By Sara QuamRock County Commissioners Tuesday approved a capital improvement plan and the ability for the county to bond up to $1.75 million to cover those capital improvements.Commissioners said they aren’t sure if or how much they will bond to pay for projects in the next few years, but they now have the option.Commissioner Ron Boyenga voted against the motions, saying he’d rather spend down reserves if these projects are deemed necessary.The capital improvements listed on the CIP, which was discussed at a public hearing, are: oa renovated or newly-constructed law enforcement center, oa Heartland Express building and Highway Department renovation, oa fiber loop to technologically connect county offices, oFamily Services maintenance upgrades and expansion, and oa courthouse garage.Commissioner Jane Wildung said, "We didn’t hear objections to doing these things. … It’s a good thing to have, because every year, the Board should talk about capital needs."Commissioners said that although they approved bonding, they might decide to bond for less, or even not to bond this year.The board gave only "preliminary approval to the issuance of bonds."The board will forward its CIP to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development for review.Audit resultsCommissioners heard an audit report from Doug Holst, of the accounting firm Larson & Allen.Holst said county staff was cooperative and was committed to complying with newly changed accounting standards. Some key points to the audit included a significant change in depreciating assets. With the new accounting changes, even roads and bridges get a depreciated dollar amount yearly.The county has about eight months of expenditures in the fund balance, which Holst said was appropriate and "healthy." Rock County’s fund balance has been consistent through the past few years, which Holst also noted as a positive.Year-end cash investment balances have been steady at $6.5 million to $7 million for four years, too.Using 2003 numbers, Holst said Rock County has the lowest per capita debt of Rock, Nobles, Pipestone and Jackson Counties. Rock County’s per capita debt is $31; Nobles is $497; Jackson is $664; Pipestone is $309. The state average is $4, however.Holst said the small number of county employees struggles to meet some standards, such as segregating duties in the processing of county transactions. He said the small number of people with a concentration of duties isn’t desirable, but is fine if management is aware of this "internal control" issue.In other business Tuesday the board of commissioners:oPassed methamphetamine protocol and procedures for employees.Law enforcement, assessors and social workers, for instance, may come into contact with methamphetamines when in users’ or manufacturers’ homes.The county now has a policy in place on how to physically and legally handle those contacts.The Rock County Sheriff’s Department will conduct a training session for employees.oHeard an update on how elections will change in the future. The state has applied for and received federal grants that will go to every precinct for election equipment updates. The new equipment costs $6,100 per precinct. Rock County has 24 precincts.Rock County Auditor Treasurer Gloria Rolfs said an election meeting of about 40 local people showed that election participants weren’t in favor of the change, but the state is making counties change their equipment.The state sees this upgrade as an increase in accuracy.
