All the commissioners are here, our secretaries here, and it's August 4th.
Regular meeting.
Pledge allegiance.
and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
Well done.
Is there a water around here?
Every now and then, every now and then we do.
Actually I think I used the last of the funds that you guys donated.
Did you?
I think I'm not sure.
Where's it at Christie?
On the west wall.
See if you go to any place but pro-co-op you can probably get a lot more bottles.
I think the last one Ray brought up from the grocery store.
That's what I mean.
They're on sale for $4 or something.
Yeah.
Proko up $6, I think, in Flaxville.
Everything's high.
Yeah.
There's tools to that.
So I kind of squished that in there, I think.
I don't know.
I don't have a mic in front of me.
I'll make a motion to approve the agenda.
I would second that.
I move.
All in favor?
Aye.
Aye.
I'd make a motion to approve the minute.
Your second.
All in favor?
Aye.
Aye.
Could we get them in like now with dot work or no?
You can.
I don't know what he wanted actually.
He wanted to talk about being gone or something like that.
I don't know.
I just, he didn't tell me what he wanted, so.
But you could call and find out what he wanted.
Tell me, I tried not to schedule anything tomorrow.
At 10?
I just have an evaluation to give you guys.
Okay.
Thank you.
Well, Logan tried to get in at 10, and I'm like, I'm telling you, I want us to really take a show at Aging Council meeting.
I'm going to try and get that move, so that it's not.
Yeah.
I think that's one of the things that we're going to talk about.
Oh, you must be bored already into our literature.
So you need some.
We did get these Friday.
So I'm done with you guys.
I'll start this process.
It's our absolute things that I use to figure out the little levees for our levees.
If it doesn't work out, you just raise your nose.
Because of the number of mills.
What's our mill value now?
I don't know how to look at that.
Actually, I just printed it out this morning.
Is that countywide?
This is school district.
Oh, I don't have anything at all.
Oh, haven't you?
Not at all.
You have a busy girl.
I just printed it this morning.
Lots of school dishes.
Why are they really that low?
They're half, right?
It's because of the way of this new financing.
And that is the, you're looking at the taxable value?
Yes.
Yep, so our mill levy value was at 3,300.
It was like 79 last year.
69.
Yeah, 67, 68.
I said on that note from me, put us, you just got to raise the, it doesn't work out, you just got to raise the.
Double mill.
I thought we shouldn't do that.
Well, you can, but they suggested that you ask for the money value instead.
Instead of saying we want this many mills, you say you want this much money.
Yeah, but don't we have to put that to our voters?
No.
Not according to what was sent to me.
On 1510-420, they kept citing that.
Convert meals to dollars and inflationary factor according to Montana Code annotated 1510-420.
It's based on a $375,000 median home value.
across the state and our median home values, what?
Maybe 150 or maybe a little more.
Well, I know they dropped out from 1.36 to 0.76 or something.
Mom, figuring the tax.
Yeah, 1.35.
Yeah, 1.35.
Yeah, and ag value, which were mostly ag property around here, went from 2.16 to 2.05.
The hang was supposed to pick up the slack.
No, the big homes are supposed to pick up the slack.
And second residence is in short term rentals.
And there'll be more subcategories as it goes on.
Commercial and industrial property looks like their rates are going up.
Right now, they're based on a $400,000 median value.
This coming year, they're going to be based on 1.89%.
And then anything over $400,000 will be 1.9% in 2027.
So 3,544 then is our mill value.
Wow, that is ridiculous.
That's the lowest I think it's ever been since I've been here.
It's just here where you're 26.
I would bet they're going to need so much feedback that they're going to have to do something different.
But we're stuck with it for two years?
I mean, they can add and make it better if they want to.
I'm going to add this, add that, take away this, take away that.
I don't know how they can apply one rule to 56 pounds when there's so much difference between.
This is on the bottom of that.
Thank you.
How long is the opioid money run?
You know, they told us it's going to run forever.
So when I was doing a, well, I don't know if forever, but for a long time.
So when I was on a webinar with the local government and they
That's why I moved it to its own.
They said that it'd be better to be moved to its own fund because it's going to last for a while.
And that's the stuff that goes to the Eastern Montana Mental Health.
We just keep it.
Oh, OK.
Yeah, we're up to, was it 11,000 on our journal lecture?
What do we send to Eastern Montana Mental Health?
But I think if I remember right, you mentioned that one of the meetings about the opioid, they talked about taking the money out of the counties and putting it in the... Well, a lot of counties like Custer County.
So there's a grant program called Montana Opioid Abatement Trust.
And we, every year, the money that goes into there from the 17 Eastern counties then gives grants to different entities to provide counseling and prevention and abatement.
Like one of the grant applicants this last time was the Montana Math Project.
So it provides the science for Montana math and they go into schools for prevention.
So instead of this $11,000 just sitting in the county because it has to be used for specific purposes that money goes into.
a big pool of money for just the 17 counties.
And that board determines how that money spent.
And the first grant cycle that we went through, we denied everyone in the grants because none of it was coming back to Eastern Montana.
It was all going to Missoula or our building.
Oh yeah, no, thank you.
Thank you.
Yeah, I think it's managed very well.
And it might be something we need to discuss.
there was a contest where you did signs.
And then you went and voted on which ones you liked, and then that one got prizes, and then that one got put up.
Yeah, but that was counting up.
The deadline for that was July 31st.
I will make a motion to approve Babel.
I would second thought.
All in favor?
Aye.
Aye.
Aye.
I started to do that, Christy, but then I noticed that chair was empty.
They didn't want to have to repeat themselves.
I would second that.
All in favor?
Aye.
I got it on record too.
Those are the ones he's looking at right now.
$1,600.
How much of that stays here?
That's $1,600?
Are we any?
For our fees?
Oh, they stay here.
Do they?
Yeah, yours too.
It's a revenue.
Back in the oil time now.
Yeah, no, we don't.
Well, we do give some to the party.
Okay, so Department of Revenue and then the death certificates portion of that goes to that amount.
So 220 of that gets thrown by the state.
I'll make the motion also to do the officer reports.
Second.
All in favor.
And on the agenda, it's Commissioner's Protocol.
My question is with Tammy.
You've been going to all these meetings.
Are you representing the commissioners or are you
going to these meetings on your own?
I am supposing you are talking about the... Well, I got an email about you going to the airport meeting and I was supposed to be waiting for phone calls.
What's that stuff about?
Mike, at our last discussion, at our last meeting, we got a claim for $37,000.
for a new mower and $425 in freight.
There was quite a bit of discussion.
We had talked about making sure they were aware of the procurement policy.
Mike and I had a discussion.
Do you want to go?
Do I want to go?
He said, I would rather you go.
So I went.
And I gave them a procurement policy.
They were not aware.
They were upset.
I'm new.
Historically, when people get upset, they reach out to one of you.
I just wanted to give you a heads up that there was some concerns so that you would know the background and not get blindsided.
And I also felt it was prudent to review the procurement policy, which is why I asked for it being on the agenda.
They also had expressed that they felt they talked to Christie and cleared it.
They've never had to do this before in the past.
And I wanted to make sure that that wasn't the case.
Pretty straightforward.
I did not act on my own.
We had discussed it.
But if there's a problem, why don't their court come to our meetings?
Well, there's definitely a problem because we don't have communication between our boards and our meetings.
And I did ask them that.
I said, you know, you can either come here or maybe we need to go to your meetings, but one way or another.
And that's why I also asked the second time for Christie to let us see the board minutes when they come in, because we don't see them.
We don't know what they're doing.
They don't know what we're doing.
And my concern to them that I expressed was,
You know, maybe we knew of a more that was less expensive, or maybe we knew of like Sourcewell, you know, they didn't know about that.
We have resources.
I just think we all need to be on the same page, especially when it's us three and our lives being put on, we're the dead end.
If anybody's gonna get sued, it's us.
As we represent the money for the taxpayers in the county of Denver.
So.
But as commissioners, we three meet here.
Right.
Yeah.
So when one goes out, how do you, how do the boards don't ask us to attend their meetings?
Why not?
I don't know why not.
But I mean, if we wanted,
Discuss that with their board.
Why didn't we invite them in here to our meetings?
I know we only meet three times a month in hindsight I think that would have been the better Avenue, but we had discussed it at that time.
Well, they were having a meeting.
Yeah.
Yep.
Do you want to go?
But I think they need to come here rather than just singularly speak for all of us when we go out exactly but
But with that being said, we're also each of us assigned to our own boards as well.
Correct.
But that's where we made that agreement amongst us ourselves, which ones you go to, we're not on the airport.
And maybe we should all, maybe every one of our, that's the decision we need to make.
Maybe every one of our boards needs to have a commissioner or every one of our boards needs to be scheduled routinely
with the commissioners.
And that's a good point.
And that's things like this are great opportunities for us to fix these communication problems, because there's definitely a breakdown.
That's why we're having problems like this.
They weren't aware.
And I think that that policy went out in 2021 via an email from Mary Nygoos.
And so did it go to all the boards?
Don't know.
I was clerk of court at that time.
I don't remember the two address.
Also, I wasn't making anything up in that board.
I simply took the procurement policy as it's written and gave a copy to each one of them.
I went over the bill that cost our concern, the $37,000.
Ask what the freight was for and said that this is something that our auditors would look at.
I didn't make anything up.
I didn't make anything up.
However,
When I'm speaking to seven people who've acted autonomously for decades and telling them all of a sudden that they're accountable to us, I can't answer questions like, well, what about our fuel cost?
And that's when I said, we're going to need to have it on the agenda to address the center procurement policy.
I did not act out of line in any way, shape, or form.
I want to give you heads up that you might get some major phone calls, and here's the background.
But I guess I've been on here 14 odd years, and I've never had a board call me up when they're attending.
They always come here to talk to me as a commissioner.
Why all of a sudden do you think they should be calling us at home?
Do you get phone calls at home from the solid waste employees and from?
They'll stop by.
I don't necessarily call, but they generally will stop if you have a concern.
But I don't act as a commissioner then.
I just listen.
I try to make any determinations that I don't try to solve without.
I just say, you know, if it's something concerning in front of all three of us.
I guess I'm not sure where you think I'm out of line.
Well, okay.
You, we all are assigned board meetings to attend.
Now, I mean, I'm not saying that when that was set.
But when you go to all these other, the town meetings and stuff like that,
Are you going on your own or are you going as commissioners?
When I go to the city council meeting, you tend all these meetings.
You know, Gary, there's a lot of things that go along around in this community and we're here three days a month.
How are we supposed to know?
How are we supposed to know what they're going on?
I have every right as a citizen to go to that.
That's what I'm saying.
You go as your own, not as commissioners.
In the city council meeting, particularly, of course I go on my own.
Of course I go on my own.
Do I think that we need to know what they're doing?
Absolutely, absolutely.
Because some of their responses, I mean, the bulk of our constituents as county commissioners are city residents.
I agree.
If I may.
Go ahead.
I'm familiar with it too.
It's hard to parse out when you wear an elected hat and you attend.
other government meetings and being the county attorney in the way I always handle it to make sure that there are no questions as to what capacity I'm there in because it's hard to shut off say no I'm not a commissioner right now per se.
It comes up sometimes because I represent you guys
And I think it's always diffused simply by, yeah, I am the county attorney, but I can't tell you anything about that.
You got to come to a meeting, but that sounds like something there should be a meeting about.
Which it sounds like maybe occurred at the airport.
Yeah, I did, Tom.
I don't know the answers to these questions and I'll find out or, but I do think that we need to have
either a commissioner representative here so that we're all in the same loop and I can come back and report or you can come back and report or you can come back and report to us what you heard.
It's just like you've been on the solid waste board.
And when we have questions about solid waste we ask you.
And when there's concerns we give them to you or you go back to the board.
I think we should have them with us here, at least from now on, just so everybody has an opportunity to ask questions.
I think it would go easier.
From my office's perspective, it's the only way that you conduct business.
unless you do something like the solid, well even the solid waste, really all you're doing is reporting back.
You're just there to listen.
You're not there to necessarily make changes.
And in that regard, I don't, there is nothing wrong, nor could anyone ever say that any commissioner could attend other meetings.
The only caution I would have for any of you guys doing that is when you do it, if they're trying to talk to you as a commissioner, that it's just abundantly clear that there is no decision to be made here.
I can't represent
Anything on behalf of the commissioners, unless at an earlier meeting we had decided this was the message I was delivering on behalf of the commission.
Or if you have concerns or questions, get on the commissioners' needs agenda, then we can discuss it.
Pontification is to be avoided, but if
You're pontificating upon a problem of some sort, always having the caveat that speaking for myself here, of course I can't for the board.
Things like that.
I wanted to be known always.
I'm asking people to come to the Commissions meetings.
I don't think we have good communications between departments.
between boards and I'm always asking them to come to meetings, especially when it comes to things like budget.
So I'm not acting alone out there, not making decisions.
I don't have that power.
I tell them that.
It takes three of us, the three of us.
Our meetings.
Yes.
Yes.
I mean, it seems like two people can't even, we can't even associate
Well, you can't as long as you don't discuss anything and make decisions.
The public don't know that.
Well, that's- I mean, that's what I've been told years ago.
Right, that is true.
It is true.
And I agree with that.
So how do you go to a meeting together?
You absolutely can.
You just can't.
You know what I mean?
It's a goofy gray sort of a thing, but you're just there on the side of not conducting county business.
I mean, I guess I have never been accused.
We'll take example of Mike, Lon, and I sat at the ball game one time.
And we were told, you ain't supposed to.
That's not true.
No, but that's, the public don't really, I mean, if they got a bow to pick with me, it don't matter what the hell I do, or who I associate with, I'm gonna hear it.
I mean, but that's, you just don't, we're a small community,
And you're just going to take heat regardless.
With that being said, it is not a bad idea to know what's going on in the community.
I live outside of town.
I don't get in on all the gossip going around.
Not that that's a great source, but I don't know what's going on.
I think it's prudent on my part to hear, try to have those communities build the relationships, have networks.
That's part of a commissioner's job.
And going to board meetings is, it's smart for lack of a better word.
As long as I don't act alone, period.
And I don't.
Okay, you go to, you go to meetings.
Why the hell are you there, Tammy, they think?
I mean, I've heard people say that.
Why is Tammy going to all these meetings?
What is she creating, problems?
You tell them.
She wants to be in the loop.
Well, I mean, I don't know why you're going to these meetings.
So why do I tell them to pass something that I really don't know why you're going to meetings?
Pass it on to them.
Tell them I want to be in a loop.
I want to know what's going on.
All I tell them is I hope she ain't representing me as a commissioner.
Well, you can rest assured that I'm not here.
Well, rest assured.
But that's the answer I've got at.
It's just that.
And everybody perceives things a little different.
And so when you go to some of these meetings, they think you're possibly acting for everybody.
And you can, unless short of telling them you're not.
So in preparation for this, I wanted to see what other counties said and what is a punishment.
So Ravalli County, one of the biggest activated
active counties and Montana associations of counties on their website for everyone to see, says commissioners duties and powers.
Powers and duties of commissioners.
Let's see.
Well, there's that they
OK, so maybe it was on Mako's website.
One of the biggest parts of our job is to create networks and to get to know people.
And the real, like, if we only hear one side of an issue, we're going to make poor decisions.
So if I hear, if I'm out in the community and people say, well, this happened, and then I hear it around, this happened, if we hear that as commissioners,
If we hear all sides of the story, from whatever issue it is or aware that there's a problem, we make better decisions.
There's only one way to do that, and that's get out in the community.
That's what we're supposed to do.
We're not supposed to sit here and hope that every issue is fully represented, because it's not.
We hear one side, maybe two.
That's it.
Going to board meetings,
Yeah, well, I think we need to invite them here.
That's fine.
You know, more so.
And that's fine.
But unless you're on that board, and like I said, most of those, you're just there.
I have every right, is my first amendment right, to go to board meetings.
And I think you guys, as I hear it, are in agreement, largely, that more than anything,
perception is a concern and just articulating that I'm not here on any official county business when any of you attend a meeting or I can't act but I never.
But see some of the public does not understand that.
They think that when you go you are representing all three of us and it's not the case.
And just affirmative.
It's hard to change that perception other than to come right out and say
You can't do anything.
I'm just here listening.
And that's my point.
If it's a persistent, every, you know, people are concerned about it to, you know, sit down and say, hey, I'm not here to represent the county, but I am here to listen to what you have going on.
This is no different than walking down the street.
Somebody has a concern and you listen to it.
And it sounds like a good thing to be going to all of these meetings.
Otherwise to to fight the perception just to make sure that people know that Can't do anything.
I'm not here to make a decision or tell you what everyone on the commission thinks Which likewise doesn't sound like that's happened exactly, but I want to Logan I think what you're saying and what they're saying are two different things I Think they're trying to tell me not to go to meetings and I want to be clear about that
And I'd say that one, you can't.
And two, well, let's just, at one, you can't.
Yeah, I just would say you can go to how many other meetings you'd like to, but you're representing yourself.
I'm not representing anybody.
You're representing yourself.
Yes.
So different than when I go to any of my meetings, I'm representing myself.
On behalf of any questions that come up, I can hopefully relay them back to the board.
Or, if it's not serious, they can come here.
And I get the perception issue.
I mean, I constantly deal with it.
Perception is weird.
I may get cartoonish, frankly, that like a disclaimer at the top of a form, a legal disclaimer.
I am not here on representing the county, nor do I represent any of the positions of the county.
And then go with whatever input I might have on whatever someone's meeting about.
Yeah, absolutely.
There's no means by which the Board could say, you know, you can't attend meetings.
It would just be the conduct or lack thereof at those meetings.
And from the sounds of it, from Tammy, it hasn't been any representations that the County's being represented, just maybe perception in the community because people don't understand.
So from Maker, Montana Association of Counties, what
will my day look like as a county commissioner?
Long, long, long, I'll cut to the chase here.
Talking with constituents is a big part of the job.
They may call you at home hoping to influence your vote on upcoming whatever.
Besides responding to constituent requests, most elected officials want to be out and about.
Will they will stay informed on what is happening in their county?
You will soon learn that controversial issues you sometimes hear from supporters, but you are certain to hear from opponents.
As an elected official, you have to make a decision that is in the best interest of the entire county.
Attending meetings is a major part of the job.
Your schedule will have to allow for time for regular commission meetings, work sessions, executive sessions, special meetings, and public hearings.
Also, as an elected official, you'll be expected
at many unofficial gatherings from pancake breakfast to fish fries.
Gathering information is essential to making good decisions.
Citizen input from both individuals and organizations is gathered through regular constituent meetings and by reading.
You rely on the informal advisor staff reports, county records, professional publications, and news media.
Building consensus with other commissioners takes time,
Blah blah blah blah blah.
It's imperative that we get out there.
Imperative.
I agree with you.
We should get around and figure it out.
But are you talking at these meetings or are you asked to come to these meetings?
I don't have to be asked.
I don't go to anyone I want to.
As a taxpayer of Janus County,
I can go to any meeting that I want to.
Okay.
I'm just looking back.
You're informed of me to be ready for phone calls.
Because I went to this meeting as Mike and I discussed.
I've never gotten a call from any other, you know, town.
They've never called me up.
They'll talk to me when I'm here.
Well, then you're lucky.
Mike's stuck in town.
He sees people all the time.
They're going to say something to him.
Just wanted to give you a heads up.
I did not misrepresent.
I did not say, this is the way it's going to be.
That's not my job.
I can't do that.
I know that, Gary.
Well, I mean, it just struck me funny when you sent me that email about that.
OK, let's just be open and honest.
I'm female.
I'm new.
They're going to discount what I have to say.
