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Votes at a glance: Keith County commissioners approve appointments, financial designations, holiday change and equipment purchase authority
Summary
Corey Crandall was elected chairman and Joan Irvin was confirmed as vice chairman at the Keith County Board of Commissioners reorganizational meeting on Jan. 9, 2025, and the board approved a series of administrative motions — from mileage rates and bank depositories to county-hire and equipment authority — by roll call.
Corey Crandall was elected chairman and Joan Irvin was confirmed as vice chairman during the Keith County Board of Commissioners reorganizational meeting on Jan. 9, 2025, and the board took a series of administrative and operational votes that the board clerk recorded by roll call.
Why it matters: The actions set personnel, purchasing and operational rules for county government for 2025 — including who can sign county accounts, which banks hold county funds, payroll/mileage policy, and who will lead highway operations.
What the board voted on (roll-call outcomes as recorded in the meeting):
- Elect chairman and vice chairman: Motion to nominate and elect Corey Crandall as chairman passed (roll call: all present voted yes). Motion to accept Joan Irvin as vice chairman passed (roll call: all present voted yes).
- Appoint Thomas C. Wilbur as an employee of Keith County and county Highway Superintendent, license 1774, effective 01/01/2025: Motion passed (roll call: all present voted yes).
- Approve IRS mileage reimbursement of 70¢ per mile, effective 01/01/2025 (subject to IRS guidelines): Motion passed (roll call: all present voted yes).
- Set mileage rate for county sheriff serving papers to 73¢ per mile, effective 01/01/2025 (subject to IRS guidelines): Motion passed (roll call: all present voted yes).
- Continue the county policy to allow maximum of $3,000 for cremation-only county burials: Motion passed (roll call: all present voted yes).
- Adopt amended 2025 county employee holiday schedule (the board approved working a full day on Dec. 24, 2025 and closing the courthouse on Dec. 26, 2025 for this year only, among other dates); motion to approve as amended passed (roll call: all present voted yes).
- Designate the Keith County News as the official county newspaper and the county website as an additional posting method for meeting notices: Motion passed (roll call: all present voted yes).
- Retain the following depositories, subject to paperwork being filed: Adams Bank, Western Nebraska Bank, Pinnacle Bank, Sandhills State Bank and Empaid (state account): Motion to retain depositories passed (roll call: all present voted yes).
- Adopt a resolution authorizing Treasurer Rhonda Johnson to deposit county funds into authorized depositories: Motion passed (roll call: all present voted yes).
- Approve board representatives and committee assignments as presented and amended (list of appointments recorded in minutes): Motion passed (roll call: all present voted yes).
- Remove Lane Anderson from certain clerk signature cards and add the chairman to Pinnacle Bank and Adams Bank signature cards: Motions to remove and to add were passed (roll calls: all present voted yes).
- Authorize Highway Superintendent Thomas Wilbur to pursue purchase of semi trucks per his recommendation and allow him to spend up to the amount stated in the meeting (the board recorded motion language to allow Wilbur to proceed and to allow up to the figure Wilbur provided): Motion passed (roll call: all present voted yes). (Transcript includes Wilbur’s presentation of specific bids, model years and mileage; the board allowed Wilbur discretion up to the stated figure.)
- Approve agreement steps and authorize the chairman to sign an amended agreement to place former commissioner/consultant Tony Kraske on county payroll so Keith County qualifies for the state highway superintendent incentive program; the board also appointed Tony Kraske (license SD-1021A as read into the record) to the county highway superintendent role (co-superintendent arrangement) effective 01/01/2025: Motion(s) passed (roll call: all present voted yes).
- Approve the 2025 community-based juvenile services grant application and authorize the chairman to sign: Motion passed (roll call: all present voted yes).
- Approve travel for Jamie Moore to the Nebraska Weed Control Association training, Feb. 3–5, 2025: Motion passed (roll call: all present voted yes).
Meeting minutes and standard procedural agenda motions (approve agenda, approve minutes, approve claims) were approved by roll call earlier in the session; those routine approvals were recorded as passed by roll call.
Notes and caveats: Where the transcript records a roll call, the report records that commissioners present voted in the affirmative. The meeting included other discussion items that were not finalized as formal board votes (for example, longer highway department procurement and software discussions and further refinement of the semi-truck purchase plan). Those topics are reported in other articles dedicated to subject-specific discussion and context.
Ending: The board completed its reorganizational business and moved into department reports and regular agenda items after the roll-call actions listed above.
