Faribault County Planning and Zoning administrator Sara Hauskins, left, and SWCD Co-program Administrator Nathan Carr, right, were at the board meeting to discuss various issues with the commissioners.

The County Board had a number of “house-keeping” items to tend to in their first meeting of the year on Jan. 6.

Before they began going through their agenda items, they took time to hear public comment from Milton Steele.

“During the budget process I twice asked for a budget and was denied,” Steele said. “I have gotten budgets many times over the years and this is the first time I have ever been denied. I think the board should know about this because this opens you up to not good things. Brian (Hov) denied me once, Chuck (Schrader) denied me once.”

Steele then provided the chairman and the Faribault County Register with a document that backed his position that the budget, including drafts, are public knowledge. The paper did not say where the information had come from.

Later in the meeting, Steele’s concerns were addressed by Hov.

“Just to be clear, I have never received a data request from Mr. Steele on the topic,” Hov said. “Chuck (Schrader) had. He responded to Mr. Steele’s request but he (Steele) never followed up on it.”

“We printed out the budget,” Schrader stated. “We got his request and filled it out in terms of printing it and were waiting for him to come in. He sent another request to have it emailed so I emailed it to him. You (Hov) mentioned that he never got it. So I followed up with a phone call to him and indicated that I had sent it along via email.”

Schrader clarified that the numbers he sent were preliminary due to the time Steele had made his request.

The board and Hov all agreed that the budget should be available to the public and that transparency is important.

“The problem we have is that we don’t know what happens on the other side of the server,” Hov explained. “We can put a ticket in with Midwest IT and find out if that email got sent through the server and they can detect that. They don’t know what happens on the other side of things – on his computer.”

“He has commented at other times that he hasn’t gotten things,” Groskreutz added.

“In good faith we’re looking forward to being fully transparent to the public,” Hov added. “But there is a process that they have to follow.”

Chairman Bruce Anderson said to make sure everything is documented that was sent out just in case someone comes forward so the county can show everything that was done.

One of the business items the board took care of was setting minimum salaries for the sheriff, county attorney and county recorder for terms of office beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2027.

“These minimum salaries will apply to individuals elected at the next general election and taking office for the subsequent term,” Human Resources director Amanda Shoff said. “Setting minimum salaries in advance of the filing period provides clarity for potential candidates, promotes consistency and transparency and supports long-term budget planning. The proposed minimum salaries are intended to establish a baseline only and do not limit the board’s authority to set salaries above these minimums as permitted by law.”

The approved minimum salaries were $124.376 for sheriff, $124,508 for the county attorney and $89,689 for the county recorder.

Shoff also had new hires for the board to approve – Samantha Swanson as a tax clerk in the county auditor/treasurer’s office, Elijah Sanchez as a part-time jailer/dispatcher and Cody Berndt as a shop mechanic in the Public Works Department.

The board approved the new hires and also approved the transfer of Terri Van Reese to the position of tax clerk from the secretary records clerk.

Erin Beske and Sue Jahnke, of the Sheriff’s Department came to the meeting to get approval for the Emergency Management Performance Grant.

“This is a grant we apply for every year for emergency funds,” Jahnke said. “The funding will allow us to keep our emergency response plans updated on an annual basis and also allow us to plan/attend trainings and exercises.”

The board approved the grant.

Next, Beske presented the board with a proposal, which they later approved, for a contract with Everbridge Mass Notification Systems.

“We have been with this company in the past but had been utilizing the services of a company called Code Red,” Beske shared. “Code Red had a cyber breach a few months ago and we have been told they have shut down completely due to the situation. Sue (Jahnke) and I witnessed a demonstration of the program from Everbridge and it appears it has everything we need to continue a good Mass Notification System.”

The board also approved the adoption of the 2026 Faribault County Hazard Mitigation Plan as presented by Jahnke.

Sheriff Scott Adams presented the board with bids to purchase a 2025 Ford 150 XLT at a price of $53,984 (plus taxes and fees) from Fairmont Ford and a 2026 Dodge Durango Sport Utility from Mosaic Auto of Zumbrota, with a price tag of $39,170 (plus taxes and fees).

“The Faribault County Sheriff’s Office has budgeted for three squad car purchases this year,” Adams said. “We obtained bids from out of state and Minnesota dealerships.”

Adams noted that the purchase of the F150 will be partially offset by the sale of the department’s 2024 Chevy 2500 truck. He also mentioned the department had earlier sold a 2018 Ford Explorer for $8,000.

Public Works director/county engineer April Wellman attended the meeting to give a brief forecast of the projects slated to be undertaken in 2026.

“Paving is set to begin this spring on County Road (CR) 19,” Wellman said. “We also plan to do a mill and overlay on CR 23 from CR16 to the Interstate 90 north ramps.”

Wellman informed the board there are five bridges in the county scheduled to be replaced in 2026.

“Three of these are township bridges – one each in Lura, Delavan and Pilot Grove townships,” Wellman commented. “The other two are on county roads. One is on CR 2 and the other is on CR 8.”

Wellman also shared that Kiester and Bricelyn are the two cities where the county will be doing some work.

“The rest of the items for this year include some township bridge deck mill and overlays along with seal coating and county-wide striping,” Wellman stated. “We also need to advertise for fuel bids.”

Following her report, the board unanimously passed a motion allowing Wellman to advertise for bidding the 2026 projects as presented to the board.

In other business, the board:

• Approved the 2026 contract for services between Faribault County and Faribault County Soil and Water Conservation District.

• Set the regular County Board meeting dates for the first and third Tuesdays of each month, beginning at 9 a.m.

• Scheduled a work session for the board to discuss property valuations and taxes. It will be held on Feb. 3, at 1 p.m.

• Approved training requests for Brady Rauenhorst and Kara Bendickson of the County Assessor’s office. They will receive training in order to prepare for the Board of Appeal season and on dealing with disasters.

• Approved the request of county auditor/treasurer Chuck Schrader to attend the 2026 MACO (Minnesota Association of County Officers) Annual Conference.

• Approved donations made to the Faribault County Veterans Services Office as presented by VSO Jennifer Howard.

• Approved a lease agreement with the city of Blue Earth for the Extension and License Bureau offices at a cost of $12,894 per year for the Extension office and $11,582 for the License Bureau office.

• Approved the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s County Feedlot Program Delegation Agreement Work Plan.

• Approved the Faribault County Register as the official 2026 newspaper.

• Was visited by Boys County and Girls County Representatives from Blue Earth Area, United South Central and Maple River schools.