Heads up, they know Mike, they trust him, they've got a long history with both of you.
I didn't get a phone call from anybody.
Good.
However, just so you know.
Good, good.
There was a lot of concern.
We just brought up a huge issue, something that has been on the book since 2021 that they were unaware of.
This, it was a good decision.
It was a $37,000 purchase of a $90,000 tractor.
It wasn't a mower.
And I said, that's not the issue.
The issue is that we need to be in control of the budget.
That's all.
It's a policy you're aware of it.
Hold on a minute.
I'm just raising that.
Just want to make sure that you're aware of it.
That this is policy and procedure.
We should have you come or one of those things to be on there.
But there needs to be communication between boards.
I guess it's up to Gary.
Well, I was just listening to what you said.
You went there to represent yourself, yet you brought in the fact that they shouldn't have bought them over.
Here's the procurement policy.
That's all commissioner stuff.
So what's the airport meeting representing the commissioners?
Mike and Gary and I all had a big conversation during that last claims.
Right.
Gary must have been talking
whatever but I said Mike do you want to go to the airport board or do you do I because I'd really rather you do it it wasn't a solo decision I went because they needed to know the policy
Did I know that they have the policy before?
No, I wanted to make sure that they did.
We wanted to make sure they did.
Because there was discussion about not signing the check.
Because we didn't know about it.
Right, and I guess at that time I thought maybe you would call somebody in before you filed a check.
Well, a hindsight probably should have done that way.
And this is the thing about commissioner meetings.
It's not perfect science.
We're going to learn lessons like this.
Well, I always look at it as when I go to these meetings as a fact-based meeting for me, because I don't know what's going on until I hear from the people at the meeting.
And then, generally, you bring it back here for discussion.
And if it's something concerning, you bring those people in to talk to them.
So we probably should have maybe brought him in or the board in here.
And I think we should do that probably quarterly to most all of the board heads so that that's a line of communication that they could feel easily coming to us about.
But in the interim, every time a board has a meeting, they have to file those minutes with the clerk and recorder's office.
And also, I ask that those minutes be circulated through here with all of our other correspondence meetings
so that in interim, we can read those minutes and just be in the loop.
That's all.
Okay, so, can I address this email that you sent me?
Or do you want me to wait till 10.30?
That's up to you.
Because you're bringing up a lot of stuff that's in the email, so.
Okay, so on this email you sent me,
You're telling me I gave them permission to purchase something totally untrue.
Charles came into the office, and he mentioned it.
And I said, he goes, we are looking at purchasing a new board.
I said, well, how much is it?
He said, what it was.
I said, well, then you don't need to put it out for vids, because it was under the $80,000.
And then he asked if there was money in his budget for it.
So we went and looked it up, and he did have money in his budget.
That was it.
That was all that was said.
I never told him to run out and buy it.
I never told him he could buy it.
I just did what my job is to do.
And what he ran with that, I have no idea.
They misunderstood and didn't know about the procedure?
Well, they do know because they have bought big stuff over the years.
And they do know.
We do have new members.
Maybe they've forgotten this for a long time since they bought it.
I don't know.
But for them to sit at a board meeting, now that they've come in here and he mentioned it, I could have addressed it at that time, instead of leaving Tammy with an impression that I'm running around telling people,
they buy stuff when that is absolutely up for them.
And I'll take Tom Loft-Scard as an example.
He called up, he said, Sir, do you need to come talk to the commissioners?
Because it's over the $500, $1,000, you need to come talk to them.
So that's when he came in to talk to you guys about your machine ship.
Never have I ever, ever, told anybody they can purchase something when they need to come and talk to you guys.
So I'm guessing they misunderstood.
Charles went, oh yeah, we have it in the budget.
So yeah, we can buy it.
That's where they went with it.
Well, that is one board we don't see very often or hear about very often, also.
No.
So.
And that's, like I said, when, you know, to have said the board, I never ever talked to the board.
I literally talked to Charles.
I didn't talk to the board.
I didn't come in and say, hey, you guys can buy this.
No.
Totally far from it.
Anyway, I just wanted to clear that up.
And thank you for bringing that up, Chrissy, because I didn't say that you said that.
That's what they told you.
Right, but I want you to understand that.
Never, ever have I done that.
Any time somebody has come, and that wheel addresses the next one, as far as the minutes go, we do not get the minutes.
We get the minutes from the soil conservation.
We get the cemetery files that are minutes there.
Mary files hers and her drawer there.
Solid waste files there so that they're in a drawer there and any minutes we get like soil conservation we put into their little drawers there.
I never see library, never see planning board, never see airport, never any of those other ones.
We never see them.
They were never forced to bring them in here.
I think that it's taxpayer money, though.
I mean, I think well, they're available.
If somebody calls the airport and said, I want to see your minutes, they're available for them to read.
So that's where, when this came out, the commissioners at the time said, well, the board, secretaries all have the minutes.
If somebody wants to see them, they can contact them.
And they provide minutes to them.
I wonder if we can request an email to, you know, just an email of their minutes from those boards.
might can, but like me, I mean, you know, you're saying that you have to insist on this while I can't do something that I can't do.
Right.
I get that.
I, you know, before I'd ask you to see those minutes and you just directed me to the file, but then I found that I don't know when they come in, right?
Well, we don't always either.
You know, the parkour can hold on to them for six months before they ever bring it to us.
I just think, you know, again, like what you were saying, Gary, there is a breakdown in communication.
You know, we never see the airport board and they don't know what we're doing.
We don't know what they're doing.
So I think they should know what you're doing.
You're going to start literally in the paper.
I know, but you know, it's all up to you.
I think my son told me he reads every damn minute.
Lots of people do.
That surprised me.
They didn't let it go on.
But I was surprised.
My son told me they read minutes.
I've fallen into that exclusive trap where it's everybody knowing a lot of people do not read the paper.
There are people that read
on the computer, there are people that don't read, da, da, da, da, da.
We cannot make a blanket statement saying that everybody knows what's going on.
And it's our job as elected officials, as local government, to be as transparent as possible with government, what we do, what's our job?
You know, with how we spend our money.
We need to make those efforts to do that, so.
Okay, one more line.
Okay.
Your last statement.
Obviously, you've been put in a position where the public comes to you with their needs, and in the past that was left up to you.
It goes without saying that cannot happen.
What are you talking about?
Where people come, going back to the $37,000.
Well, the airport to me is not the public.
So when I read this, and I'm, my thought is what the, that's my job, is to wait on the public.
It's my job to help them.
We direct them where they need to go.
The other day when farmer came in complaining about his crop being sprayed, I said, you need to talk to the questioners because I literally have nothing to do with that or you need to call my creature on.
We never ever go outside of what we could answer.
So when I got this and I instantly was like, Tammy, I don't even know what you're talking about.
It's our job to aid on the public.
It's our job to help them.
Do you know how many people I'd have to turn away in a day that come in and ask us odd, very odd, weird questions or calls?
I mean, it's crazy.
So that's why I wanted you to address to what you're talking about in the state.
So a couple of things with that.
And again, thank you for bringing this up.
First of all, you're a filter for everything that comes through here.
And you know, I
want to make sure that we know everything we do.
But second of all, and this is, this is the important thing because it doesn't, it isn't just you and I, it's, it goes through other departments and in fact it's on the agenda again this afternoon.
When there's a grievance, the first person that you should talk to in this case would have been me.
You should have reached out to me and said, Tammy, I'm having difficulty because I sense that maybe this email was red in anger and not in the tone that which it was meant.
I, hold on.
I fully, fully try very hard, Christy, to let you know that I appreciate what you do.
You're very dedicated to this position.
You have spent a lot of years in this position.
And I fully believe that I'm kind of a threat to that because I ask a lot of questions and I can see where that might be unsettling.
And that's not my intention.
I want to learn.
But with that, when Julie has a problem with Dottie or when Leanne had a problem with me, that grievance can be settled outside of the commissioner's office.
We could have settled a lot of things.
That's not what I meant, Christy.
It's not what I meant.
The reason I brought it here is because you put the other commissioners on it as well.
So I figured we should just all discuss it here.
I'm not in grievance with you.
I'm trying to understand where you are coming from with that one because I'm like,
the public we that's that's what we do we wait on the public when it sounds like a misunderstanding with emails and text messages our point was a telephone call a christian was at the airport meeting this is what happened can you tell me your side of what happens likewise right instead of you know involving these guys you involve them on the email
But you should have involved me on the conversation with there, and it could not.
It would not have.
I didn't involve.
What are you talking about?
I didn't talk to them.
I haven't.
Why was Gary all mad at me this morning?
Why is he all upset?
Because I'm not mad at you.
No, no, go ahead with, go ahead with, because I what?
I've seen him on email.
Yeah, he saw the email.
I saw the email that the airport's going to call me.
And I thought, what's this all about?
Why is that upsetting to you?
I've never had an email like that before in my life.
I've never been warned that the board is going to meet you when we call in the commissioners.
Did you create the problem?
That's why I'm bringing this up.
I don't want you to represent me at a meeting that I'm not attending.
And my email address
should be given up by me or if I ask you to give it to it.
You give that out to Donnie for some reason, my email.
So she called and texted me on something.
I don't know.
I'm sorry.
I don't recall what that was about.
Well, I don't go on my emails.
I mean, I don't pay attention to them a lot.
I can't print nothing out and I sure can't remember it all.
Unfortunately, as public employees, all of our information is public.
What's wrong with the phone call?
I mean, that's for a prime question, these emails.
I have a feeling that I'm really going to be struggling to do something right in your eyes right now, Gary.
It's public information.
Well, and I mean, it is Tanya's prep.
Your email is actually in the county directory.
You know, that make-up puts out.
The only reason I had a complaint was the docuSci.
that they need to have them so we can pull it up on our email and we can do them here.
Because if Gary gets it out there then I have to go into his personal email to pull up the DocuSign so that we can sign it.
So first of all I'm not even sure what you were referring to on the DocuSign because I
didn't get a document, a docu- sign on my email?
I didn't.
No, Julie was sending, Julie was conversing with the guy from the state.
And she gave him this one.
And then for some reason he came back and wanted Gary's.
So that's what I sent this out was that docu- sign needs to come to the county.
Yeah.
I'm just putting that out there in case you guys get addressed.
that Gary, we don't use.
Now, you have your own work one, but it's still not the commissioners one at a meeting where we can pull it up and act on it.
Right.
Right.
And Gary has been known to delete his and he passed.
We have to go recover.
So anyway, I just wanted people.
My phone is to talk to.
I mean, I just.
That's what the DocuSign was about.
I just wanted to make sure, heads up, we were all on the same page that the DocuSign needs to come to the commission.
communication thing here that's not getting addressed, and maybe we need to look to other counties to see how they do it, so that everybody gets back on the right plane.
So everybody's here.
You know what I mean?
Because I'm sure this has came up elsewhere where people will send an email here, or a text here, or there, whatever.
And there's got to be protocol with it somewhere.
But I still want
the answer to this public here.
You say it goes without saying that this can happen, that I can't address the public hate.
What I was referring to was the $37,000 because, and I'm not saying you said it, I'm telling you that Charles said, well I spoke to Christie, you know, and so in his mind,
He had permission.
He had never had to come here before.
Well, they have in the past.
But it's been so long, like I said.
But indirectly, if he would have came right to our meetings, we'd have had all this hashed up.
Remember, we know he said, she said anything.
Right.
Be done.
If he had all came that day and brought it in.
He's sitting right there.
And so in the end, I would like to think of this meeting as a positive that we have addressed.
We have identified a problem in communication.
And the solution is to have them come.
I think it is.
At least quarterly, if we can.
All boards.
And something you're going to hear from me tomorrow that might be worth considering as I tell you more about a potential public safety commission is the idea that if this new entity comes into existence that every year they will give you a
So a roadmap of what they want to do with the next year and it's their goals, capital expenditures, projects they want to complete, that sort of thing.
They're also going to, they would also give you their regular budget and the capital expenditure budget.
We want to purchase two cruisers and dash cams for all the vehicles.
Those are our big ones coming up.
And then quarterly they submit financial statements so you could see that this potential board that I hope exists but will be up to you guys that okay they're on track to do this or what the heck your finances aren't matching what you came in and told us about might be worth considering with some of these other boards.
So you have at least some idea at some point in the year
what they're planning on doing over the next year.
So you think each of these boards should come up with a expenditure?
I just thought it was on point that I was just wrapping this up.
Do you think we need to know what their intentions are for the year as far as expenses go?
Something to consider.
Do you think they can do that?
Yeah, something to consider.
Not saying that you should or shouldn't.
That's not my place.
But I just thought it was a really interesting idea that came up as I was getting all of this stuff together for you guys tomorrow.
And I thought, wow, that's maybe a good thing not only for the commissioners to be in the loop, but for this entity to also have to sit down and say, okay, we aren't here just to exist.
What are we doing this next year?
Well, some of that's done with the boards when they do their budget.
Right.
And I always tell them,
If they're going to want something out of the box, that they need to write on there what they want.
That's kind of... If you guys see it, you can look at it and say,
you know, the library wants this, this and that because they have written it outside of, you know, on the paper.
And I think that's what they call, I think they call it an annual work plan is what I'm going to tell you about tomorrow.
But that, yeah, with their budget, you're going to see these big line items.
We want new cruisers and dash cams or something.
And likewise, in our work plan, you're going to see that
Amongst other goals is to obtain cruisers and dash cams and get them installed and working before the next year.
Worth considering potentially.
Well, and then there's always emergency stuff that comes up as well that you can't foresee.
And they got to be aware that if that happens,
What's on your list that you can get my opinion without?
And maybe that capital improvement plan that they're going to be working on will be a lot beneficial.
So we did do Interstate Engineering.
They're going to do a full countywide capital improvement plan.
Oh, interesting.
It's huge.
It helps us plan and budget and move forward.
It's especially spending seven months now in Sheridan County, seeing commissioners that are in every day, how much easier it is for them to be communicating with all those different tendrils of government.
I think Daniels County has to get a little bit creative when you're only together three times a month.
Yeah, you just lose so much not being present.
And I get that.
We're a small county with a small budget, but it is our Achilles' Yield.
And I don't know about any of those other entities in Sheridan County, but I know their Sheriff's Office, they don't have a Public Safety Commission.
But they operate that way in a lot of respects.
But they do come in with that work plan.
And I don't know if other departments do that or not.
But saying, here's what the Sheriff's Office wants to do this next year.
I think Mike Bergeron's been trying pretty hard to do stuff like that.
He more warns us of what his intentions are for the upcoming year, generally.
You know, on large purchases, the small things you can't, the breakdown, this and that you can't.
You know, that goes without saying that happens.
Well, we ironed out some stuff.
Nothing but up and beautiful next time.
I mean, you kind of budget a little bit of money to pay for all of us.
For you guys?
Yeah, it's like, we do put money in there for you to go to your, your guys' mileage for driving in, your mileage to go to the make-or-means, your mileage for the MDTs.
A lot of the more stamina is on a date paper for mileage for going to them.
Great northern Asia or not, which to go on.
So yeah.
And there's money to go to those connects like the hotel running through?
Well, there's not a lot.
So there's another discussion, too, is if you guys need me or want to increase the number you want to do it, because if two of you want to go to a meeting, or if you want to take turns going to a meeting, you know, they kind of, I know previously the commissioner kind of asked for out, OK, who wants to go to this meeting.
So not two people going to the same thing?
There's been two.
We and Mike have gone to a couple at the same time, but not a whole lot.
Usually Mike's, or usually Lee's in the middle of a cabbie or something like that really, and that's for anyone in the living room.
But yeah, so if that's something that you guys want to increase, so more of you can attend them.
But there is a budget.
Yeah.
Yep, yep, yep.
And I do, we do a lot of extra hours for special meetings that might come up, you know, kind of a thing.
Every now and then we'll have a special meeting.
Which, yeah, especially at budget time.
I mean, all you guys didn't say, hey, we need some of this over coming, do whatever, yeah.
Okay.
And like with all the three of us went to that point.
Thanks for coming up.
Those agenda items are in the books.
I just want to say one more thing.
I don't want Tammy to think I'm attacking her over the email.
The reason I brought it to the meeting is because you had everybody's name on it.
So I thought it was something we should all discuss and get off and open as to what was going on.
Likewise, I don't want you to feel like I'm attacking you either.
Well, the biggest one of all of it was the public.
I will say I'm like, I don't even get why I can't address stuff on top of it, because that's my job.
Well, that's why an email, like I tell, I always hold my kids in this stuff.
Text messages and emails, you can't get the connotation of what's being said.
Like, you can phone call.
Or you can hear your voice and hear what's being said.
So you'll call me next time when you're outside at me?
Yes.
confused and a little and a little hurt that you didn't get my side of what happened with the airport.
Yeah, I guess, you know, I think I don't do that.
We're gonna see a lot of
You know, it was probably an honest mistake on Charles's part.
I did want to bring something up on just generally it seems the airport board misunderstanding as to the existence of policies and it's been talked about on and off since I started.
going through the Makle Model Policy Handbook and potentially adopting that in its majority form, because our current policy book is woefully deficient.
Terrible.
And potentially liable.
Yeah, it would be really good.
And it's going to take some time.
If there's any time of the year that is less busy for you guys, I can get you the model policy book.
And it's just going to take going through it both on your own time and together, probably giving reading assignments between meetings and coming back to discuss policies, pay through F, because it's a fair.
Kristy and I both have it, so.
But I think it would behoove the county to adopt that sooner rather than later.
Maybe we can start this all after things settle down with the budget and before snow flies.
I think it'd be a good idea.
And of course, I'm there to answer any questions on it or help understand what the heck they're talking about.
But yeah, I think it'd be good.
I think it's overdue.
And hopefully to be able to go to some of these boards and a little more
I don't know, a sequentially easy to follow policy book that you could say, hey, you got a question on this?
Well, it's actually part four of the policy book.
Take a look at it.
If you still have questions, you're just going to have to come and talk to us.
And it'd be a lot easier than going through what currently exists and all of the tagged on resolutions that came on the back end for different things.
And frankly, most issues, I think, are unaddressed by the policy book.
So, something to have on your radar.
When was the last policy stuff?
Is it just an update over the years, is that what you're saying?
It looks like it came about in maybe the 60s, and then since then there's been... We talked about the personnel policy, we had a policy book for the boards.
The personnel book.
That was like 1998, I think.
It looks like it was revisited back then, and they just kept a lot from earlier.
They just revised.
And then they added some stuff.
But the policy, the payroll, or the personnel isn't really going to help the boards.
And this one would be all inclusive.
Yeah.
So it would cover everything?
Yeah.
If you're acting as an entity of the government, it's going to have useful information for everybody.
Yeah.
And if you guys already have copies of that, I won't even offer to get those who don't have it copies.
You can get it from them.
I was two years old.
So the same change in your life since then?
When you were two years old.
Well, if there's nothing else, guys, I'll catch you later.
Thank you.
How much ARPA money is there here?
22,000?
22,000?
And this is just for the airport?
This is just FYI, or do we have to act on this?
I think we need to act on it.
I think we do.
I'd be happy to want you two to vote if I got a sign to act on it.
I ain't got $22,000 in my pocket to come up with.
I need a motion to approve it.
She's on my, that's her face.
She hurt it.
She's got videos.
I will make the motion to bring the ARPA Distortion Velocity to the airport.
I would second that motion.
All in favor?
Aye.
Aye.
I knew you were going to do that.
I've been in the head and she's that dainty thing.
I always chat to nature.
I do all the time.
What is it?
Eighth month?
Yes, so, I'm not crazy.
It's going to be Christmas.
I do want to remind you all that tomorrow is a very important day.
Your anniversary.
No?
Your birthday?
