Williams County reviews treasurer/recorder report, hires vector director and approves appointments and contracts

Williams County commissioners received routine administrative updates, approved multiple personnel appointments and contracts, and welcomed a new vector director during their Dec. 8 meeting.

Patty Okerczyk, the county treasurer/recorder, provided an operations update: her office has six full‑time staff and one part‑time remote indexer, mailed 2025 real estate tax statements on Dec. 10 and said taxpayers must pay by Feb. 17, 2026 to receive the 5% discount. She said the first half payment is due March 2, 2026, and the second half is due Oct. 15. Okerczyk noted the primary residence credit was increased from $500 to $1,600 for tax year 2025 (and for mobile homes per the change cited in HB 1176), with the application window opening Jan. 1 and the deadline April 1; transfer rules for the credit also apply when taxpayers sell and buy a new primary residence.

On records, Okerczyk said Williams County is fully indexed and digitized "from patent to present day," supported by the document preservation fund financed by a $3 recording fee per document. She reported the office recorded over 11,000 documents in 2025 (about 1,000 more than the previous year); e‑recording now accounts for roughly 40–45% of filings. The office has indexed more than 1,500 wills and offers a free document‑alert service to notify account holders when a document referencing a name or parcel is recorded.

The administrator requested several routine appointments and contract approvals. The board approved appointing Coughlin Funeral Home as the county morgue for calendar year 2026 and appointed Seth Coughlin as coroner for a term running Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2029, noting the county alternates coroner duty and compensates funeral directors who serve in that role. The board also reappointed Corey Prezyk to Water Board Seat 3 (term Jan. 1, 2026–Dec. 31, 2028) and appointed Jonathan Olsen to the other open seat after Drew Pocus declined to reapply; the appointments were approved in a single motion by unanimous roll call.

Administrators also announced internal promotions: Tanner Sehn was selected as county highway superintendent and Brandon Farrell as director of the engineering department; both will overlap with outgoing director Dennis Nelson for a transition period of approximately six months.

The board authorized a package of contracts and agreements by unanimous vote. Highlights included inmate housing agreements (reflecting a $15 per‑day increase tied to staffing and food cost increases), Motorola agreements for radio equipment at dispatch and backup dispatch centers, a backup emergency response equipment contract, a continuing audit engagement with I. Bailey, and a change order to the EAPC agreement for the infirmary project. The administrator reported progress on Fairgrounds leases with five primary tenants and said the Bowman Club’s attorney has reviewed and suggested edits; staff expect to present a signed lease early in the new year.

The board also discussed commissioner portfolio assignments after the staffing changes; the administrator suggested moving engineering to Commissioner Hansen and finance to Commissioner Anderson to balance workloads. Commissioners approved the portfolio reassignment and asked staff to email each commissioner the final portfolio list.

New vector director Hunter Dearman introduced himself to the board, summarized his prior roles in Mississippi and Laramie, Wyo., in mosquito control and integrated pest management, and said he was pleased to have started with Williams County.