Waseca and Dodge officials study two-county option after Steele County moves to dissolve Mid Prairie

WASECA COUNTY — County officials and staff from Waseca and Dodge counties met in a joint work session to review options for Mid Prairie human services after Steele County passed a resolution to dissolve the three-county joint power arrangement.

The presenter summarized Mid Prairie’s history and four grant-funded programs, and laid out three organizational options for a two-county structure: (1) retain five program managers to preserve specialization; (2) reduce to four managers with a social service manager; and (3) replace several managers with a deputy director and move more responsibility to supervisors. Staff said Scenario 3 had the lowest cost estimate but recommended Scenario 1 because the modest extra cost preserves program specialization and recovery capacity.

Why it matters: presenters and county officials said breaking the joint agency during a period of state and federal funding uncertainty could increase financial risk for small counties and weaken program continuity. The presenter noted that combined agencies often achieve higher recoveries, share expensive licensing and technology fees and are more competitive for grants.

Staff told members they built budget projections from current 2025 budgets and applied proportional adjustments after removing Steele County. The projection used Scenario 1 staffing numbers and estimated Dodge County’s share would be about 52.8 percent and Waseca’s about 47.2 percent under current allocation factors. The presenter also said Mid Prairie’s combined population is roughly 40,000 and that the separate service-delivery-authority statute generally requires a 55,000 population threshold, though there is exception language the counties have asked state Department of Human Services (DHS) staff to clarify.

Board members voiced a mix of caution and support for keeping the two counties together. Dean Alter said he was persuaded by the expertise the joint agency holds and by the timing: "I lean toward 'let's hang together and get through the next biennium,'" he said, adding that withdrawing now would be “a heavy lift” for a small county. Ryan Hargill, who serves on the human services performance review board, described Mid Prairie as having been "a stellar performer in the last five years," while several members warned that reduced state funding would create unfunded mandates that counties would have to absorb.

No formal motions or votes were taken. Instead, members agreed on procedural next steps: staff will seek written guidance from DHS about the statutory exception process for SDA designation and any timeline for a county withdrawal; Steele County will be asked to present a concrete proposal for how it would exit; and each member will return to its full county board (likely in June) to consider the analysis and report back.

The work session lasted through a detailed Q&A on staffing, FTE counts and IT/licensing costs. Staff emphasized the projections are a starting point with known unknowns (federal/state changes, out-of-home placement variability and interest-income differences tied to fund balances). The chair closed the meeting after confirming the immediate next step is to add an update and discussion item to each county’s upcoming board agendas.

What's next: staff said they expect a DHS reply about exceptions and advised the boards to prepare for follow-up discussions; Steele County’s exit timeline and any modification of the joint powers bylaws remain open questions.