Yeah.
Well, I knew it's something you reminded me of a month ago.
Same as Carol's, right?
She was a fit.
So, yeah.
So you have a birthday cake and everything?
Yeah, you guys are going to bring it to me.
That's why I'm working with mine.
I didn't bring mine.
Tell me about it.
He's still brought his.
Yeah, I was going to say.
That's on Curtis.
That's on Curtis.
Brought you a cake.
I am not eating a cake.
Curtis makes, I'm sorry.
Well, let me go buy the frozen one in the store.
Unless you.
Unless you.
I hate to tell you, Curtis is not going to make anything.
He's going to bring it 12 pack of beer as well.
He's going to bring you a cake, not Gary.
Remember?
We read that letter.
Okay.
Did you read it out loud?
They all looked at it.
Oh.
And I noticed that two of the board members, Marlborough Gray and Rob and Plottergers, terms are off the march.
Yeah.
So I read it out to them for two years.
If that's okay with you guys.
If it's okay with them.
I would like to make a motion to appoint Fitch, Marla, and Robin to the mosquito board.
I will second that recommendation.
All in favor?
All right.
Okay, we're alive.
So Christie printed us the Daniels County Procurement Policy that stands.
And also the, these I think are just guidelines for the Montana Association of Counties when you're creating a procurement policy.
And you know, some of the counties that they serve $150,000 is nothing to them.
It would really trip us up.
So the numbers are all,
subject to change, but they're good guidelines as far as maybe what to think about one of their suggestions.
And I didn't ever think of it might be to get this in front of Logan.
So we might want to think about that.
But the procurement policy that we currently have, the questions that were raised on page two of it
It looks like under methods of procurement, it looks like there's a duplicate going on here.
It's actually the first three lines are almost duplicate to the second set of three lines.
One is non-grap funds and one is graph funds.
Right, but then go below and there's one non-grap funds and graph funds.
So it's kind of the same thing.
And then it repeats really kind of the same.
It's sorry, Christy, it looks like this.
No, this one here?
No, that looks totally different.
Are you looking at our procurement model?
Yeah, I pulled it off the wall.
One of the ones I just made copies of.
No.
Page two?
You're looking at?
Yeah.
Okay, so one, okay, three, it says two, but it's page three.
Oh, well I've got my pages out word.
Because I've got page one here, page three here, page two here.
On page three, I've got signatures.
On page two, then you've got... So on the page that looks like this, it has the number two at the bottom.
So the methods of procurement, the first one, meth, whatever, material with non-grant funds, the second one is material using non-grant funds.
Then there's repairs and maintenance up to a thousand bucks.
Then you go to material using non-grant funds, 500 bucks.
I guess that was confusing.
I see it's zero to 500 and then 500 and above.
But it's just kind of anyways.
So they're using the grant funds and those two are almost identical?
Yeah.
So there is that kind of difficulty.
And then just to kind of think about something that Mako had in here.
We talked about recurring purchases.
such as fuel for the airport grant.
We could consider something like they call it blanket on Mako's policy.
So on the very first page, if it's a recurring purchase and a process, maybe it's appropriate to ensure fiscal responsibility.
So I mean, I guess if airport deal is bought every two or three months and it's over, but if it goes past a certain dollar amount, it would trigger a flag or something.
just because it's really good at catching stuff like that.
But those are just things to think about.
Well, I just don't think fuel is something that they can buy on a regular basis.
I'm sure it comes and goes as needed.
Sometimes they go all year long.
Right.
Yeah.
So that was just our questions.
And then the dollar amount is just $500.
Without our safe spot, do we consider going a little higher, you know?
So we spent, I don't know how many meetings on this, Mary coming back with stuff, you guys are reviewing the stuff.
I don't, I think we had a suggested one that she was following.
I guess we have to ask for other than the thousand, you know, the months there.
And I guess this maybe needs to be some kind of formal process where other people can, you know, like airport board can come in and ask their questions or other departments, you know, like Mike at the road department, maybe he's got.
Did you see that we had blanket approval on you?
Is that where I read it?
That's on the very bottom of page two under other items.
Oh, that's right.
Okay, good.
That's where I saw it then.
Maybe at the beginning of the year, we consider something like that.
Well, same thing goes, if they came in and said, hey, we're thinking about a mower this year, fuel, they can let us know what they're thinking of, so we have no idea.
But that one to me would be like on three fuel.
Yeah.
So we don't know what's now going on.
The price of the fuel.
So they have three specific, and I think there are three specifics.
were insurance, because they just paid a big chunk for insurance, fuel and wages.
I was like, I'm not going to address any of those, but we'll talk about them.
So those were just things.
Hey, did you see the last page actually addressed with the airport specifically?
Yeah, it was talking about... It's... This is what we keep getting written up for.
That's why they actually had us do this one.
Oh, yeah, and the engineer was there and he talked about it.
Yeah, speaking of whom I got to get hold of.
He told me he was going to leave me an answer to the FAA request for an auto answer, and he never left them for me.
He did mention that.
He did talk about that.
What were they not happy with on the addendum for the FAA?
Well, so the addendum is, so according to the engineer, when you hire a subcontractor, you've got to make sure, as a subcontractor, engineer consultants, you have to make sure that they weren't disbarred or in suspension.
And then if it goes over a certain dollar amount, then
you've got to have someone in the county verify that that has been done.
And he was like, every time you do it, someone has to verify it, not just once.
And he thought it might have to be just a specific dollar amount, over a million bucks, and that we weren't there.
So I was like, I'm
And I think there's something to prove that was, you've made the USA products or something.
I know that was mentioned as something.
We literally gave the phone to the auditor and had them sit down because we were tired of kind of going back and forth between what they were saying and what.
So maybe we ought to put this on another agenda item.
Because I think some of the procurement depends on where the money's coming from.
It's for a specific grant, right?
Yeah, that's why I think she broke that out into different grant versus all grant.
And I think, you know, reading between the two, there's, you know, some, this definitely is like a template that's made those things.
The Mako one's pretty broad.
Yeah, and it's, you know, it's got to cover counties that have money, way money, and then the rest of us.
One thing caught me here.
Something about, you know, except the lowest brick in.
If it meets all criteria.
Yeah.
Yeah, that was,
Right here on this page 3.
Are you reading the server?
It says every contract subject to bidding must be left to the lowest responsible winner.
Is that what you're looking at?
No, I thought it was on some places.
Is it?
On ours or Maples?
Maples.
Oh, I think there's one.
Page 3.
Right in the middle of the page.
It's underlined.
Yeah, so I'm just trying.
Must be a lot too long of a response, but there, that paint right there.
Yeah.
Maybe the word responsible is subjective.
That's it.
There's exceptions, though, I guess.
See, we went through a right dart when we put out for our engineer bit.
where the other companies sent up the request and interstate it.
Remember we had everything scheduled.
And we ranked everything and we had that.
So the other company wanted to know why they lost out.
And their main thing was just.
Yeah, we had to respond to them.
Yeah, I had to respond to them.
But yeah, they were out of buildings.
Yeah, I think.
But now some of this, if we're going through... Soreswell.
Well, so that is addressed in here.
There's, it talks about co-ops.
And I think Soreswell would fall into that co-op purchasing on page three.
It's the fourth little button down.
So yeah, I think maybe we just update this one a little bit and
Did we get a county attorney opinion on it?
It's all due to this one.
I don't think so.
Because it says the attorney should offer an opinion on whether we can do that directly.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I thought you meant on the Procurement.
Yeah, no, on this.
I think he was here that day, wasn't he?
I don't know.
Maybe not.
Oh, I guess we could ask him.
Well, where can Shawn is out there waiting to get him?
She can come in anytime.
Sad day.
I'm doing alright.
I invited her in.
One hour.
Wow.
That's too much.
Oh, cool.
to do your job evaluation.
That's what I was told I needed to set up, yeah.
Yeah, okay.
Because they looked at me and I said, I think Sean is coming to be evaluated.
I was told we just delegate and forget, that's everything.
Well, I'll get down there then, yeah.
Okay, well I just want to make sure that I
Okay.
Got you.
Useful.
Okay.
Huh?
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
He just called up too.
No.
Just checking.
No.
I haven't heard from him.
He told me the same thing he told you.
All right.
He was going to send a follow-up in three inches.
So I haven't heard from him.
I wrote everything down.
So we can go over it real quick.
And then I hire somebody.
Part two.
A lot of people work in that.
Well, I lost a person, and then I hired a person, so balanced.
I got balanced, I guess.
Well, when you lost basically part-time or full-time weight.
Right.
Yeah, so that should help some.
Yeah.
Possibly.
But you need part-time to do it.
I need a fill-in, I think.
I mean, I could get a part-time in there, that would be great, but it'll
We'll figure it out.
We'll get it figured out.
And then we have Rex in there right now because he's been assigned, what's the word, special assignment at the moment due to his situation.
So while I'm training, so that helps.
But that can't be, that won't be forever.
I'm going to and which Abby is it's really actually pretty awesome and I kind of hired her really quickly because she's actually got quite a bit of the training that we require in dispatch done.
like FEMA and CPR and things like that.
So I really just need to train her for with the DOJ stuff and obviously radio and dispatching and things like that and then go over our policy manual, which do you have the policy policy?
Yup.
In fact, I just set it down here.
Okay.
Keep going on.
Okay.
Perfect.
So, so yeah, so she's got, you know, kind of a little,
portion of it done that would take a chunk, it takes a chunk out of her training.
So that's great.
Um, so it's going to balance out pretty well, I think for what has just taken place over the last couple of weeks.
So that works.
Um, and then as far as red tail, so the CSM for the 5,500 was completely dead.
So that, um, is a, was a big issue with why they're,
I think the radios were crossing when we had that house fire in town and it didn't go out on one.
It didn't go out over base two and it went out over 512.
So that's our problem.
So Jared took that CSM to get that hard drive out of there.
can't guarantee like everything will be perfect over the next month and a half while they're getting everything together but it you know we'll deal with the situation as they come so that it wouldn't even turn on that's how gender radios are.
Do you think that'll have anything to do with the ambulance radios?
No, there's something that's totally within the ambulance stuff.
They installed the racks as where they need to be set for Motorola.
So that new rack that we got is put in place and Motorola's things are in that rack and then they transferred
other things in there that Motorola has.
So the whole room they did a great job cleaning things up, placing things where they need to be.
We do need to get a shelf in there for our server and we need to move call works into a position where if other racks need to go in later
So that is something that needs to be, well, one part of it is we need to get a good sturdy shelf for our server, which it's not gonna cost much money to just put a shelf in there.
We need that backup battery that was not put into the proposal.
We talked about it.
I know we did.
Yeah, but it wasn't put in there.
They were going to include it because they said our backup battery was too old.
It was not.
Right.
I thought I remember talking about it, but it wasn't put in there.
And it also
I don't know.
It just, we need it now.
I mean, there's not going back.
We have to have that.
So, and I told them like, this isn't something that you got to like order and then we're going to get it last minute because you guys are going to get in here and put this in.
So, whatever you have to do to get it here, get it here because this isn't something that I believe is our issue.
This is something that is your guys' situation.
and you knew it needed to be done, and this is the one thing you have to have to do your job.
So, you know, I'm not the engineer that took the mission.
It has to be done.
Do you think they understood that?
I believe Jared did, and Jared was going to talk to Brian and Connie.
I know we had a conversation right here, and they said they looked at what we had, and it was not a sufficient backup battery because it was old.
and we needed something capable of taking on what was going on.
Right.
And I need to get an electrician in there because we do not have a plug in there that it can plug into.
So that's one part that's on me.
I will get it done.
I'll get an electrician in there to get that plug put in.
I did reach out to, I can't remember, somebody out in perilous.
Oh, Charlie.
Yes, yes.
You won't hear that from them.
Okay, I'll find something.
He ain't even detective normal, is he?
No, he's not really.
This is called a wild man down the whole point.
He'll come up and do it right now.
Well, how about Dennis?
If he's here.
He should be here.
He is here, right?
Is he here about it?
Can he do commercial stuff?
He won't do commercial stuff.
He won't do commercial stuff.
I don't think he'll do commercial stuff.
He can ask this.
Maybe just for a plug-in, he'll know if he would.
The last time we have enough museum, we said he will do small things, but he's not going to do commercial stuff.
But maybe it's just a plug-in.
Really, it's just a plug straight to our box, and it gets simple.
It's not that big of a deal.
And the last one took less than an hour to do.
I don't know if I've got the right number for him.
Is it, it's a 486, 480, 475 for Dennis Smith.
What was the last four digits?
Oh, 475.
I can call Mr. Wire, have him come up and throw one in.
I'm, excuse me.
Can he is?
Yeah.
Okay.
But whether it's going to coincide with what you need.
And I think, honestly, we have a lot of electrical stuff that he already has in the building.
It's just the plug.
So anyway, we'll get that taken care of.
So they will run cables from the tower from end to end.
They have to run it with D-rings along the backside of the ambulance barn, all the way from where the tower sits, all the way back backside of the ambulance barn.
There's about a three foot crawl space in there, so somebody's going to have to, they'll get up in there and they have to run it through that bay into our building in order to get it into those servers.
So that has to take place.
And then basically, the other thing I think what was missing is they, I think he said that there were some grounding bars that need to be installed too that weren't there.
And then also too, we're just still waiting on the FAA.
I think that's a- On the tower side.
Yup, on the tower side.
So, there were a couple other things.
We're still missing the Goose Snacks.
Those will be coming.
soon but those do not get in the way of anything really and then our main thing is their license yeah but oh i got on the site and they said it there was a big banner across the top that says the oe permits are backlogged we are an oe permit so they're doing the best to sort them out to get them moving faster
So hopefully- Is everybody building a tower?
Yeah, it's all these small projects that are getting backlogged and they're trying to figure out a way to sort them to get them pushed through faster.
So hopefully that happens.
and they get them pushed through quicker.
So it's going to be the other way.
We'll use the towel most of the time and the fiber is going to be the backup, but the fiber being there it's not going to get in our way of anything right now.
So it's just
it won't get in the way.
We'll get it off taken care of and we'll get that permit.
And then they can, and I did ask about how like switching it when it all gets said and done, they are going to put their something into the dispatch.
Things will get switched pretty easy to where if we ever had to go back and forth, but that's not going to happen very often.
It shouldn't at all because the microwave is actually pretty reliable.
You know, so, um, and then the fibers very reliable and people are like, could because we are the first to like said, let's do fiber.
Others are kind of going, oh, hey.
Well, so that's what they use in Sheridan County.
So, and then they, but they don't have, they're not doing that.
Trunking.
They don't do this trunking.
And they're actually, I was speaking to them about that and they were saying that they're kind of like wondering if we're going to pick up Canada and things like that.
And that they, so they're kind of, they're kind of waiting to see how this all works out for us.
So we're, we're kind of, I guess we're the guinea pigs and they want to see how it works because then they might follow lead.
Well, I was like, well, let's be the guinea pig because I think it's going to work pretty good.
So.
Anyways, but that's all I really got for everything that's going on and I think Jared is, he's kind of getting up to speed on a lot of this.
He's getting up to speed on this because John kind of bowed out, so we kind of got to be a little patient with that, but he
Honestly came out did a wonderful job.
I Jared Jared is a really good guy to work with so So I think he'll be just fine and he'll get the job done So other than that, I Do not know how much the battery is gonna cost I told them to find out because I don't think it's gonna be a cheap battery It's not gonna be like Would you think
I would say 3,400 bucks.
He thought it could be in the 3,000 to 4,000 range.
That's what he said.
So I'm waiting to hear.
We'll see.
Yeah, we shall see.
But like I said, it's kind of ridiculous.
This isn't the first battery they've had to order last minute.
So I don't know.
We'll see.
Are you pulling the proposal out?
I've already gone through, it's not in there.
It ain't in there.
No, we had that conversation with them right here.
I went through the whole thing while they were here and I was like, why isn't it in here?
If you know you need this to back it up.
Because I think they actually brought up the battery backup and Connie was on the deal.
And I think you were here and you said there is nothing in there that's possible for battery backup.
because whether we were going to use the one we have or not, and then they looked the one we had, it was useful.
That's true too, because I remember when one of the guys that was up here, I showed him the battery backup that we have, and he goes, I don't think that's going to work.
Oh my God, who's one for $6,700 bucks?
Exactly.
But...
I would have never thought that I would have been in your range.
So my other battery backups.
In terms of a computer type backup, so we're probably looking at something that has to take all that equipment.
So it's about this big and about that wide.
Is it flat?
It's flat and it goes into a rack.
There's several of these rack mount ones that range anywhere from 1,100 to 6,700.
They're pretty intense backups.
So, and then when we had these power outages this weekend, I was like, hmm, we're just... Oh, we shut everything off because we were just like, I can't afford enough.
In our house, we're just pulling plugs.
That's all I got for them and hopefully I got some more information and then I think as things go on and anything that I get from them I'll just forward emails out to you guys because we won't meet within the next two months.
We won't meet till next month, so whatever I get between now and then I'm just going to email you guys because it'll just be easier to... So you guys can stay in the loop.
No, I mean, I won't be up here till next month, so it'll just be easier to just... Right.
Right, if there's a question that needs to be answered.
I'll let Christy know, of course, you know, but I'll just see where we're at so we can get this done.
You got more paperwork.
So, anyways.
Well, would you like to do your needle?
Why not?
Oh, you didn't bring it.
All right.
Well, I was wondering if you guys are all done looking at it.
Yeah.
We need a motion now.
Yep.
I would move to approve the amended plait of a white tail.
Second, second.
All in favor?
Aye.
Aye.
All right.
You got to sign it, too, you know.
And you don't have the date, right?
Sure.
I believe it.
Just find a proof that we need to know why they are... Yeah, I guess... I mean, it's probably not our business to know why, but it would be nice to know.
It's kind of like... Could you read the purpose of the survey?
There's a little section called purpose of the survey.
Right here.
Well, that's it.
It's to aggregate parcels that's then applied in subdivision being exempt.
Chose the boundaries original parcels have been eliminated and larger ones are established.
Yes.
I get that.
Why?
I mean, when you own it all anyway, why?
Well, maybe they're keeping the smaller ones, but the deed hasn't been done yet.
This is the modified contract for lots, basically.
I think we're going to find out there's a lot of cutbacks.
Yeah.
The health department found out about two, right?
Oh, she forgot to sign this one.
Shoot him tomorrow.
Who will be?
Brittany coming tomorrow?
No.
Sydney Larson CEO coming tomorrow?
Because she forgot to sign it.
Still serving.
Okay.
We're going to lose that $15,000.
That's the difference.
Oh, you are.
I can't believe it because we didn't get the money we're spending.
No, I think we're getting more.
Is that it?
Yeah, the original contract is $49,777.
Is that it?
Yeah, the original contract is $49,777.
Is that it?
Yeah, the original contract is $49,777.
Is that it?
Yeah, the original contract is $49,777.
Is that it?
Yeah, the original contract is $49,777.
Is that it?
Yeah, the original contract is $49,777.
Is that it?
Yeah, the original contract is $49,777.
Is that it?
Yeah, the original contract is $49,777.
Is that it?
Yeah, the original contract is $49,777.
Is that it?
Yeah, the original contract is $49,777.
Is that it?
Yeah, the original contract is $49,
I would make a motion to accept the modified agreement.
All in favor?
Aye.
All right.
We've got the treasurer's department sitting here and Dottie's down here.
See you got the floor.
Oh, all right.
Yeah, so obviously I'm here because of what took place while I was gone on vacation and got wind of it.
So I wanted to address a couple of issues that are brought up from the situation.
First off, I was kind of curious of what you two understood that was asked of Katie to do.
