Ramsey County approves highway bills, authorizes CDL training for prospective hire

Ramsey County commissioners on Nov. 4 approved a series of highway-related payments and agreed to fund one CDL training slot for a prospective hire.

The commission voted to pay Tristate Paving $29,644 for recently completed paver patches on Ramsey County routes, approved three change orders for erosion-control projects for submission to North Dakota Department of Transportation (ND DOT), and authorized payment of a $5,443.29 repair bill to Butler for a DEF kit/filter not covered under warranty. Commissioners also approved a $7,510 invoice from NSC Minerals for road salt and a $71.60 partial invoice to KLJ for 2026 paving projects.

Highway superintendent (Speaker 5) described the training option and costs: “Costs are about $3,100, and when they come out of there, they're a licensed driver.” Human Resources representative Nicole Bacher outlined options for covering the tuition, including a pay differential (about $1.87/hour), a tuition-reimbursement/payback model or splitting costs, and cautioned that collecting repayment from low-wage hires can be difficult.

Commissioners debated implementation details — whether the county would pay classroom hours while the trainee remained on payroll, timing (an early January class start was mentioned) and whether the county would require a service commitment. The commission approved a motion authorizing the highway department to proceed with funding one individual’s CDL training (approximately $3,100) and directed Jason (highway superintendent) to work with HR to finalize the terms.

The motions to pay the vendor invoices and to fund the training were carried with roll calls or voice votes as noted in the meeting record. The highway department will return with specific enrollment, pay-differential or payback terms before finalizing the hire.