Chairman Bill Groskreutz, above left, presents John Roper with a certificate recognizing the outgoing County Board member for his 16 years of service.

In their final business of the year on Dec. 17, the Faribault County Board of Commissioners approved the tax levy and budget for 2025 after holding the Truth in Taxation Public Meeting. However, the vote was not unanimous.

The total net levy which was passed is for a total of $15,901,136. That amount represents a 4.464 percent increase over the previous year’s figure.

The resolution passed 4-1 with commissioner Tom Loveall voting against the measure.

“I would like to see the final increase come in at under four percent,” Loveall offered. “I believe we should lower it to 3.9 percent which would lower the amount of the increase by $85, 830.”

A somewhat lengthy discussion ensued about the pros and cons of reducing the levy. However, in the end, the original resolution presented to the board was the one that passed. That resolution also set the budget for 2025 at $36,201,248.

Four county residents attended the public hearing and each of their concerns had a common thread – the sudden large increase in the valuations of their properties.

Blue Earth Tire owner Kevin Krieger admitted that his business property has probably been undervalued for a large number of years.

“I don’t know that the updated value is wrong. The new valuation is probably closer to where it should be,” Krieger stated. “But to make that much of a correction in one year is kind of tough. This affects me in a big way.”

One person mentioned that the only way for a business to pay for a tax increase was to pass the added cost onto the customer.

The commissioners urged those who were concerned about the valuations of their properties to visit with county assessor Brady Rauenhorst to learn why the changes in valuations were made and if there was any recourse for those who still felt their property valuations were not justified.

Earlier, during the regular meeting, the County Board voted to accept the resignation of county recorder Sherry Asmus effective Dec. 31, of this year.

“I have been in the recorder’s office for 36 and a half years,” Asmus told the board.

Asmus’ term is set to expire in 2026. After passing a resolution declaring a vacancy in the county recorder’s office, the commissioners voted to appoint county assessor Rauenhorst to the position of interim county recorder.

Rauenhorst will be compensated at his current salary plus 30 percent for the duration of his appointment.

“Brady is very well acquainted with the workings of the county recorder’s office,” chairman Bill Groskreutz said.

County engineer and public works director April Wellman was at the meeting and presented two bids for the rural lighting project at the intersection of County Road 17 and County Road 16.

“The bids were very close and I recommend we go with the low bid from River City Electric Company of Mankato,” Wellman said. “The bid is for $58,687 which is much lower than the engineer’s estimate of $160,207 which was put together by the previous engineer.”

The board approved the bid from River City Electric Company.

Wellman also requested that the board vote to carry over 2022 funds for the purchase of two Mack tandem dump trucks with snow plow equipment.

“These were originally ordered in 2022 and we have had to carry over the funds since then,” Wellman commented. “We have finally received word that the trucks are being built. Once we receive them, they still have to have the snow plow equipment installed and I understand that the company doing that is also behind schedule.”

Wellman explained that Mack canceled the original contracts for the trucks.

“They did that for everybody who had orders,” Wellman said. “Of course, the trucks are now more expensive and the $499,000 that was originally budgeted will not cover the total costs of the trucks.”

The board voted to carry over the funds.

Sheriff Mike Gormley, along with deputy Chris Albers were also at the meeting to present two items for the board to consider.

“We need a resolution passed so we can receive grant funds for Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) prevention,” Gormley shared. “Faribault County was allocated approximately $29,873 for 2024 and a similar, but unknown amount for 2025 and the years following.” The board unanimously passed the resolution.

Albers presented two bids for the replacement of camera systems throughout the county, including contract towns.

“The low bid was from Tvedten Electric in Blue Earth in the amount of $48,124.07,” Albers told the board. “Payment for these cameras will come from the Public Safety Grant Fund which currently has a balance of $68,906.”

Albers mentioned that there were currently 33 cameras around the county.

“The old ones required us to take a television to the site and hook it to the DVR and then search for what we were looking for by date and time,” Albers noted. “With the new system, the video will be transferred to our office and we can view the footage there.”

The commissioners approved the purchase of the cameras.

The board also took time to thank and recognize outgoing commissioner John Roper for his 16 years of service to the county.

In other business, the board:

• Approved the 2025 CEDA (Community and Economic Development Associates) contract which includes a five percent increase over the current contract and is not to exceed $88,869.

• Set the date for the first meeting of 2025 on Jan. 7 at 9 a.m. and appointed county coordinator Brian Hov to convene the meeting.

• Approved the request of Luke Schonborn of the Faribault County Drainage Department to attend an OSHA Construction Training Course.

• Voted to approve Sheriff’s Department employee Daniel Killion’s request to attend a Mental Health Awareness for Dispatchers seminar.

• Approved the request of Bryan Schaper of the Public Works Department to take a Bituminous Street Inspector Recertification class online and to attend a Concrete Plant Tester Recertification program.

• Approved Public Works Department employee John Oswald to attend a Bituminous Plant Tester Recertification training class and a Bridge Construction Inspector Recertification training class. The board also approved Oswald taking a Concrete Field Inspector Recertification Course online.

• Gave approval to Public Works Department employee Taylor Doering to attend a Grading and Base Tester class and a Concrete Field Tester Certification course. Approval was also give to Doering to take an online class for her Bituminous Street Inspector Certification.