Was it to file this report to the state?
I don't remember.
I guess I don't quite remember.
I thought we had the conversation of something wasn't a file long time is what I heard.
And then there was a deadline.
Yes.
The deadline being to Dottie's office.
Yes.
And so let me just say I made a mistake when I saw the MCA and I thought it had to be done by that day.
And I just panicked because I didn't actually done it before.
So I looked at it, I did have the report from Julian time, and now it might, I think it's August 15th or something like that, it has to be the OPI.
But let's just stop right here.
We've had this discussion earlier today where I think when problems between departments are had, and this one seems to be a simple mistake, we asked
where a report was, it wasn't available, Katie was asked to do it.
Pretty simple business transaction, right?
It has come out that since Dottie had your report, she didn't realize she had your report, and yet it's still a simple business transaction.
But rather than make this into a big thing and come to the commissioners, I think we need to establish a grievance procedure that
You need to work it out between yourselves before it comes to the commissioner.
Well, my problem really isn't with Donnie.
My problem is with where the commissioners took over and decided to inform and tell her to file reports to the state.
That was not what was said.
Pretty sure that's what was said.
That was what the understanding was.
So let me just back up.
Let me have my moment, okay?
So that was, you know, Dotty, you just stated that yet you did have it, so it was all right.
Because I was going to ask you, you know, you got one school here in Daniels County, would there have been such a dramatic drama that it couldn't have waited until I got back on?
Let me state my thing, would it have been that big of a deal?
I don't think it, Tammy, this is my turn.
My turn, okay?
So in the past, you and I had also worked on it.
We had issues when I was in my learning thing.
I'm willing to do learning with this.
I have no problem with it.
What I have a problem with is that somewhere along the line, someone decided they needed to go into my office.
And I'm going to ask you personally because you remember when I first took over as treasurer and I had an issue and you informed me
The commissioners do not, they're not your boss, they do not have the ability to tell you what you have to do other than the budget constraints, correct?
So in your infinite wisdom, why would it come to your attention to tell my deputy that she needed to file a report as your commissioner?
You know.
No.
If you're going to ask me a question, don't lecture me.
I'm a little uptight.
I'm very uptight with you, Julie.
Because you created the scenario.
All right, then let me have my piece.
Okay, so you admit that you know before all this started.
You didn't have the authority.
So our authority as county commissioners is to make sure all departments are run correctly.
Dottie had a simple question.
I told Katie, I told Katie, get the report to Dottie.
It is state law, state law.
Yep.
And it was done.
That you have missed before.
It was state law.
So yes, my personal history with you probably did play into it, but I said to Dottie, and whether Katie said heard state or not is not my responsibility.
I said Dottie.
period.
Does it matter?
I don't leave that one second.
Now let's get to the real problem here.
If you would have been here, it would have been very simple.
If you don't trust Katie to answer these questions, then that's it.
But again, Julie, this was a very simple transaction.
Does it need to come to the commission?
Yes, when the commissioner overstepped their boundaries,
And I'm not saying you guys did.
I'm looking at you because you had history up there and you felt the need to go ahead and do that, Tammy.
And therefore, I do have an issue when you come into somebody else's office and start instructing them what to do when you didn't know what you were talking about or didn't confate
the proper information.
Actually, I did.
I did.
I don't agree with that.
And that's fine.
Don't agree with that.
But as my job, as a commissioner, if you are bridging... Why didn't you pick up the phone and say, Julie, did this get done?
I actually, Katie did get a hold of me.
Okay.
And 99% of my phone didn't work while I was gone on vacation.
So I called and I texted.
I got my phone working.
I texted the gal over in Plentywood and said, okay, what phone?
Okay, I'm talking.
I was talking before you cut it off.
No, no, this is my meeting.
This is my meeting.
So you're just going to run over everything?
Bull.
How are we going to have this conversation?
This conversation is between you and me.
Then why are we having it in the commissioner's office?
Because you involve them.
And you involve these two.
It was state law.
And it was done.
State law.
Done.
And what was your response when Katie said, I don't have to have it to Dottie, was your response?
No, it wasn't.
I didn't have to have it to OPI until August.
That was the response you got.
Oh, gosh.
What?
She can misunderstand me, but I can't misunderstand her.
She told us that it does not have to be to Dottie.
No, it did not have to be to OPI.
Well, there you go.
There's our misunderstanding.
There was no misunderstanding.
The report was sent.
So I'm just going to say, all right, this animosity that you have towards me, Tammy, and vice versa.
Not until this stuff all started here, because this is like the second or third time you have called me out and you are disparaging my name.
You are running me through the ref.
Yes, in this office.
You did it last time.
The elephant in the room.
I'm never in my office.
I'm always gone.
I'm this and that.
And I'm calling you.
Yes, you are.
And I am in my office.
The fact I took a five day vacation.
And what about the week before?
Were you in there eight to five every day?
Yeah.
Really?
Yeah.
Really?
Yeah.
I don't think so.
I think there were multiple doctor's appointments that you're absent.
No.
I had one today.
I haven't had a multiple doctor appointment in five... two months.
Two months.
And you know what?
That's true.
Well, your belief in what is in my records, Tammy, are two different things.
So you're calling me out on something that you have no idea what you're speaking of.
I do.
I do.
And where are you getting your information?
Well, I'm not going to give you that information so that you can track someone else.
Okay.
All right, so I take off and I go to whatever appointment or whatever if I take a 15 minute break.
Do I got to report every little thing I got to do to you because you are now the junior commissioner who thinks you're top dog on all this stuff?
This is ridiculous, Tammy.
You have it out for me.
You know what, Julie?
Actually, if you'll remember, once upon a time... No, no, hold on.
This is good.
This is good construction.
I'm not going to pay her a compliment.
I don't care.
That's enough.
We're getting into medical stuff and I don't want to listen to it.
I want to prove a point, Gary.
I want to prove a point.
Julie, if you'll remember a long time ago, you came to me and we had a great relationship.
I thought so much of you that I made sure that you got into a leadership academy.
Yep.
We had honest to God.
And I worked on it.
Good communication, right?
And what happened?
Yeah, what happened, Julie?
Yeah.
That would be on you.
No, I don't think so, Julie.
I still think that you have potential.
That's why I made the motion to get you those 75 hours or whatever, 10 hours of training.
What have you done with that?
I think you can do this job, Julie.
I just don't think you're doing it.
That's all.
And so I'm just trying to hold your feet to the fire yep my feet are to the fire But I'm gonna tell you what I'm done with your animosity towards me like I'm absolutely over it and you know what I agree Dottie I can understand being upset with me because of scenario that took place I don't I don't have hard feelings towards her.
I just So really don't have a whole lot to say work on this.
So here's my point to you
With you and all your extensive experience in this county because you've worked in all these offices, you took upon yourself to make decisions and overrun on my office.
And that is absolutely unacceptable.
you're throwing Katie and telling me that Katie misunderstood you now.
And I misunderstood Katie apparently as well.
And so when the report got brought in here and it was highlighted, you brought it over to my office and you're circling it and you know, you still denied the fact that you walked into my office two months ago interfering and walking around the other customers that were there.
Yeah, absolutely.
You still don't
own up to the fact that you literally come back to the private door, open the door, because I had three people at the counter and you didn't think you should need to wait.
You're not, you're not being respectful.
You never stood there like this, like you stood.
You did.
You opened the door and you're like this.
I do not remember that.
Yeah, well, you did.
Julie, let's agree on one thing.
We have both been disrespectful to each other.
I will work on my part, but I'm telling you right now,
You continue to defame me and run my name through it.
I will start filing a grievance against you.
And I will not tolerate it, because you are putting this out in the community.
And I am getting it from multiple sides, not just here in this office.
I get it all over.
And I am done.
I do think that, you know, you got your little hidden agenda of you want to save the county and you think you've got this whole thing all figured out.
So, you want to just jump in and do all this stuff and I am not your punching bag.
I will tell you this, Julie.
I expect a lot out of everybody.
Look at Christy.
She is here every day.
She had a heart attack and she came back and did payroll.
A heart attack.
Yeah.
And I expect everyone to be here
And what did you do, Tammy, when you had that opportunity?
I didn't run for that office again, Julie, because I knew I couldn't do it.
So there you go.
That's what I did.
There you go.
So you are trying to judge me by my medical appointments that I'm not here?
I am telling you that Christy is here.
Come hell or high water.
I'm not looking at you, Christy.
We know you're extremely loyal.
But what I have a problem with
And this really, I don't know where it comes from specifically.
I am taking what Katie told me and I know Katie to be very honest.
So what she understood is that you told her to OPI and she sent the report to OPI with a note going, my commissioners told me I had to file this.
That should never have happened.
So you don't think that this understanding could happen at all?
I think that there is more than a misunderstanding.
I don't think so Julie.
I am not going to set you up if that's what you're saying.
I am in agreement with the fact that I thought you told Katie to send it to OPI.
That's what I heard.
That's what Katie went over and did the report, because she heard that.
Nope, it's written right on the form, on that date, to Donnie.
But when you came in, when you said that this needs to be to OPI by this day, that's exactly what I heard, that's exactly what Katie heard.
Was there not?
So whether it was in the scope or whether it was something I don't know.
Did anyone call that morning or something that I hadn't had it to the...
That's exactly the way I understood it also.
Well, you know what?
The bottom line is this.
It all falls back on me because I'm the one who made the mistake to begin with.
So I think there's a lot of other ridiculousness going on here and it's not the appropriate place for it.
And I don't really appreciate being pulled out of my office in the afternoon to come down here when
If you don't really have a problem with me, then why were you so insistent upon me being here?
Because I wanted to hear your words, and I appreciate the fact that you said you did that.
I made a mistake.
You know what, Julie?
And I'm okay with that.
I've seen you make 15 million freaking mistakes and nobody's ever drug you around the mud for it.
And I'm not dragging you through the mud.
I'm not dragging you through the mud.
I'm not.
I wanted an answer.
You gave it to me.
I have an issue here.
So.
Let that go.
Yeah, let it go.
Yeah.
But like I said, I do have an issue and I'm going to moving forward.
I would expect and hope that you guys would either give me a personal phone call or say something.
Hey, is this right?
Is this right?
She did.
She called me.
She called me.
She corrected what had to be done.
No, she didn't.
What she did was file something that was actually not double checked by Dottie.
I believe it's correct, but it wasn't double checked by Dottie before we send it to OPI.
So this report that Katie ended up doing was submitted early because you guys requested it.
So really no harm.
Possible.
I haven't gotten the report back from Dottie to understand whether everything was good to go.
So she hasn't contacted me, she hasn't told me anything.
So this is where I'm at.
I just don't appreciate the fact that what happened, how it happened, I expect to be treated the same as everyone else.
And if I happen to be out of the office, there's a simple phone call that could have been taken care of.
Katie did what she needed to do.
Totally 100% supportive.
I mean, I thought she went and did what she was supposed to.
She did what you guys asked, but again.
But I guess I don't understand why this meeting is today.
I mean, I thought I was taking care of.
What's not taken care of was the fact that I want to make clear.
I don't feel that it is imperative that you guys come into the office and start telling employees what to do without consulting me first.
Katie did consult you.
You guys didn't consult, and she was being forced, or felt forced, to submit something that she knew was wrong.
And I get that.
That's why I'm saying you guys reacted.
But there were two other people who knew different.
So that's what I'm getting at.
So whether you think this needs to be in front of the commissioners, I think it needed to involve everybody.
Whether you appreciate it or not, this is a learning
It's a learning thing for you as well.
So I will end on that, but I just, this was a little bit more than I was really wanting to happen because these two got a little hot under the collar.
I got hot in the collar.
So I'm going to apologize for my heatedness, but I will not.
I don't appreciate being thrown under the bus and being told that I didn't do my job when I did.
I just want to make that clear.
Does anybody else have anything?
Katie, would you like to add anything?
Okay, you're good.
Thank you for coming in.
Don't we got something to take care of?
Right or wrong, I guess.
Like I said, my issue wasn't necessarily with her.
She figured it out.
The issue was with me is not consulting me.
Is that fair?
Yeah.
Well, we just got to remember we're all professionals.
There's a professional way to do things and an unprofessional way to do things.
So given that, I would like to think that
We can be all professional.
Yep.
And ask questions if you need to ask, do our job as well.
Well, like I said, I am just... Well, I don't need to reiterate it, so... Anyway, I hope everybody has a good day.
Yeah, it's a very good one.
Well, stuff like this gotta be dangerous.
It needs to be aired out.
So, is there anything else?
No, thank you.
Thank you, Katie.
You guys had talked about that MOU, too.
I thought I overheard something earlier.
Oh, we were talking about the doctor's sign.
The doctor's sign.
And I was going to let you know, I don't know, I don't necessarily need to leave the things.
But Lewis and Clark has not signed.
Great Falls is kind of looking at it with their county attorney.
Mineral, yeah, Mineral County, they sent it to the commissioners.
One of them signed it, but she has not signed it.
Kevin from Park County is not signing.
Is that that new system we were talking about?
That docket pro thing that they were trying to email to you.
You suggested not signing it though.
Well, this is you are not the only county wanting holes on this.
So again, there are still numerous counties that are not signing.
So
I just wanted to make sure the guy keeps reaching out to Julie to get it to come here, to be signed.
That's why I reiterated in that email that adopted a sign that comes to the commissioner's email.
Muscle shell, our commissioner decided we needed to just sign and move on.
So they did.
So there was one county that did.
But Tule County has not signed and probably won't.
Um, and then that was Diane again.
So I just wanted to let you know that that is still something nobody's really moving forward on.
When's your convention?
September.
You know,
The problem is, especially for the bigger counties, the problem is is the addressing the cost.
Because we are losing money right left and center doing the state's work.
We're not being compensated properly because now all the equipment, all the paper, all the products are now ours.
We now own the computers.
the software, but yet we're paying all replacements, all printers, all toners, all computers, monitors, keyboards, everything now comes out of our budget.
So this will increase our budget.
You know, we've already increased with the, they did just give us the two new computers and three scanners.
So we probably will be good on those
four or five years, I would hope I'd hope to get that long out of them.
But down the road, it'll be on us to replace those.
If they get less of a change.
Unless it changes.
Unless it changes.
But like I said, this new program causes way more work for our office.
We have to bring in way more information into that program.
I got to select your trim level on your vehicles.
Okay, you ask a customer that, okay, is this a this or this or this?
And they're like, I don't know, it's just this vehicle.
And, you know, so we have, we have to be the ones that decipher all of this information.
It just takes a lot more time to do it.
Way more information.
I have to enter the dealership that was bought from.
We have to enter.
Really?
Oh yeah, we have to enter every little detail about these, every little detail.
Well, actually, it's best let the state do all of this.
Well, the state did used to do that.
Plus, plus the bigger part of it is we actually have to go in and approve the title work now, where before that was just all scanned in and the state did it all.
Well, now we have to go back in and we have to do all that approving, going through, verifying, checking, doing, even though we've done it as we put it in, but there's always a mistake here and there there is.
And then do the corrections and then the BSV sends audit backs and so it's, it's a third more
work than it was in the old system.
So it must hit the bigger cities.
It's really got to hit the big cities a lot harder because it really has got to take like Billings and Helena and those guys.
Because that's what they do is they hire employees that do just that job.
So that's a huge hit on those counties for sure.
I guess we don't want to agree with them.
But you know they're not compensating.
You know, they're like 10 cents a transaction.
So, anyway, but I just wanted to give you an update on that as well.
Oh, thank you.
All right.
Thanks.
Anything else?
Just let me know.
I think it's 5 o'clock and the meeting is adjourned.
I'll call the meeting to order.
All the commissioners are here.
Christie is here.
And it's a birthday day with no cake.
Tammy didn't bring the cake.
I don't know what's the matter with her man.
He's read in circles wondering what he should do now that it's raining.
Tammy does have a birthday.
The best I could do.
Oh Christ.
What?
You're the boss.
Well, that's Christy and him.
And that's why I was trying to get called to you to see if you want to chip in.
Well, what'd we get?
Well, I didn't have the normal one.
Every time I go to get a frozen cake, they never have that sheet cake, ever.
So I got white little donuts for people that can't have sugar, like me.
I'm supposed to eat a lot.
Well, they don't want to have stuff like that if you can't have sugar.
And then I just had to give us the chocolate.
Perfect.
Oh, gosh.
Just had to get perfect.
Yeah, that's why I like it.
We'll send you shopping all the time, because everybody's going to be happy.
Yeah, well.
Perfect.
Thank you.
You're going to have the limelight.
I wish you could come up here and you can hear it.
That's all right.
I can move up there.
Logan's coming up.
Had five minutes.
I agree with not having outsiders but that clearly states that we can use one.
I don't know what the school does here.
I'd have to ask probably the school board.
So you can't use it at school?
You can't pack in the school and only people that can and they're not even supposed to is like board or patrol because Richard Hobbaker talks about that.
Because you're on duty, you know.
You go to a game and you're on duty.
Good morning.
Good morning.
You're on the school board.
Oh yeah, he is on the school board.
He's multi-purpose kind of guy.
Got school boards.
We're too many hand-packed.
We're back and done in school.
No, not unless the school board.
The school board can allow it.
Really?
Yeah.
I heard you met her.
Mary?
No, not unless the school board said something.
Karen did.
Yeah, schools in our area.
Yeah, talk to them.
Doing kind of a meet the producers sort of detail.
Yeah, things like that.
She's super proud.
Okay, well, I didn't know if we were started yet, so thanks everybody that needs to be here But yeah, well good morning everybody I am Here this morning basically just to have a discussion with everybody on possible
around the courthouse.
So it's not a foregone conclusion one.
I did send along a draft you know but it's very much a work in progress and as I've got three counties in my district and every one of them has their own little quirks and situation even as far as the
to go around to the commissioners and anybody else and county attorneys that have kind of a stake in things other you know JPs if they're in the same courthouse again.
way across the board.
And just hoping to have a discussion on, you know, in a perfect world.
Would you guys want that here?
Or what are kind of the parameters of it?
And kind of get your feedback on possibly doing that.
So we've been working with the state.
Doug Orban, Tangus met him.
You know, who's the court security coordinator.
He didn't express a strong preference, you know, one way or the other.
It kind of led up to, you know, the locals to determine.
You know, in my view, I think it would be helpful if a
One, just generally speaking, as the guy's sitting up on the bench that's pretty easy to see anywhere in the courtroom, I like the idea of having sworn law enforcement there during court so that I know where the guns are at, I guess in a situation or weapons in general.
I really don't have any issue with
concealed carry you know per se I do think that in the situations that we often find ourselves in court
Just the fact that you have a concealed carry permit, you know people that have concealed carry can just as easily end up in a contentious divorce or child custody situation or things like that So I don't know that that's a quality barrier So much and I think that's a little bit problematic, but all that to say You know, I think in my perfect world
somebody wants to bring a weapon in, they're probably going to be able to if they're crafty enough, but even if it's there isn't after the fact, and then of course have exceptions for authorized personnel, and so again we can kind of limit
that crowd of people that would be potentially carrying.
And I have a lot of sympathy for the prosecutors in the crowd as well, and having been with myself for some years.
You know, I personally wouldn't have any issue with either Mr. Blaker down in Roosevelt County, Mr. Olson or whatever comes in after that, you know, because I think that's kind of a unique risk that they run too.
But, anyways, all that to say, I kind of kick it over to you guys to get your thoughts and just with keeping in mind that I haven't decided anything.
I really want to get your guys's tape before we move forward and kind of do so in concerts.
Are you contemplating just areas occupied by court personnel in the courtroom?
I think we could do it either way.
Most of the draft ones or sample ones that I have gotten, granted it is by no means exhaustive.
