assistant LeAnn Maynor in August made it an ideal time to transition responsibilities over to the more apt sherriff’s office, as the change could be made without cutting back the position of an existing employee, noted Krosch.
Setting out to develop a realignment solution that would not create excessive additional cost for the taxpayer, the county hiring committee would consider two options before providing the board with a single recommendation.
Both of the possibilities entertained involved the reduction of the Veterans Service Office from one full-time director and one full time administrative assistant, to a full-time director and a part-time assistant without benefits.
Where the choices varied was the Sheriff’s Department. Here it was determined that the county could either hire a part-time or full-time deputy –– both would receive benefits –– who would have duties solely with Emergency Management in the former circumstance, and with Emergency Management as well as court security, in the latter.
With Sheriff Bill Flaten and Gatz both present, commissioners weighed pros and cons before approving the hire of a full-time deputy.
Krosch said that by hiring full-time the county would benefit from a pool of more qualified job seekers and also noted that the dollar amount varied relatively little when taking into account the deputy’s time working court security, which the county would have to pay anyway.
The combination of the three positions associated with the chosen option will cost the county a combined $118,079 per year. The part-time alternative would have cost $111,771. When the responsibilities remained with the Veteran Service Office, the combined expense was $114,492.
Other news:
•Commissioners welcomed new Restorative Justice Coordinator Sharon Hendrichs.
The Hector resident has a lengthy connection to the area and the county’s Restorative Justice program.
Hendrichs was involved in the introduction of the program in the county 10 years ago while she was working for Pact-4 Families out of Kandiyohi and more recently facilitated YMC circles on a part-time basis, including a bi-lingual circle in Hanley Falls.
Hendrichs has worked full-time out of Kandiyohi for the past 10 years, first with Pact-4, then community corrections and only since July with Kandiyohi’s Restorative Justice program.
She has thee boys with her husband, Tom, an investigator with Renville County Sheriff’s Office. Though they have no plans to move from Hector, she says does believe her commute is shorter than it was when she was driving to Willmar.
•Alternating the designations on annual basis, the Canby News was named the official newspaper for 2012 and the Advocate Tribune, the secondary.
•The 2012 mileage reimbursement rate was raised to $.55 in relation to federal standards.
•A number of sheriff’s office department fees were adjusted. They changes can be viewed on the county website at: www.yellowmedicinemn.govoffice.com.
