County assessor to serve as interim county administrator

May 16—Freeborn County commissioners on Tuesday approved Assessor Ryan Rasmusson as interim county administrator until a new full-time administrator is hired.

Rasmusson has been with the county for over 20 years and will fill in following the termination of Administrator Candace Pesch in April. Pesch served as administrator for less than six months and prior to that worked as the county's personnel director.

The board had initially divided up some of the administrator duties to ease the load of the vacancy, but board Chairman John Forman said the consensus was reached to move forward with an interim administrator after department head and commissioner interviews with Mike Humpal, manager of local government solutions with South Central Service Cooperative, who is conducting the search for a new administrator.

Forman said during discussions, three county department heads showed interest in the interim position, including Rasmusson, Public Health Director Sue Yost and Finance Manager Pat Paquin.

The personnel committee recommended Rasmusson.

An updated timeline for the new administrator search that was given out at the board workshop last week showed the position was to be advertised through June 6, with interviews of the top four applicants slated for July 19 and 20. The first day will include a time for county staff to meet and interview with the applicants and a public meet-and-greet in the evening from 5 to 6:30 p.m. On the second day, the board will interview the candidates.

The new administrator would tentatively start 30 days after the board's approval of the contract.

In other action, the board:

—Approved the appointment of Tim Bennett as chief deputy starting June 3, following the retirement of current Chief Deputy Todd Earl. Freeborn County Sheriff Ryan Shea said Bennett has over 23 years of experience, over half of which have been spent in a supervisory role.

—Approved changing the job classifications of six court security/transport deputy positions to patrol deputy positions.

Shea said the way things were structured, the court security/transport deputies did not go through field training and were not able to be utilized out in the field or for basic calls for service. If they went through the training, however, they could perform patrol deputy functions.

He also noted that the way things had been, these positions had a lot of downtime.

The county has been short on patrol, running 22 out of 24 hours a day, so with the new classifications when there is a shortage, they won't feel it as much.

He said he anticipated it to take a while for the deputies to go through the training since it takes six months each and they will do two at a time.

Commissioner Brad Edwin said he saw the change as a positive one for public safety.

Shea said he also thought it would help garner more applicants.

—Approved allowing the sheriff to offer lateral pay steps to applicants based on their prior experience.

Shea said historically new hires have only been able to start as high as a step 2.

With the change, this would acknowledge applicants' prior experience.

—Accepted a grant for about $4,600 through Freeborn County Partners in Prevention Coalition to train probation agents, law enforcement, prosecutors, Department of Human Services workers, school officials and victim services staff on diverting juveniles involved in sexting.

Lyndon Stinson, probation and pre-trial services director, said the intent is to educate and prevent juveniles from getting involved in felony activities that include sending pictures and videos of minors that would be considered illegal. It would also look to divert from the criminal justice system those who have already found themselves involved in the activity.

—Approved a conditional use permit for Kevin Weitzel for a new 10-site campground on 820th Avenue in Glenville. The permit was recommended by the planning commission.

—Approved a conditional use permit for a cabin in Manchester Township to Desirae Heideman. The application was approved after work had already begun at the site.

—Approved a six-month loan from the general fund to the new Sheriff Turnkey Bank Account. The account holds funds for the jail inmates to use for purchases while in jail. A new account is being open at CCF Bank to allow the county to have an account without monthly fees.

—Accepted a $200 cash donation to the Sheriff's Office to be put toward equipment.

—Approved a purchase agreement as part of the South Central Community-Based Initiative. The initiative purchases psychiatry services from the Freeborn County Department of Human Services.

The total of psychiatry services to be purchased from the Mental Health Center of Freeborn County is about $129,000.

—Authorized the final payment for about $31,400 to Freeborn Construction for the storm sewer and watermain project at the Freeborn County Fairgrounds.

—Proclaimed May as Mental Health Awareness Month and Foster Care Month in Freeborn County.

There are presently 39 foster care homes in the county, and 51 children currently in foster care.

—Recognized Lucas Ravenhorst, Luke Wangsness, Rachel Heskett, Caleb Songstad and Emily Cassens as winners of the 2023 Freeborn County Commissioner and Diamond Jo Casino Scholarship recipients.