I have not checked all 56 counties to see one if they have, but the four or five that I've gotten pretty much across the board, I think across the board, apply it to the entire courthouse.
Now again, depending on the setup of the courthouse, maybe that's helpful, maybe that's not.
I think
I kind of look at, you know, how are you gonna, well, I mean, yeah, and you could like in this particular one, you've got one set of stairs basically going up there.
So if you were, you know, had somebody there checking, I guess that is possible.
It seems feasible and it makes sense to me, the contemplated restrictions in court.
You can just one controlled access point, you can actually make sure to the best of any on the ability that you don't in fact have weapons up there.
That might be more difficult in the whole courthouse.
I like to conceal carry every day and I like that after that concealed carry bill that I'm able to go into what were previously sensitive areas without having to leave my gun in the vehicle or something but I certainly get it in the courtroom and think it's a good idea
The only caveat being like you said, but the prosecutors and maybe specifically in Daniels County that we don't have law enforcement attached to our courthouse like some other outfits do.
Yep.
And I think that is a big difference.
You know, both Roosevelt County, they're right across the way and they've got enough sworn officers where it's really no problem to have somebody in the courtroom and similarly in Sheridan County.
I mean, they're just down the stairs.
We got a panic button there, you know, so.
enforcement officers.
You can request that.
Yes and I'm not and nothing against Clint I visited with him yeah I haven't really pressed him real hard because we haven't had a lot of stuff going on I guess recently that would really require it but he's certainly not visited with him and he's certainly been supportive anytime we want him up there just to let him know and he'll get people there so
Yeah, he's down one guy right now.
So in times like that, it's gonna be a little tough.
I know you had talked before that, you know, we're kind of specializing that we don't have that availability.
But I do see your proposed order has, you know, certain people would be allowed under your discretion.
Yeah.
And so I think, you know, like Logan,
Yep.
You know, people that you know and that are there and whatever, maybe even this guy, peace around, you know, maybe, you know, maybe.
That makes sense.
You're exact.
He's self-declared.
Judicial staff, yeah.
Which you would be one, yeah.
You know, I,
I can see it away.
And I hope that with the court administrator's grants and future planning and the safety that we can start working towards some of these other safeguards for everybody in the courthouse.
Because there is more than one way upstairs.
And it is an old building.
If somebody wants to another, they're going to get in somewhere or another.
And particularly where someone theoretically is supposed to be armed in a sworn law enforcement officer on somebody's worst day of their life when they might do something really stupid.
It makes sense to me that, OK, law enforcement knows that JP has one back there.
The prosecutor has one.
And that's the only people they're supposed to have.
Some of it was crazy.
And it's roomful of people.
they know where they are.
I don't like it so much for the rest of the courthouse just because it's transaction of business.
Well you're not how you're going to stop or monitor people coming in to get their license and stuff like that.
Yeah well and it's gonna be something that came up in Roosevelt County you know
one of their commissioners seemed to kind of have it in his head.
Well, if we put it courthouse wide, we're going to have to have a metal detector at the front door and all this stuff.
There are plenty of these orders out there that cover the whole courthouse.
And there's only like one or two metal detectors in the state of Montana that I am anyway.
So a lot of it is, it's kind of an after the fact thing.
And again, I don't have
you've got somebody in there that all of a sudden pulls a weapon out or something and some heave it, you know.
without an order in place for the whole courthouse, there's really nothing.
That in itself isn't a crime.
You know, there might be other circumstances that constitute a crime.
It almost always will be.
Because you didn't just pull it out because your pocket got heavy.
Yeah, that's true.
But you know, again, I think it makes it clean for court in that if we have concerns that there might possibly be weapons, then we've got a court order that says no weapons so that
law enforcement can check every single person coming up there.
That's like we're not picking on anybody.
No weapons period.
I fully agree with Howard.
Yeah.
I think that's a great idea in itself at least the court level.
tried to get concealed carry allowed on college campuses, and that was largely because, you know, if it's uncontrolled, like at college campuses, you don't have people, you don't have to go through a metal detector to get on campus.
Well, I didn't want to get kicked out, so I didn't carry.
But that didn't mean that the crazy person didn't carry and nobody had to go through any sort of a check.
So I was the one without it and it's still going to take police there three or four minutes to get to me.
Something happens and I would make the same argument for the rest of the courthouse outside of the courtroom.
Yeah, that through for me, this was a long time.
Well, maybe our only law enforcement officer is in peerless at the time.
Yeah, well, again, you know, yeah, it's not even like you got it.
Yeah, you got a few extra guys that could be, you know, well, maybe, depending on one, yeah, you might be
well so kind of what I'm hearing then is top floor of the courthouse it sounds like everybody would generally be supportive of that that much as far as the order goes okay yeah other judge well you know I'm just thinking I don't remember the case that we had we had to get the Sheridan County over here they had you know
the order that Judge Savosky had loathing type up for the sheriff's case.
Oh, okay.
And anyway, it seemed that were good, but like you said, we don't have the personnel to do that.
Every single time.
Yeah.
Every single time, yeah.
So I'm, and maybe I'm thinking this wrong, but what about one of them, like you walk through
or in an airport?
Just overhead detector.
Yeah, that it sends, I don't know how it works.
Yeah.
You know, and we have prices out there of that pricey, but I think we could, you know, do the safety committee.
What is our official title?
Safety is not that.
Uh, like what?
Courthouse?
Safety.
Courthouse?
Safety.
Something, yeah.
For county, I think.
If you were planning on that, we could start looking towards using that sponsor.
And if you're contemplating just the top floor, the only other effective departments, public health then.
And then they're the only ones that aren't exempt from the order, because everyone else is court.
Judicial staff would be.
So anybody else who works up there would be able to carry if they so chose, except public health.
I don't know if they would have any strong opinions on that or not.
I don't know either.
Yeah, I think it's the best of our ability.
I'm not opposed to having some weapons in the courtroom, but I would like to know where they were at.
I don't like that.
If I know why the judge supposed to be at that case,
let me run through here and that guy took his wand you know up one leg over here there's one in there but like I said we don't have
Well, you're gonna have to, I mean, I would perceive that happening like if we had a jury trial or something like that, you know, or wherever it happens to be, and then you're probably gonna
whole couple of guys from Roosevelt, they're sharing it over and they can help with that.
Even if you had to pay them for dates, you know, want everybody as their company.
That's what we've done.
Yeah.
But those wands are pretty cheap.
Yeah.
Over on speaking, I think.
Yeah.
I mean, I think that's a reasonable way to
shipped there the other day, more events in quite a while, probably eight people up there, you know, totally.
So, yeah, it's not an everyday thing, but I think when the situation calls for it, again, it is nice to be able to go, we're not picking on anybody.
Everyone's getting checked, the end, you know, just across the board.
And if you're running in to do your, get new tabs or something, and you have a pistol on you,
less often go upstairs it maybe isn't so disruptive to someone who wants to conceal carry regularly if the bottom floor was still open and then I suppose you could put well and what we're working on currently Roosevelt County is getting signs for again their commissioners wanting just top floor which is all judicial staff pretty much so we're getting signs at that point I don't know exactly what they look like clerks working on that
And it may be that when they see those signs, if you put them on the first level, they'll go back to their car and come in and not have them anyways.
But the only people you're not going to control that with or the ones that have the intent.
Yep, that's exactly right.
And that's always the case.
But it does make it nice that that level, where it is nearly a clean split, that it's all judicial personnel upstairs.
Everyone who works up there can know, I'm the man.
deputy or whoever are the only ones that are supposed to halify your arm up here.
It may as well be easier.
A couple years ago, well, a year ago, maybe two years ago, and I think that would be a good thing for down here too.
Is the camera systems that we have?
I mean,
It'll alert you right away if someone's coming up them stairs.
You know, if they're carrying a rifle.
Hopefully they don't make it by here.
Someone can see.
Why they killed us on the way upstairs?
Well, yeah.
I hear they did.
I'm going to be right back here.
Yeah.
Yeah, you guys can run it high because we're all dead down here, so yeah.
No, we behind here, so I don't think there is.
It ain't going to happen on my day out here.
But I think that would be a great idea too for downstairs is maybe put some cameras in.
We got the court.
pretty well, we put that other one in there to see where, because that was kind of hidden, but, you know, you just turned your alert button sound in the morning and, oh, someone's hose coming up.
Oh, that doesn't look right.
So, you know, you tell the district court girls to get in the vault and all this stuff.
Well, ideally, you know, I think,
Well, it is, you know, and I think more security that we have, the better off.
I mean, we were just talking about this lunatic and anaconda that went off.
Shoot, I could go downtown in,
Hey, how's it going so-and-so?
And they might just pull something on you.
Well, yeah, left it out for Pickard.
I'm Pickard.
You know, let's make a deal.
So I think the more security that we can get that we're feasible of getting is better off for our courthouse, everything.
I know I always have Logan.
He's always carrying more.
Well, that's my two cents anyway.
My seven.
The other floor, primarily?
Top floor, yeah.
I guess I'll go along with what's in the draft here.
And that would cover that top floor.
And that's just something that I, as the judge,
Yeah, off you go.
And I don't recall, but I would appreciate contemplating allowing the prosecutor to... Yeah, my thought process on that is that I would do written authorizations to whoever it happened to be.
I don't know if there needs to be a public list or not, but you'd have some record that...
These people are considered authorized personnel under this particular order generally and go from there.
school, what happens if you were going to allow a teacher or something to get back in there?
What is it?
You have to have a permit, you have to have some type of training or what?
Well, I think it's easy, you know, it's not even that I'm picking the prosecutors over the defense attorneys necessarily, but literally as I think about it in the past, you know, you've got a defense attorney that's much closer in proximity to
The defendant, you know, like that does in itself pose a lot more of a problem than the prosecutor that's on the other far side, you know.
And so there's a lot of considerations there, not that I think the defense attorneys are any less deserving of protection in that respect, but, you know, because a lot of the times they know
They know their clients are nutty just like the state's attorneys do and whoever else, you know, in those certain circumstances.
A lot of times they're on Zoom.
But I think it is important to keep in mind that honestly the most dangerous situations are those family law, the child custody, divorce cases, you know, those are the ones that... That's a very good point.
And they can be the ones that are easy for the sheriff's office to forget about or they just got busy for any case and then Daniels County Yeah, they're just emotional and they're
Well, I'm assuming that if we go with this, we can always tweak it and change it.
And that's exactly right, too.
I mean, this is something, yeah, that basically I put in place.
I mean, technically, I could just do it both corridors.
But again, I'd like to work with you guys, right?
And then to come up with these solutions.
So I'm totally fine with the top floor, I think that.
concerns and then it's really just to you guys as the commissioners do you want it broader or not so but I'll go ahead and sign this and file it and then I'll get you guys copies of it yeah I mean we can definitely stay in touch with it maybe Tammy's on the as well I guess for one meeting that we have whatever you guys are all welcome but for the safety committee meeting I mean if at any point in time you guys
make it bigger, smaller, or otherwise, you know, I'm happy to have that conversation with you.
I suppose sooner rather than later you'd want some signage.
Yeah, so I'll probably get this signed and filed today actually, and then I can talk to
I haven't really gotten that far yet.
I've kind of left it.
Well, so I haven't met with the Sheridan County commissioners yet.
I did meet with Roosevelt County last week, and so then I put Erica Pfeiffer, well I asked her, she's not my employee, but I asked her if she would look into the signage, so she's doing that.
I mean, I would imagine if she comes up with something good and probably work everywhere.
Something going haywire so but I can visit with Dottie, you know and see if she wants to do some dating on it, too I really don't have a strong preference on what it looks like as long as it's Obvious to people, you know, it might be nice to have it the same Across the board.
Yeah.
Yeah, everybody's can recognize it.
Yeah.
Yeah So we can definitely I got a question.
I like that Okay, we set some rules up for upstairs.
So somebody walks in here and
normal day and packed it upstairs.
Who enforces what?
Logan, probably.
Yeah, it would be if it were noticed and, you know,
You'd have to give more of a hypothetical, say somebody just was concealed carrying and they had an expenditure.
And then it pulls up the clerk to court or whoever sees it, where you've committed a crime now, and you can be prosecuted.
Or maybe Samantha, I suppose, if it's a misdemeanor within this city limits.
But it would go to the prosecutor on whether any charges were warranted.
Because I'm sure that's
So I'm just going to walk in and I will see something.
Where you have the latitude that, I don't know, the fire chief or something went up there for some work-related reason and just honestly forgot.
And when somebody really got upset about it, well, you still have the latitude of the prosecutor to do in any case to save.
Don't do it again.
We don't have to nail everybody to the wall for an honest mistake.
I was just wondering, what are we going to do if we go to make regulations?
What are we going to do about it if something happens?
Yeah, and it's there.
It's in place.
It's called the prosecutor order of discretion.
One time we'll set precedence.
I mean, if you don't do nothing about it, we'll go off.
It's a bad idea.
I don't know if you got to go to any great lengths.
I don't want to do that.
Because it also makes everybody else aware exactly where the weakness is.
You're going to go up to the courthouse.
And once there was a sign up, you'd go up there and say, oh, OK.
We'll put this back.
You might want to consider whether or not you want to make notice of it.
I'll stick around if you're gonna.
Well, I think it's at 11.
Oh 11 you're gonna visit Marriott?
I'm somewhat related, but Sheridan County.
There's a similar coward house safety meeting in September.
Yes, it might be.
Yep, yep.
I can't remember on my calendar where it is, but yeah, we tried to get them all together.
I wondered if, see Judge, it seems sort of intuitive that just the setup up there that some sort of a buzzer system on the Sheridan County Attorney's office might be
something that we talked to Doug Overman about that specifically actually when he was there now you'll probably have to get
the commissioners over there to go for that.
But yeah, that was something that occurred to me that did not for the 10 years that I was in that office.
I thought about it just not being there most of the time.
It's just Stephanie.
Yeah, yeah.
But we've had, we have one or two situations where guys got done in court and blew across and into the office, you know, and we're pretty, pretty
Amped up I guess and so I think that would be a prime candidate for one of those buzzer Who are you?
What do you what do you want?
You know and then let you in there So yeah, we just had some other things come up over there and I thought yeah that sort of feeds into
Thank you.
Yeah, thank you guys.
Logan's in to talk about agreement between the city and the county and the law enforcement services established by the safety commission.
So a year ago now maybe Ben had brought the idea now Judge Fosland then city attorney
We brought to my attention this idea of a public safety commission and we started discussing it with law enforcement and saying this might be a good idea for Daniels County.
At that time, we asked that a public safety mill levy get put on the ballot.
And that was with an eye towards this commission ultimately.
Whether or not the commission comes to fruition, that mill levy is still really good for law enforcement.
But sort of what we always had in mind at the end was something like this.
So as we jump into it,
The purpose of it is to maintain a law enforcement apparatus that's continually improving and doing what it needs to be doing.
Part two exclaims the scope of services and I'd ask you guys to just completely flip your document over to the very last page.
It's exhibit A and it's sort of my first stab at articulating exactly what this commission would exist for.
And it would exist to organize and operate a staff law enforcement agency for the county and city.
I'm going to jump around here a little bit, so bear with me on this exhibit.
It would be responsible for submitting annual operating and capital budgets to be approved by the county in much the same way that the Sheriff's Office does now.
And it would also need to submit annual work plans, outlining the goals, objectives, strategies, and specific actions to be undertaken by the Commission from year to year.
So that work plan would operate in conjunction with the requested budget.
and they would then coordinate and effectuate the acquisition of equipment, vehicles, supplies, any other items that are deemed necessary and that are within the scope of the annual work plan and operating the capital budgets that would go to you guys.
They would also look to establish
some sort of a schedule for continued education of our deputies and I didn't realize just how awesome that is until going to Sheridan County where those guys are on regular rotations they undertake some on their own and the sheriff just approves them as an expenditure and they don't go to them randomly but otherwise the younger deputies are okay now we want you to go to this training for securing a crime scene or for
bulletproof DUI stops or whatever it might be.
They're just constantly updating what they know.
And to develop written policies and procedures for continuous operation of a competent law enforcement agency.
Having been here for five years and having seen three sheriffs
Clint is doing an extraordinary job, in my opinion, of picking up from square one, just coming out of the ashes.
Because he didn't have anything guiding him.
There was nothing in place.
There was no institutional knowledge.
He didn't have a 15-year under-sheriff.
Which is probably a good thing in this case.
He wouldn't want to learn from the ones before.
Well, it sucks in that there's just nothing to go off of.
He's reinventing the wheel every time he picks up the phone.
This committee would not only aid in any new sheriff that came on in that
We aren't here to help you with day-to-day law enforcement stuff, but hey, new sheriff.
It was usually in October that the old sheriff would have this report ready to get this funding from over here or get this statutory required report to the state.
And now new sheriff can say, oh, boy, I'm sure glad that the committee's here that has some experience with having reviewed these in the past.
On top of also potentially assisting in
creating those written policies and procedures, you know, standard operating procedures sort of stuff for anyone new coming on.
Also would be wonderful for when the sheriff needs a vacation and he's gone for a week.
And it's one in the morning and there was a DUI stop and how do we get a blood warrant?
Because all we have are new deputies.
Well,
It would be wonderful if there was a standard operating procedure in place rather than calling the county attorney upon in the morning and getting that question answered.
But turning back.
just some of these provisions and it's going to be a little bit of drinking out of a fire hydrant here.
The initial budget would be set forth in this agreement where you see triple X's.
That's what I use for areas of my documents that require
more work by me and in here I just put out what was already agreed to in the last one but I would prefer to see the city say if this was pursued just give the dollar figure rather than some nebulous half the cost of mechanics and yada yada.
So you'd establish an initial budget.
Part four would articulate the makeup of the commission.
It can be three, five or seven people by statute.
I think three would be a good number.
given the size of our community and as difficult as it can otherwise be to get good people involved, I think you could find three good people.
The way that commission would be made up, and let's use three for ease of numbers, the county would appoint a person to the commission as the county representative.
The city would appoint a city representative.
Those two representatives would then pick a third representative.
then they'd serve staggered terms from there.
The three-person committee would be responsible for decision-making and voting and whatnot, while the director of the Public Safety Commission would be whoever's been elected county sheriff.
And he would be responsible for leading the meetings and bringing things before the commission and being the chief law enforcement officer in the county.
not really it would be the commission that would have that oversight but of course the director would be the one saying you know this year we need two new cruisers and the commission in putting together their annual work plan may decide that yes we agree with you director and in our annual work plan we're gonna put the acquisition of two new cruisers before this
County commissioners then the county commissioners would say great We're gonna allocate the requested amount of money for the acquisition of two new cruisers and We're approving your your work plan.
Sounds like a good path forward for the year So that's the long answer of no the director wouldn't be the one
In charge of any more than day-to-day stuff for capital expenditures.
It would still be sort of a commission Public Safety Commission thing The
Let's see here.
Part five, the director and commission powers.
That would be the sheriff.
He would be responsible for all sheriff duties.
And the commission would be responsible for all employment related issues.
Discharge determination of employment of subordinate employees.
And those subordinate employees are dispatchers and sheriff's deputies almost exclusively.
Judge Plasland really liked that aspect of it from some issues that had gone on before I was here with the Sheriff's office and maybe terminating some people out of personal animosity rather than any articulable reason.
So this was, that was one of the things he liked that this sort of moved that out of the Sheriff's direct purview.
All of the deputy's officers and dispatch personnel are subordinate to the director of public safety, subordinate to the sheriff.
That's in line with some stuff we've learned from the Department of Justice as well, as it pertains to trying to separate our dispatches we have with husband and wife being tack officer and sheriff.
It's not necessarily kosher.
So we said that tack officers directly under the commissioners now.
DOJ said, I don't care what you've said, that's not how it works.
So they don't even really recognize that.
Not bad insulation that we still tried to do that for day-to-day stuff and nepotism, what have you.
But this agreement seeks to address that by articulating that the TAC officer is subordinate to the Public Safety Commission when it comes to employment-related issues.
So what's the difference between being subordinate to this or being to the commissioners if the state says that's not
So why is this any different than that?
It's just more...
more officially articulated, it really isn't much different.
Again, we're just seeking to avoid employment related issues.
When it comes to siege in and the like, the department of, that is dispatch, is subordinate to the Sheriff's Office.
In this case, it would be subordinate to the public safety department or commission.
So it's not entirely different, but I think it's more well established that, well, no, we're doing something completely different here, DOJ.
And it's actually subordinate to the commission we've established.
Naming convention simple.
It's just that he'll continue to be known as the sheriff of Daniels County or the sheriff of the city of Scobie.
salaries just allows the commission again with ultimate county approval to set salaries for say the public safety director.
One of the things that we sort of had an eye for in talking about this is
If at any point there's a wonderful sheriff that says, you know, I'd really like to do that, but I want to do it for a little more money.
We're kind of constrained in what we can do by statute as it's tied to our other deputies.
This would allow for the potential to say, well, maybe the public safety director makes an extra $5,000 or something.
The statutory authority, the statute's listed in that part nine.
Saying things like the salaries can be in no event be less than what's articulated in seven four twenty five or three That's just the base share of salary.
So we already go by Regular funding is just that the city and the county would jointly provide funds to compensate this board as they do now and they would do that with the input of the Public Safety Commission and that would take the form of the requests for annual The approval of annual budgets and their work plan
Reporting the public safety commission would provide quarterly reports so that you could make sure or feel that you are in the loop as to whether or not they're progressing towards their work plan goals and that they are sticking within the confines of their budget.
It also articulates that the Public Safety Commission will provide information to you or the city upon request, so long as it isn't protected criminal justice information, basically.
Right now, if the sheriff really wanted to, he could tell the city and the county to pound sand.
I'm not telling you anything that's going on in the county.
But this would articulate that, yeah, we will tell you
What we can tell you with updates that don't jeopardize ongoing investigations or the like.
Consolidation of equipment is probably unnecessary, but it might as well be in there that any and all equipment that's law enforcement related is consolidated into this new entity.
Term and cancellation on number 13 is just that
60 days notice is required to rescind this by either party it would otherwise renew automatically each year and if say and that's every fiscal year now if say
In June, the city said we want to get out of this.
Well, that's not 60 days before the fiscal year.
You got to do it one more year before you can get out.
It gives everyone some breathing room in case anyone wanted to back out of what otherwise is a totally new setup.
Amendments have to be in writing and agreed to by both parties.
And that's really the end of it, outside of that exhibit A that we started on.
A lot of information.
I'm sure you guys want to read through it on your own, so... I have multiple notes and questions here.
You might want to grab a pen.
One of the other things in your scope of services, first of all, to suddenly say, I think this is a good idea.
I also, on the other hand, am concerned about money as are the rest of us, I'm sure, for a million values dropped this year.
So I guess I'll start with our biggest stumbling block right now is dispatch salaries, and we need to address that.
There's not been money set aside, so that's why we're Robin Peter's K-Paul in this.
And that needs to be something that needs to be addressed, whether your committee comes up with another, or if this happens, your committee comes up with another levy or something to cover that.
I don't know.
Just stating the obvious.
The other one is we have a problem with recruitment and I would think that that would be something that would be high on this list.
You mentioned pay, is that just for the director's position or is it for the board members?
No, board members can't be paid.
And then my one question was, I really feel that the commissioners and the council need to be involved at some point.
So you said that,
kind of reporting it as indicated, but I think it needs to be more routine than that.
Like, you know, at least quarterly, but for first monthly, that's just my thoughts.
Let's see, what are the qualifications of a board member?
You know, you just don't want to have somebody off the streets.
They kind of need to know a little something.
Yeah, and ideally that's who we'd be looking to get on there.
And then let's do more questions here.
And then, you know, you're creating a brand new department, brand new salaries.
No salaries, per se.
Well, except that little bit.
If you did elect to pay the director, that would be articulated in their annual request for a budget.
So, yeah, this initial budget, it has these dollar figures in there, I was just wondering.
about that and where does that money come from?
The initial budget, what I have in there is just what the city previously agreed to, and I have the county shall contribute.
So that money that we already spend towards, I'm assuming payroll, right?
The money that the city has built.
Yeah, I built a city quarterly for the deputies wages, which is not just paying the course.
And then Jessica bills them for up to this $10,000 for the repairs maintenance of the vehicles.
So they're doing that already.
So this, because I had to step out for a minute, this director, public director person or whatever, how do you talk about, who's that?
That'd be the sheriff.
The sheriff would always be the director of the commission.
Oh, so it's not subordinate person.
No.
So basically the sheriff's the head monitor of this commission.
He's the organizer of it, but there is a chairman and a vice chairman of the commission itself.
He's the coordinator.
He's the director of it, but he isn't a voting member of it.
The three-person commission.
He would be getting, one would get paid more money for doing that.
Yep.
Possibly.
If that was decided, yeah.
Okay, and does he have to be the director?
What if he doesn't want to be?
Yep, he has to be the director.
Because I mean, he's got so much stuff all the time.
And this is really with an eye towards
not necessarily taking some of the burden off the sheriff, but providing some support for our rural sheriff.
And they may not always have business or office experience, so much as on the ground law enforcement experience.
I would see this as a means to have three other people saying,
ran across these trainings.
Maybe the deputies would do good for one of these, or I heard about this grant over here.
Maybe you should apply for that, or... Would they help them?
Whatever it might be.
With the grant?
They certainly could.
Because I think the administrative part, well, ideally a sheriff is administrative.
Artists can't be.
Sometimes he's a one-man show, but
I think that kind of help would be really beneficial.
I guess Big Picture seeks to get a little more autonomy over the law enforcement apparatus, give the law enforcement apparatus a little more autonomy while still having the budgetary guardrails that they more or less already have.
and providing a little bit of that structure so that the sheriff isn't the only guy trying to make decisions and bring things into the 21st century anymore to have a sounding board there in the form of a board.
I got one question on this.
Why do we need three more people involved in what we're doing already?
Well, in that regard, it seeks to take a little bit off of your guys' plate in the form of, okay, annually we look at a work plan.
Do we like the direction that they're articulating yes or no?
Is the budget that they're requesting feasible yes or no?
Once you get yeses on both of those,
Now you're just seeing quarterly or monthly expenditures and making sure that they're marching towards that rather than
You know, what was going on with that Motorola contract that we talked about three months ago?
And I really haven't thought about it since the week after that meeting.
Well, there's somebody else that's taking care of that.
It's been delegated that to instead of focusing on the road department and the library and the sheriff's office and everything else, we are here to focus on the law enforcement dispatch and sheriff's office.
Does this have to be approved by the sheriff?
Because like our current local city government, the sheriff signs off on that one that we have with the city.
Nothing that I saw really had any sheriff involvement down there.
I was wondering, like the new sheriff, say somebody runs against Clint next year and beats him and he doesn't want this.
He doesn't get a say.
Okay, that's what I was wondering.
Yeah.
So he's just... incorrect.
Yup.
And in that, he's articulated that he has all of the duties of a Montana sheriff.
Why do you name him a director?
I mean, he's in charge right now as a sheriff.
Right.
It's the... Why do we have to put a director on him?
because we would be creating this we'd be delegating authority to this new board and he would be the guy sort of steering the ship for that board it's a again a workaround of potentially pay a sheriff more if that was ever decided would be a good idea and
to do so without having those restrictions, those statutory restrictions.
But it otherwise just provides the framework that here's this three person board that votes and you're the guy who says, here's the things I have going on as the sheriff of this county that I need you to vote on.
We basically have that right now.
And being a sheriff, not a sheriff.
I just don't think it's as efficient as it could be.
So they're gonna get the sense that in big counties, this is something because the
The departments are so big that they need that kind of direction.
In our case, I kind of get the sense that because we're only here three days a month, we're not accessible to these departments and that kind of urgent need and that kind of cohesive direction.
That's a big part of it, the last part, the cohesive direction.
That's been my biggest push.
I don't know if it was Ben's biggest push.
He had some other areas that he really liked that this would address, but my biggest one is cohesiveness, that this is an institution in and of itself.
that should provide stability going forward.
If we had another rapid succession of sheriffs, it doesn't matter as much.
It isn't as explosive as the three in a row were.
I mean, we went off the rails as a law enforcement agency for the better part of a year, maybe two years, as we went through three sheriffs.
this would provide a little more continuity.
We have the work plan in place.
It really doesn't matter if we ran through multiple shares.
I mean, it does for enforcement on the ground, but bigger picture operational office, we're looking a lot better.
So does this have any, does the commission have any say as to making sure the sheriff does some of the things that maybe they're not doing right now?
Like, you know, making sure we get monthly reports on time or making sure that
You know, some of the things that have not happened in the past that we have no control over, I can't even think of maybe help with Stone Garden or, you know, I'm not even sure what else Chris did.
Those two are very good points because we are getting non-monthly reports like we're supposed to be.
And that is an MCA code.
and Stone Garden, a little bit that they've done since Flint took over, has never been reported and we've never gotten money back out of it.
So I think that's why at this point he chose to just quit it at this point.
I mean, I've given him all the information he needed for the wages and stuff, but that just seems to be, and it means I no longer have access back when they first started it.
I could do my thing and send it to him with the payrolls, get into his thing with the trips.
And the two of us together would get them sent in and get our money back.
So I don't know what the whole difference has been ever since that.
It just seems to be a hard thing.
I don't know.
And in that sense, you know, the abuse of Stonegarden under one of the last sheriff's that occurred.
I think this serves to catch that where, again,
you guys just had a bridge collapse and now we're meeting with the engineers and that's most of what our meeting was and the next day somebody wanted to rip someone else's throat out at the library and that was most of the second day well we didn't actually look at anything from the sheriff we didn't say hey sheriff we need to see those because you were worried about a dozen different things this board is sheriff
We're here, one of the five things we're doing today is looking at your stone garden reports.
One of the five things we're doing today is talking about the radio tower.
It's just more, we are here to handle one of the most, one of the more important aspects of county governance exclusively.
So you're, in a sense, you are kind of holding him accountable.
Way more accountability from the sheriff, I think, with a commission such as this.
over today so I can speak.
I guess I have troubles with why getting three more people involved.
I mean we don't even, it's just another group that the three commissioners have to put up with when they come in to talk to us and the sheriff is still out so why don't commissioners just talk to the sheriff.
which it would be the director of it.
Yeah, it'd be some delegation of duty and both the city and the county having some interference.
The city kind of gets a little bit, but I wouldn't say any more out of the picture than they already are.
I mean, they don't really have any decision-making authority as it is.
There is still some decision-making authority with the county.
Of course, it's still limited to mostly budgetary things with the sheriff's office.
But this would be a bit of a filter rather than coming in with some of our emotionally charged meetings that we've had recently.
I would see some filter to that.
We wouldn't have any sort of an emotionally charged
meeting about things going on with Sheriff or dispatch, it would be coming from the Delegated Commission after already having that emotionally charged meeting.
Now it's coming to you in a nice tight package with a bow that says, we met and we discussed this, this is the path forward, but really that only again takes the form of
the annual budget and the capital expenditures and the work plan.
Outside of that, the only time that you guys should really need to be involved with law enforcement at that point is, hey, we looked at your budget statement here, and this isn't jiving with what we met on when we approved everything.
That'd be really the only time you guys have to jump back into the fray.
Okay, so this public safety
Weren't you at the sheriff all the time?
Yep.
But still, for anything to happen, that safety committee's got to come top to the commissioners.
No.
They would just once a year.
So they can act without the commissioners.
So long as it was within the bounds of the work plan and the budget that was approved.
That we approved.
Yeah.
You guys approved the budget and the work plan.
And say you do that in June.
Well, until next June,
If they're going to buy a $40,000 cruiser and you approved that in the budget and as a part of the work plan, they aren't coming back to you to purchase the cruiser.
They're just purchasing the cruiser when it becomes available, say in September or whenever it might be that year.
So they wouldn't be coming back to you every month for something.
It would be more, here's the big plan for this next year.
You guys would look at that, and if you approved it, it would be approved, and then off they would go.
After that it would be the limited oversight of
Looking at these, I had it as quarterly reports if they wanted more.
It's something to discuss, but you would be looking at those reports and saying, looks like everything's going the way they said, or, hey, why don't you come in here?
We need some answers as to what's going on.
So three years from now, this is back on the ballot.
It fails.
fund and they don't have this $356,000.
So this commission really is still going to exist even without that money?
Yeah, because that money, that mill levy was to supplement that which was already budgeted to the Sheriff's office.
Their general fund budget or maybe I'm not using the right words, but the budget they had before the mill levy
was deficient to effectively run a sheriff's department.
So he said the additional $350,000 gets us closer to an operational sheriff's department.
So if that mill ever failed, the commission would be working with, you know, an extremely much smaller pool to potentially budget from.
And then Logan, you had said something about if we approve a car at the beginning of the year, in the middle of the year, they can buy one without our approval.
And that's really not the case.
And it's something that we're going to address in our procurement policies.
We go forward, but my impression of the procurement policy is they still have to come here and get approval, because we might not have the tax money in at that point to cover that purchase.
So they still need to come in.
Am I, Kristi, am I diluting that enough?
I mean, you still kind of have to
Make sure the money's there.
You're giving that up.
Yeah, you're giving that power up to this.
You're giving it the power of that.
As it's written.
Yeah.
As it's written.
Well, so then that needs to be changed is what I'm saying, right?
And that's what they're there for.
See, this is the whole thing between this and you guys.
It's taking your power away once you approve the budget you're done.
Yeah, but.
This commission does everything else.
Financially, that would work.
I mean, because we literally might not have the money.
So that needs to be modified in there.
I mean, yes, we approve budgets, but they're a guideline.
They're not a checking account, right?
Yeah, there are cases where the budget may say you have $20,000 left in your proposed budget.
But you didn't get the contributions we expected.
You didn't get whatever.
So the actual cash account could be $20,000 less.
And you can't buy anything because the cash
The cash is the number one important thing.
The budget is there, like she said, that's what we're basing it on because we think this is going to happen.
It may not happen.
than is to articulate some potentially higher number for law enforcement based as opposed to other departments.
I think the road department has a higher number before they have to come to you guys.
No.
Well, that's what I would suggest because, again, it's about some delegation.
And if it was anything under $10,000 we can feel good about, but anything over that, we really need to make sure that things are there.
just throwing out a number there.
That's certainly another part of this, is to try and allow them to be a little snappy if something comes about that can be done.
I get what you're saying, and it's amazing how many times these conversations come up.
I just had it today again with someone they were talking about.
We talk about this blanket clause that's in the procurement policy, but
There's still got to be some safeguards for the county, Logan, as far as, yeah, you might have that blanket, but what if you just start going overboard?
You know, we'll have $10,000 here and $10,000 here and there's got to be some controls for us.
So that I'm not comfortable with?
Well, that's what those, as I have, quarterly reports are there for.
I mean, that's one of the big things, and if you guys aren't comfortable with it, I think it's a shame, because I think we could be doing something really good here, but it is absolutely a relinquishment or rather a delegation of persistently having your thumb on the Sheriff's Department.
And again, I think that there's a happy medium here, because I like where you're going with this, but we need some control over the funds of this whole thing.
And it's just because it might not be there, I guess, to me.
And I suppose as long, and there could be something that accounts for it in a document such as this, so long as
mill levy funds over X amount are in existence in an annual year that you do have the latitude to make larger purchases because, as I understand it, your mill levy money is in fact there.
It's not speculative.
Well, it is if you don't pay your people.
A bunch of people don't pay their taxes.
And they pay twice a year, right?
If only part of your money's available at this time, but we've spent this much in dispatch salaries, or this much already, and whatever else it's been budgeted for, there might only be this much until June, again, so, or May.
So, there is a little dance here.
It literally is not just a pot of money in everybody's account.
I mean in the best scene is that from year to year money will carry over so that money is definitely there.
You know if you carry if you have 20,000 dollars left and this goes on or whatever it's going to be there.
And maybe part of this is my own ignorance because it's all speculative having never dealt with one of these but
I mean, that might be the form it takes in an annual budget and capital budget review.
And that's probably why those two are separated out in that, okay, yes, here is your annual budget.
Here's my capital budget.
These are the capital expenses I want to make.
And I'm saying that that money is there and we can use it for these capital expenses.
So, and then the other thing though too is like Christy said, the four year thing, we've already made commitments with those funds for radios.
And I want to make sure that that loan gets paid off in those four years in case we don't have that.
So that's got to be- Which comes to be a part of giving you an annual budget to approve and making sure that any capital expenses fit with that annual budget that's a little more speculative in nature than the capital budget is.
But why are you, we don't have the two different budgets?
And that's, and I maybe shouldn't use the word budget.
It would be more proposed budget and capital expenditures, proposed capital expenditures.
So maybe a line item is all I want.
Yeah, that's with the 940s and 920s.
Where it was, and that's where it could be.
Well, this money actually does exist, say, in the form of the mill levy.
And there's this much in there from the rollover and from the first half of taxes or something.
Now it is okay, you want to spend up to $40,000 on a new cruiser.
Good to go.
Make sure it happens in this timeframe.
We approve your work plan and the capital expenditures associated with your budget.
You know, Logan, I really would think it would be a good idea for you to come in when we're discussing the sheriff's dispatch budget because there is a huge pickle between how to pay dispatch dollars.
The dispatch, the 911 fund,
the sheriff's budget, and the mill levy.
Those are the four things that we're trying to pay for five things out of.
And, you know, and hopefully get some improvements along in there.
Because we do need, seriously, to find a different way to fund dispatch.
Don't you agree?
I mean, it's a huge expense.
The problem came when the city quit paying.
That's when everything went to hell.
Everything was budgeted in the general fund and the city would pay half, so that was covering a lot of it.
But then when they decided to quit, we can't take that 200,000 out of something else.
So we started doing it, not 200,000, but
the city was like, well, you have 700,000 in the 911, but I'm out of that.
Well, and I wonder if this is a potential avenue by which you could jump a bit of a rot that
We're revamping things in the city.
This new city county agency is looking for you to contribute more to it, where that might be a non-starter, the way things currently are, perhaps.
And who knows what their money, too.
They're probably limited, their mill levy's probably went down.
Yeah, so until I actually get going on that,
Chrissy, can you give us a number of what our payroll expense was for dispatch alone for last year?
Thank you.
I was shocked.
And we're really struggling right now with how to fund that, right?
And so it's automatic, you know, we've got this new middle levy and the 911 fund, I mean,
and it's of no one's fault.
It's just like, it's the only place we can draw from.
And that's what I'm saying.
We need a different income source for that.
And I don't know what that answer is.
Is it another male levy?
Is it another permissive levy or whatever it is that you need to write?
That's really where I want you to see the problem because it has not been addressed.
It's like saying, I'm gonna drink
a pop a day and not having a job, right?
You're still paying for that, but with what?
So that was a really bad analogy, but that's what I thought.
Yeah, and the budgetary issues are certainly larger than just the formation of the Public Safety Commission.
And this doesn't necessarily seek to directly solve any of the budgetary problems so much as it is a delegation of authority to make maybe a more efficient and more continuity to our Sheriff's Office.
I get that and I understand that, but giving up control over the budget with the way it stands right now.
I don't know that we have enough control to give it up, right?
And that's, again, not giving up control of the budget.
You guys still approve the budget in the same way that you do now.
So let's divide it out.
So this is the general fund.
This is what came out of the public safety.
This is what comes out of the retirement fund.
You're gonna make me do math, aren't you?
Yeah, there's a total at the end.
Here's the health insurance part of it.
Okay.
There's your total.
Okay.
Oh.
Uh, wow.
So our original budget for that is 371,000.
It looks like we spent right at $300,000.
For dispatch.
For dispatch alone.
Personal.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, not surprising.
So some of that money right now, Logan is coming out of that mill.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I suppose without that male levy, there wouldn't have been some of the other improvements that were done.
Right.
And I get exactly what the male levy was for.
The fact that you added the whole wage improvement or salary improvement or whatever line that was in there.
Wanted maximum flexibility, and frankly, potentially for things like this.
But in three years, we're still going to have this problem.
And if we're spending it all on this,
We're not going to get those new cruisers or whatever.
I thought I was getting ones from the state, so I'm really confused.
What's that?
Cruisers from the state.
Just a random thing.
Just a random expenditure.
Dash cams for vehicles, body cams to wear, new ballistic vests, anything.
But that exhibit A right now is what I've mostly come up with.
And like I've said, it really has in my mind, and Ben wasn't able to make it at 11, but I think he would like to express his thoughts on it too at some point, having been the other driving force behind it before he went to the bench.
that it provides the continuity that our sheriff's office has been so desperately lacking since the last sheriff of two decades departed.
Because since then it's been a fly by the seat of your pants.
And so I'm hoping then that the people that are suggested for these commissions
spots should this go forward would have some experience?
Ideally.
And not necessarily law enforcement experience, but just an understanding of administrative work would be wonderful.
Judge Fosland had made the comment that through his time in Sheridan County, you need at least one Bill Nebe, he said, because Bill knew everything that was going on with the county was constantly working on county things and he really, through the years, kept that commission going on a really straight and narrow path to the same end.
Yeah, you want the best people you can on it that are really going to work for it.
So do the commissioners pick those?
Or does the city get to pick one?
The county picks one, the city picks one, and then those two pick a third, if it were a three-person committee.
And I would certainly... I don't think he'd want any more than that.
Getting over three is a lot.
Yeah, and then getting a quorum and then getting enough people for it.
Looking towards being more efficient on top of the continuity of knowledge and how to provide certain administrative services.
Yeah, I think three would be.
And it can't be anybody already on the commission or the council.
Yeah.
Outside the board.
Yeah.
And that's by statute.
And the Sheriff has no say.
Sheriff has no say, no.
But I'd ask that you guys think about it, read into it.
Happy to answer any questions that you come up with.
Have you been out with the city on this?
Just today.
OK.
So between us and now, and you'll kind of take in things and breathe out.
Yep.
Yep.
The city has frankly been poking me since Ben went to the bench that, hey, when are we going to look at this?
We really want to look at this.
We'd like to do something like this.
I don't know how it went.
Samantha called me with a singular question while they were meeting about it and said she'd probably have some more that she'd just write down, but they met on it this morning.
Anything else?
Immediately come to mind.
Well, call or email me anytime with questions, comments, concerns.
You want to stop for your paycheck?
Yes.
Oh my gosh.
How can you not want your paycheck?
I think you just signed it back.
I'm really good at forgetting it.
Well, everybody's talking about age.
We're back after dinner.
So Dottie's in here to discuss things with us.
She has now the floor.
So did you all get my email that I sent out regarding the Court to District Court Association and what was going on there?
Never looked at it, but yeah, I got it.
OK.
So what happened was the office of the court administrator gave to the legislative audit division full
unfettered access to our raw data and the clerks are very upset about it because under state statute the clerks of district court are the keepers of the record and we don't feel like the legislative audit division needs to have all of that personal information that is contained within a lot of records.
So that is why they have made the decision to
higher lawyers and go after the court administrators.
So to be clear for the record, by access to the data, what do you mean?
Everything.
Which is?
Well, any case that would have social security numbers in it or minor children's names of sexual offenses and things like that.
Adoptions, documents, sealed cases, sealed documents like your pre-sentence investigations and stuff like that that are required to be sealed.
Yeah, adoption.
And that went to the legislative audit division.
Yeah.
And the legislative audit division
won't tell the office of the court administrators what data they want.
They're saying that they have to have access to all the data to see what's there so they'll know what they want.
So it's, it's kind of messy.
It's kind of, it is.
And they don't need a lawyer.
What do they tell you they do with the data once they?
They're just, it's, they don't really say.
They're very vague.
Nobody knows.
Nobody knows what they're asking for.
Nobody knows what they're going to look at.
And it's just senators and representatives.
These aren't lawyers or judges or police officers or anything like that.
These are just people making the laws in Illinois.
But so that's the gist of it.
And then yesterday, I did get an update.
And since I was coming today, I just didn't send it out.
But the Beaverhead County attorney sent us an email yesterday that I'll just read it.
He said, I'd like to take this opportunity to update everyone on the discussion that I have had regarding the legislative audit and full access to full court enterprise.
After speaking with various representatives and staff from both the legislative audit division and the office of the court administrator, I have learned the following.
Access to FCE has not yet been granted to LAD.
Access will not be granted until it agreed upon MOU has been executed, which addresses what information is needed and the reasons why.
The LAD will request that the OCA reach out to the clerks regarding the OM, the MOU, excuse me, before it is finalized.
So they haven't given them the access yet.
We were under the understanding that they were given the access on July 24th at 5 p.m.
And I have the letter from the court administrators saying that.
So it sounds like they are working with the clerks a little bit.
I do know that Missoula County's County Attorney and commissioners and Richland County, County Attorney, they were filing like they were trying to file an injunction last in July before that went in.
And so they, um, the Corps of Associations set up a special committee with seven different clerks from across the state on it that are having meetings and pursuing this and trying to find a lawyer and all of that.
So that's that in the nutshell, just so you know what's going on.
I do know that we were notified that it was in the press, had been put out in the press.
So I just wanted you guys to know what was going on, so you'd know if you heard about it.
It's kind of a, it's just kind of- So nothing's really happened yet?
Nothing has really happened yet.
I was really tickled yesterday when I got this update that that was going on, so.
But that's it.
So weird, I wonder what they're looking for.
In discussions, they've said they think they're wanting to go after judges.
But, I don't know.
Yeah.
I would like to thank you guys also for the races.
I appreciate that very much.
Oh, you're welcome.
Christy, thank you so much.
Yesterday.
You were right.
Get another life insurance policy, so that was nice to get the raise to cover.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, top of top.
Good.
All right.
Is the afternoon?
All the way, well, it's fairly, yes.
I don't really think quite as bad.
The first two that are coming up will be short.
I'm trying to figure out if I can find any grants anywhere for equipment, but
Oh, yeah, so I'm getting nowhere.
I'd like to think a year from now completely better Well, I'm with the things that are going on and getting corrected.
I think it'll come full circle Yeah, I mean I'm not in a big hurry although I know Down the road things are gonna have to be replaced and that's why I like to know how much are we looking at you know, it's just like Like a vehicle and look at how much this last one cost us because we had to wait and
for them to produce a vehicle for God's sake, you know?
They just kept going up and up.
And that's where we're at there.
So, other than that, the old thing we're all waiting for is red tails to get their poop in a group.
They're closer.
I know.
When I was down there last week, they came over.
and wanting to run the little cable and I said yeah I mean you can come through the wall at the sheriff's office with it up against my north wall and then through that wall that goes into where the training room is and I said through the computer room and just stay above the false ceiling it's not a problem then go out that
far west corner, and you're right there at the tower.
So then I said, you need to figure out how much power is going to be needed for the siren.
The light's going to be nothing, you know, so that we all know whether the backup generator is going to be able to handle it or which one you're going to go to.
No, and he said, yeah, he supposedly has the specs on the siren.
I don't know if you even know you have a siren coming.
Well, we got two of them, but I don't know if we ever did see the specs on carbon assumption.
Right.
So that's where we're out there, as far as I know.
And I talked to them.
I said, look, once this is done, I would like you to do it just strictly with the microwave and then do it strictly with the fiber optics to make sure that it works.
And I don't know.
I said,
Can you do it as a switch one way or the other?
Or does it have to physically be disconnected, you know, from the terminals?
It sounds like from what Shauna said, there's going to be a switch box in there, and it's going to be a fairly easy transition, just one or the other.
Right.
And that would be what I would want it.
Because if they're going to use the microwave as a normal, if you will, and something's not working,
have the option to be able to switch over and see if it will go up to the tower another route.
And if it still doesn't, that tells me it's the tower.
And I said, I still think that the radio up at the tower definitely needs to be checked to make sure that it's within freaks, you know?
Because if it's wandered one way or the other, nothing's going to work.
So I don't know, we'll see.
And then we'll see, make sure that the radios and the rigs actually work.
they do and then they don't so i mean it's just frustrating yes gary i only have nine people right now three people from the last class they're all out west one has taken his test and passed and that would be matt roosterbocky and the other day i was told that he got back his
thing from the state and it's a letter you don't open whether you have any convictions or whatever you know and so when you send in your application to the state board the medical examiners that goes along with it and they're the ones that open it up and go from there
And even though you tell people, when you get this letter from the state, don't open it, people in the past have opened it and went, oh hell, then they have to reapply to get that redone, pay another fee to get it done, you know?
It happens.
It's like, why can't they just look it up, right?
I don't know.
I didn't have to do that when I started.
I did paper, you know?
So Dave,
met us out there yesterday and then rode back in with us.
So that was good.
I asked him.
He said he hasn't scheduled his test yet.
I said, well, you got to do it.
The longer you wait, the more you forget.
And then Henry has been harvesting.
So he said he'll do it as soon as he can.
I'd like to see Henry, definitely, because he's here in town.
That would help me the most, you know.
But that's where we're at.
I was just curious, are you... No, I know.
And considering we used to have so many, you know, and like going out there yesterday, it was like, huh?
Well, and then the day on Sunday, if we had Nola still there and we had... I just can't think of his name.
Anyway, because I used to have three people out there.
Lisa Diggins at one time, you know, South.
There, Jamie Snare, there we go.
You know, so that was great because that was the idea.
They were out there.
I had two people out there by Flaxville and one up in White Hill.
And that was the idea.
You can beats to someone before we ever get there, you know.
because there is a distance yesterday was 34 miles one way just to get there so that's a ways it's time yeah it's time yeah other than that we'll just go from there thank you thank you thanks well hope you have more good birthdays thanks yeah you should take some cake
or cupcake.
That's okay.
I'm going to go home.
Get something to eat.
Better take some dessert with you.
Yeah.
Now, I got dessert at home, actually.
But yeah.
All righty.
Thank you.
Good to see you.
Yeah, too.
Okay, you are on record.
This is what Charles Gray is in here, visiting us.
And he has got the floor right now.
Okay, the reason Charles wanted me to come here was to discuss this letter.
And the payment we made for the 8,000 for equipment, that has emptied our account.
So my question to all of you is what is our budget for the TV district?
Okay, so you guys are charging each household the eight dollars, right?
Correct.
She's the girl who's going to believe you.
Yeah.
You should be close to ten thousand a year, huh?
Well, Charles didn't know, so that's why I thought I'm gonna find out and if it's annual, bi-annual.
Well, that's true.
Not sure.
Maybe I should wait for her, but it's going to leave me in the next question.
If we don't have enough money and we get in advance to buy this equipment, that is needed for the North Dakota channels we carry.
Charles told me that the 8,000 for the stuff he paid for, zero about her.
$75 and that's not something you use each year no because that's the other part of my question would be if our budgets this and we don't use it what happens to look fresh off the print
So yeah, that's kind of the delivery.
We'll find out.
I kind of mentioned that to somebody this morning, but apparently he didn't prepare.
I can't ahead of time because you're at three o'clock.
We're on schedule.
We could have got ahead though.
I'm trying to teach you.
It's a proper way of doing things.
Not when you talk to people on the street like yourself, just more than Nemont.
That wasn't on the street.
Well, Nemont.
So I'm going to call him right there, but my phone was down.
At noon when you eat, what do you call that meal?
Lunch or dinner.
interchangeable.
What's the difference between lunch or dinner?
I know.
The night one is supper.
We come from the same.
That's not lunch.
He had lunch.
He had lunch, right?
But lunch and dinner, to me, lunch was always something that came in.
You know, like you had dinner, you had Sunday.
Yeah, Sunday dinner.
But yes, the night one is supper.
That's lunch and lunch.
That's not interchangeable.
Lunch is not after, it's not after three o'clock in the afternoon.
See, that's a snack.
According to you now, being supper is at night.
When do you eat dinner?
At night.
It's more foreign.
No, that's what suffers at night.
No, it's one or two.
Suffers when you come in and you eat leftovers.
Right.
So what is our yearly?
Your yearly revenue that you burst in?
You don't do it that way.
I don't know why yours is this way.
Because you aren't really a county entity.
You're all on your own.
That's kind of a charting connection.
So this is money that the taxes come in and then we pay you them out into your, I think Julie gives you a check every year.
So what's in your account at the bank?
Zero.
Because here at the end your cash was showing
8,810.
Yeah, but if you spend 8,500, what do you think?
Right.
And you just spent that right there.
Right.
So now you have to wait for the next go around.
So the budget is roughly 10,000?
Yeah, roughly, yes.
I don't know if they were just based on the houses.
OK.
Let's wait for her to come back.
That's 50 cents.
Charge it.
It's kind of been smelling the Mike's name.
It's not in my glasses.
See, I'm busy all the time.
You always need an air conditioner in your spot.
Will you agree on that?
Yes, we do.
Now, lunch isn't new.
Chris, has that paid once a year?
It's on the taxes, so I'm not sure.
Don't pay attention to the yellow.
But this is you guys right here.
So you have $8 a household and you're billed out of $696.
So we went with your budget budget, $8,000, $7,000 or $8,000.
And that hasn't come through yet or has been paid before.
I think it paid it last time, I believe.
But depending on the cash that you have on hand, but see you don't have the cash on hand this year, it's going to be last.
$65,000.
You can't, but it's still, it's always been.
It's eight times, yes.
So it has not 12, 13,000.
So that's got 30,000.
Over, yeah.
Because it was 10,000 on the sheet.
It's eight times 696.
Yes.
Yeah.
So the red tax revenue you're going to get is, this one here.
So you must have had money, you had cash on hand, so that's why your budget was big.
But now you're not going to have it, so I don't know what you guys are doing.
That's our budget right there.
That's what you get in tax money.
Is there any other money that's given to Fairground?
No, not unless you guys get a grant or something.
$10,000 is not part of budget.
It's what, yeah, but you had that available last year.
No, he ain't separate.
So that was carryover.
Right.
your cash carryover was here.
This is what you took in.
This is what you paid out.
I don't know what the heck you guys were spending your money on because I don't have your checking accounts.
Do you want your glasses again?
Nope.
I'll just take these papers with me.
Okay.
And then you said you're ending.
This is your ending.
But then you spent it, so I don't know.
So that's why I'm here to ask these if we could get an advance
on our budget to purchase this equipment for the North Dakota channels.
That you need that right away?
Yes, well, they're working with they're not working very good.
Okay, so the sooner the better for yes, making it work.
Yes, I mean, you guys can discuss it.
How much is that?
Yeah, you don't even generate that much.
He had mentioned something about another
Somebody giving you a grant, giving you money?
Not a grant.
Roosevelt County, the guy that's been helping us with keeping up on this equipment, he thought maybe he could get Roosevelt County to loan us the money.
Oh, gotcha.
And I believe we should maybe keep it here, myself.
Yeah.
We also discussed raising your eight to
You guys have been on the 8 for quite a few years.
Yeah, if that's a possibility.
Well, things are going to continue.
Does that actually go on our vote?
No, the last time they raised it up, they just came in and talked to you guys and asked you when they went from 5 to 8.
Because we went and looked in the back, commissioner minutes and stuff.
Roughly, just roughly.
So you think you maybe should address it every five years or something?
Yeah, everything goes up.
But I mean, if we'd have won every five years, it wouldn't be such a big jump out from nine.
Well, yeah.
I guess it depends on what they want.
I mean, what, $2?
Too much?
Is that a college?
Yeah.
You know what I pay for a dish?
Mm-hmm.
And hopefully this equipment lasts a few years.
We haven't had to replace too much.
So that would raise just an additional $13.92.
But if we could do the two now and maybe rethink it in a couple of years.
That would cover that, but you wouldn't be able to pay your E-mob bills or anything.
I think that was part of the problem, too, because I think at one time Charles just rolled in the big $5,000 transfer something to pay for you.
Now we've got a circuit from Potter up here.
So there's no, I mean, it's not to pay for you, but to share it in the walkthrough.
So you don't use that anymore?
We had power bills out.
Yeah, well that's what I was talking about.
Before we had double the equipment because it came from Poplar out by Corey Gusteds.
Turned around and shot us to Scooby so you had two different things.
So we eliminated Gusteds and we put it on a fiber from Poplar to Scooby.
Well, I'll leave it for you guys to discuss.
I mean, we revisited, but let's see.
Our channels are working right now.
They're just not very good.
So what do we really want to do here?
I would like if the county generate the money to pay for the equipment and
take it against our budget of next year, call it a loan, however we want to word it.
The legal way.
Some would be paid for another, what, $7,500?
Yes.
Plus freight, so we have no idea the time is up.
Yeah, I'm not so sure the equipment isn't sitting in Wolf Point.
All right.
And then like a loan from another department to pay for that.
Yeah, just a loan against our budget for next year because that's what it's four months from now.
Never read budgets.
Well, it's already we're just switched into office.
Yeah.
Okay.
So not knowing if we just switched that now.
Do we know we're getting another street now or?
When the taxes come out.
Okay.
In November.
I don't know.
In back in May.
Well, I'm not sure.
I think this one comes up one time, I think.
Does anybody remember their tax bills in the back of their heads?
Well, there are views on there, but I don't remember it's on both times.
I think it's just the one.
Isn't it total split?
I don't know if they do for those
little, like, eight dollar things.
I don't remember either.
Don't know either.
It says clear to you, I know I'm a taxi driver.
Well, no, it is on the taxi, but I don't know if it's true or false.
Yeah, I don't know if it's true or false.
If it's on both the cabs or not on the cab.
We need you to text me.
Helen at County will probably pay for this.
Okay.
Make sure you remind him of that.
Well... Okay, so...
Are you wanting to raise the price to 10?
Are you not wanting to raise?
I mean, I don't know what you guys are doing there.
Well, we're just kind of discussing the job.
I believe they're going to have to decide now or close to now as soon as possible.
Well, I say raise it to Dan.
Who's on board?
Me and Charles and Mike Stubbleton.
If you don't think they have any objections to doing that, then you can speak for them.
Well, Charles was the one that brought it up, so I know he's on board.
To do it to the time?
Yeah.
Well, because I agree with me, I don't think he'd want to go a huge $5 one now or something, you know?
A little at times, maybe.
Yeah, nobody notices that.
But if $2 doesn't now,
Well, then go three or four bucks.
So 12.
11 or 12.
That don't look at me.
That's not my choice.
Yeah.
Will that cover it 12?
It's my choice.
Put it up to 50.
Then we'd have plenty.
But that's not a good thing.
Because I have to pay those taxes too.
Would you say 12?
Yeah.
That would be 8,352, and this is 7,500.
But I don't know what other bills you have.
Yeah, and I don't know either.
Well, then maybe this took a second up to 12.
Maybe you can build or something.
Or pay your electrical bill or whatever you have to.
Well, you do have to remember that next year there won't be these expenses, so they'll be back on top of it.
Is this something we could
Table until maybe next month or whatever, because I don't know where our bills are.
That's a general's question.
He writes all the checks.
I don't know because I've got to get the levies and stuff done.
So if they're okay with you, I think raising it, you guys come back with a figure because they're not going to meet again until the 17.
So it's like in the next couple of days you could get a number just like Christina.
He's in Vegas, so.
He told me he was coming back to villains today.
Okay.
Yeah, so he should be back tomorrow.
Okay, so.
Maybe he wanted enough to pay for it.
Yeah, I never do, so.
No, I've never been.
Not there yet.
I need to.
Do you guys meet tomorrow too?
No.
No, just the first Monday and Tuesday of the month.
Yeah, so I mean I know there wouldn't be a disagreement or at least raise it to 12.
So just let us know and let me just know for possible.
And then I'll have him bring you
expenses.
Like I said, I don't know what he pays.
Well, I would have thought that would have shown up there.
Well, I didn't want here.
Let me go Prince.
Is there anything else going?
Pretty good.
Yeah.
I'm pretty boring in life, so I don't do anything.
I haven't hardly even golfed this year.
Oh really?
Yeah.
At first I thought it was a sciatica thing, and then, up there at PT, they got my hip.
I was having trouble with that.
I got that kind of work, and I still got some other, they said I have multiple layers of stuff.
I think it all started on about shoveling snow.
So this year you might have someone shoveled my sidebar.
That'll be there.
Yeah.
My skin's here.
Yeah.
You call it on your milking.
So Sherman Loctora in 65, 42.
You die guys do get
I think that leader thing was a legal thing where we were changing the channels.
I just seen it.
Was it just not very long ago?
It was a while ago, yeah, when we were going from... It was Paul Kopinski.
So here's the years of detail.
I have no idea who's calling.
I'll just give them all the Charles.
I know we play, yeah that says Caliente, pay a guy out of a Zulu to help us out a lot.
We're very lucky this guy from
Roosevelt County is doing it for free because he's getting he's getting paid from Roosevelt County to do this He's coming up and doing ours under Wow under them Yeah, okay, so next day tomorrow Charles can come in and yeah, just
run it through Mike and Charles and see if the 12 is where you're four.
Stubbs won't have a clue, but Charles will.
So we might have our meeting tonight.
All right, well thank you for your time.
We just hang out with you for a few moments.
I want to hear and call you.
I'm still good it's that 18 after I'm a creature of habit apparently well you know that's not a bad idea because someone's checking up on you okay thank you yes sir coming in and
My computer down there is on the fridge so I was one of the things I wanted to bring up about shopping for replacement.
The bad power down there I'm pretty sure fried the CPU and it's just a compounding problem now.
Would a laptop work or do you need the bigger
I thought it would be fine.
I already set it for desktop at the moment.
So, I would say a little bit.
What's that?
Well, I've already got the... Wow, that's where I'm looking for.
The battery backup, some of the monitors.
Yeah.
Yeah, I would have had the hub work stuff with me, but...
It's being difficult at the moment.
And the machine that's super low hours on that is the one that Caterpillar came and picked up when we have a rental that we're using.
So I don't have data on it, but yeah.
It should be right in the car with the other ones.
Well, a little behind since he was down a week.
One they set up to replace the one that they're working on.
You don't have to pay for that.
No, it was part of our contract.
And then I believe that should be coming back here this week.
I'm just waiting on a delivery date to swap everything out.
And yeah.
I wrote it.
Oh gosh, all of that Bjarco down over to Anderson's.
All that just looks wonderful.
It's just a beautiful job.
So thanks to you and your crew.
Good job.
A few loads went out.
They might have got ahead of that one low spot that's always hanging out there at the bottom.
That's not Bjarco road going south.
It's not Flatterer Road.
What road is that?
Which one?
The one that instead of going to Kale's, you go south.
It goes by trains routes, you know, more than trains routes, please?
No, there's, and it's just a short little road up to... Oh, it is Flatterer Trail.
Oh, that little, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, there's that one mud puddle.
It's pretty low right there.
Maybe, maybe it's off it.
I don't know.
Yeah, that's the Suki River.
Suki's east to west one.
Yeah, that's east to north one.
Yeah, that's a lot of river north.
So what do you think about, the question was raised about who's in charge when you're away.
What do you think about that?
Longer apps, this is what not, I suppose, could have somebody kind of coordinate things.
I used to be a thing when I first started, and I guess I did way with it, but I don't know.
I'd say they were capable of keeping things going, but an appointment, I guess, somebody would fill in the spot.
might be beneficial, rather than... Normally, it's kind of, myself, the district guys, which Todd, Matt, and Ben, and then the other two, is typically kind of the structure we maintain.
But, yeah.
Do you think there was any problem not having someone?
The only problem I would probably think was,
I don't know.
I was kind of in a rush.
I got to grab my work phone and take it with me.
And there was a couple of people that contacted me on there, but they didn't give me any information to work with.
But I don't know.
It would be beneficial.
I was gone a longer term.
Like something happened to me.
I was gone for a month, let's say.
It might be something to consider anyways.
But yeah.
you've got veterans there, so they know their jobs and role creators and now season for the mowing.
So basically, I mean, it's all set.
I mean, for far as right now, we're trying to start getting the mowing thing going next week.
The slab job up there by Fred's Road.
I think we'll just look for a good week that everything's dry and we're able to get in there and work on it and then we'll just adjust accordingly then and go take care of it.
I don't think it'll be too big of a big deal.
I'm thinking three days but we'll see when we get on.
What's that?
I think you're probably right on that.
But yeah.
You know, I was thinking about that.
You were talking about getting something to break up that concrete.
When they tore down that house mine, L and L, they just used that thumb and just broke that concrete all up with the thumb.
OK.
Maybe it's an option anyway.
Yeah.
And the only thing I was thinking of that one was we wanted to get the chunks rather small.
That way they'd sit in there and go together.
prior experience like bin slabs and whatnot where you're taking those, try to use them as riprap.
Chunks are too big and the water goes right around it.
Carries all the material right along with it.
So getting the smaller stuff that we can put together.
I just thought about that the other day, when they tore that house so they used it.
This stuff might be soft enough that could probably work.
I want to say it's like 8 to 10 inches thick and is older.
I haven't tried seeing how strong it is, but that could be an option.
I was kind of running into the idea of taking the load with the forks or something down there, getting the bait slabs out and just having to come by with the skid steer and break it all up on the side.
And then at least we can get that out, start our work, and then we can riprap it later.
But kind of soup down there today.
Well, anytime you get a ring like this, the water goes way up and it goes over the slab, too.
I was thinking about having a back foot, trying to get a back foot down there, just uncovered to see if we could get the water a little drop on its own.
You could if you could get it through there.
Yeah.
It's still pretty.
It's pretty well filled.
I'm not sure how to damage the pipe bar because we can't get in there to see.
Some of our older slabs and other parts of the county pipes rotted through and big holes in there.
We got some issues we're going to have to deal with eventually out in Yonder.
Well job security then.
Lots to do, lots to do.
So... You started?
No, not yet.
We were originally going to start this week, but I've got him out doing signs.
So we're getting some more of those signs up and deployed across the county.
Working that way, working our way to the west.
Anyways, I guess kind of a rough plan.
But what I wanted to bring up was Matt kind of took it upon himself to go through and do the first responder training.
And I will
I told me you passed it and everything.
I mean, like I said, took it by myself, but I put it forward and I think it's a valuable thing to have on our crew, but if we'd maybe be interested in paying the class cost on it anyways.
The initial one was 300 and then the licensing was at another 116, I believe.
120 actually.
But I was thinking at least the class end of it.
But put forth.
So 420 total?
Yes.
Yes.
It's everything he has into it, the textbooks, class time, and then I think that thing is like six months or two days or Wednesdays.
It was a good while.
I think it was Wednesdays he stayed down there until class started as a supper and then he went out to do his class work.
Well, I would make a motion to cover that.
I think it's definitely a valuable skill on your crew.
What would you pull that out of?
Your road department.
You have one option.
Is the ambulance crew?
No, they don't.
The MSP for their own.
I started the class and yeah, it's all out of pocket.
Yeah, and we do have a budgeted
deal in there that our training comes out of because we have to pay for these macros classes that we go to and whatnot, LTAP stuff.
It's funny, 911 won't pay for that.
Yeah, well it's funny to me that they don't.
Well they could if you want to, but I don't know.
I mean, we'd have to run it through whatever her name is that we check.
Well, I think it's not like it's a bunch of people doing it, but I think it should come out of that one more.
But I don't know why I still think that's weird if you're doing that for the ambulance crew.
Do they have a page or do they call them out on the runs?
He just wanted to do the class and went and took care of it.
He could.
He could.
Yeah, but they could cost something to do there.
He went to the main league.
Lee said, Mitch's and stuff to the bar.
No.
Oh, he might be.
I'm not sure as far as the extent of his participation at all, but just far as our work sites, what not, a little more comfortable having to train individual out there.
Well, and if he's out of grade now at West and somebody has a big problem, he is
He'll be, he could be there right away, just jump off the grader and get, you know, whatever.
Yeah.
Or take the grade and go with whatever.
Yeah.
It might save her life.
So part of the reason they have them paid themselves is to have some justice.
I guess.
But it'd be nice to have them reversed at the end.
Yeah.
But anyways, I did make the motion.
Yeah, I'll second that.
It'd be nice to get it out of 9-1-1 is what we're concerned with.
All in favor?
Aye.
Thank you.
I don't know, what's the retention on that class?
A lot of people sign up initially and then... It's a, well, yeah, I signed up for it.
They asked me to do it and I got into it and I'm like,
will know because it's it's huge amount of studying you have to read chapters you know and then the test and you have to go you know out to take the physical test of it all it's just like and you for me I'm a very scheduled person and to just say I need you right now I'd be like no my cake's in the oven you know I mean it so um and
Oh no, what is this?
I'm afraid I might break my birthday cake.
Oh no, you may have some.
It's Tammy's birthday.
Thank you.
62 years old, ready for retirement.
I was 125.
Losing age.
You're making strides then.
I'm going to show you a year over and a year 68.
Yeah, I guess I am.
We're going to see where she's at today.
I forgot to bring it with me but the drift damage from the spring south flax will excuse me fearless
We need to go out there and check it out.
Had some pictures of it.
There is some damage past the right-of-way.
They have pretty good grass there.
We're like 50 feet out into a weed field.
There's some drift out there.
It was his last load as far as getting everything covered.
I think he was trying to push it.
The wind was coming up and he was trying to push it.
And it got away from him in the end.
I have yet to call.
Is it Slutton's?
Slutton's is the main one.
Then right around it the grass is just a little bit taller or something, but there's a little bit less outside of that area, but there's still damage out there.
And then one of the folks I'm about to find out who farms it, because they're from Oregon or something, an odd name.
So I'm sure somebody takes care of the land.
But yeah, I haven't made any phone calls yet to get a hold of and see what we can do to appease that.
But yeah.
Hello, lady.
Talking to Randall, we used his escalator there a couple months ago.
The same company that he got his escalator through, I guess they have another one.
Same setup, twin to his.
Coming out of Alaska on Pipeline Gig, they just used it for packing, so not a lot of time on the implements.
Supposedly it has lower hours than what it has.
He told me he was going to forward me the information, but that was still in the range of like 60,000.
60?
60.
And it isn't, but there's a lot of engine hours.
Like it just ran and went back and forth packing was my understanding.
The only thing I'd be worried about is failure in the mechanical side of it.
But if it looks anything like his machine, it's a good looking machine anyways.
They have full maintenance reports on them or not?
He told me he was going to give me the information and so I could have a chat with him on that and find out.
But one that came up, I figured, bring it up as I only found out about it yesterday in passing.
That's a cat or a deer?
Deer, yes.
John Deere.
Pretty sure it was deer.
I'm 50-50.
It's a deer with a long tail.
That's an excavator, right?
Yes.
That's what you even wanted him to buy?
I don't know.
They need an excavator.
Well, what we pay for a use of one, it doesn't take long to make the payments.
No, and Jay, the only thing he really told me was it was a twin of the machine he's got.
It's a newer machine, I mean, cab's excellent, there's no, everything works good on that machine, so.
Well, and it would, I mean, some re-users, past summer, you would use it pretty much.
No, in the winter time, the only time I might use it in the winter is peeling back frozen material on top, and
That's only on shallow pits when we need to do that, so wouldn't be a thing.
I think it would be a big county thing.
Well, the utility of it, and then it kind of would be another sale date that we would drop the backhoe.
And yeah, I was thinking about that teaspoon in the yard.
I guess I have the forks and the big loader, but it's still handy having one, a little one in the yard anyways for little jobs.
But yeah, I guess I really don't have too much.
You can haul it with the trailer.
What's that?
You can haul that excavator likewise with our trailers.
Yes.
Yeah, Jay's isn't all that big.
It sits a little wide, not as bad as some of them are.
Who's did we move?
Yesvers, we moved his and his had a far bigger footprint.
It was a little dicey.
But worked out.
You got Christie's email about equipment descriptions for the obsolete equipment ad.
Each one of those pictures has a description attached right to it.
Oh my god, seriously?
I'm sorry.
No worries.
I was just looking through the pictures and I'm like, well, those aren't going to do me any good.
I see you emailed me.
Absolutely.
I'll email on that information with the spray stuff just so you can see what I wrote up about it.
And then, I don't know, I laid everything out pretty clearly.
Yeah, should be fine next week and ideally, I mean, when they're provided, we will go for a month and a half and be pretty well knocked out with that.
Then I've got some belly scraper work over on some of those roads in your neck of the woods, field roads out there.
And, yeah, tentatively got some trough products.
Hopefully we get some good news in like the latter half of November is when those machines
come through and we're able to swap out right in time to wing up because this last year I think we wound up put the snow gear on just before Thanksgiving and that was just because I do it now and then we're done with it.
Fair enough.
Good deal.
Awesome.
All right.
Well, y'all have a good day.
Thanks for everything.
I hope the next computer works for you.
What's that?
I hope you're new.
Oh, yeah.
I don't remember how far over on the other side of Montana he said it was, but
Yeah, well, hopefully I'll have more information and if anything, I'll slip in on the 15th and we all have an update of what I found out.
But, yeah, um, as far as the class costs went up, should I just do a... 24?
Yeah, 24.
Or... A mat should do it for paying them.
Yeah, well, yeah, okay.
Yeah.
Alright, come on.
Y'all have a good day.
Thanks, sir.
Talon, you can't really...
I'm alright.
I'm trying to come back in the suite.
Thank you.
I got a message that said
Curtis Cromwell from Curtis Cromwell, you might want to plan on some kind of catch fence Along the new dumpsters could be a lot of garbage sacks etc But we'll probably make its way back into town over time a lot of sacks in this field that I'm cutting here So a lot of that comes from people hauling stuff out.
Yeah, so, you know It doesn't come out of the dumpster.
It comes out of trucks and stuff on the way out there
Actually, what I bring is stuff out there and I've seen where people are driving out there and they lose a bunch of their trees and just don't want to pick them up.
I grew up out there one time and Brent's right in the middle of the damn road.
It ain't us.
It's on the way out to them.
Well, I just thought it was brought up to me so I don't think we'd blow off those new containers.
It really can't because they pack it in with the factory size.
All I'm saying is is when the trucks go out there, like the city garbage truck and stuff, it can whistle out of there and it can go out back to Jim's truck too.
A little bit of that.
Jim's I think would be easier if he didn't pack it while he went.
They usually are pretty good.
They usually keep that sweep underneath right to keep it in there.
Yeah, so people have their garbage trailers or whatever that they throw their stuff in and take the dumpster.
But it did get me to thinking, you know, we didn't have, we don't have any fence around it because we don't have the budget, but I wondered if maybe a temporary snow fence around there would help.
I don't know.
It's just a fault.
But we're not even using our dumpsters.
They're still using dumpsters.
Yeah, but they're still down below, so they're either blowing up into... But no, we're not saying... So it's coming from people, I think, traveling back and forth, but...
So I'm sorry, I didn't clearly state what I was trying to say.
Would that help keep people out on the weekends?
But still fence.
Hell, they cut the chains to go into there if they have to.
I've seen that too.
They've cut locks.
Didn't they make a fence to pull across the road?
They're going to move the one that's down at the bottom, how those dumpsters are.
They're going to move the dumpsters up, bring that fence up toward the dumpsters.
I don't think so.
What are we trying to stop from being dumped on the weekends?
Well, there's nobody there, so they can't.
Well, they got to block the road.
They're masonry on Saturdays.
Right, but Sundays is the big garbage day.
You ought to see all the people that go out there.
Tires.
But why can't you still do that?
I mean, we've been doing that for years.
What's up there dumping our trees and our tires and stuff.
It's not going to happen on Sundays.
Sunday is not going to be opening or reshaping or forming.
Exactly.
It's very accessible.
Yeah.
Well, there's nobody there.
Now they're supposed to be there.
I know.
Now they're supposed to be somebody there.
I could see not letting them get to the containers, you know, transfer site itself.
But see, you've got to go by the containers to dump the tires and stuff.
Or you can go down below and stuff.
That's all that road's going to be gone.
Well, it's not right now, because that's what I know.
Jim told me I could.
I said, which way do I go to dump the trees?
Because you can go the way you want.
And I have other people go the way before.
That goes how you walk down.
See, they take them.
The first promos is hay or a field?
It's a field.
It kind of speeds.
Because I know Johnson's used to it.
when they have the dumpsters all at the shop and stuff would blow out and Jensen's, you know, they complain the same thing.
But in his field, I would say it's people that are delivering to our site has lost garbage.
Because our garbage is south of his field.
It could be, it could be bags and stuff from the old site that they, you know, aren't dumping on now.
If it isn't farmed over and stuff put on top, oh bags, it could go possibly.
Okay, so we have a first amendment to communication site lease agreement with MBU.
Is that $12,000?
Is that, is that the initial price?
Or did they give us someone like them?
Now it's 12.
Well, they're going to put up another one.
Right.
So they're giving us a little for the others.
Yeah, and they're giving us like almost three grand more.
Yeah.
Nice.
But I couldn't remember if that was the initial price or it didn't sound right.
Yeah.
I feel like they're going to do a thousand a month now.
Yeah.
Nice.
I think you want me to be a digested vision?
version of it.
$12,000 money.
Well, we authorized the last one.
I can't imagine we would not have it again.
I don't know if they're going to pay us.
You guys did a pre-limb authorization last time in that.
So that's why I haven't do that.
So we have it.
Have they started anything out there yet?
No, maybe.
Was it in July that you were going to start?
Well, I know they had to do all the plans.
Remember I gave you that 96-page map?
Yes.
Yeah, I've seen that too.
Yeah, you guys, I gave it to you and I'll look at, and then I told them that you really didn't have any comments on it, but I would double check with you again to see if you had any comments on it.
I don't have any issues with that at all.
I don't think it's a good deal.
We'll find you getting some money out of it.
I would make a motion to approve the amended first amendment.
All in favor?
All right.
All right.
So the temporary fence around Domsters, is that what was on her?
That's what she was asking about.
That hurt.
that would help us not have all that snow coming down on that road.
Yeah.
I feel like that's a long way for bags to fly.
It is.
That's what I was looking for.
You've got that and then you've got the fence and then you have the field and it's like a long ways.
Well, that's why I think it's coming from vehicles and people and just going out of there.
We're discussing a from co-op credit discount policy.
Move to acknowledge policy again, right?
Yeah.
I'll second that.
All in favor of it?
Aye.
Aye.
It's five o'clock and we are adjourning this week's meeting.
Bye.