Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Administration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County administrator reports jail construction progress, Department of Commerce visit and answers website accessibility and salary-posting questions
Summary
The county administrator gave a construction update on the GEL project, summarized a Department of Commerce visit about storm recovery, previewed Bemidji Day at the Capitol, and explained that the county uses an ADA-compliance vendor and posts required salary notices on its website for statutorily required 90-day cycles.
The county administrator told commissioners that construction on the GEL project is progressing—masons are on site, painters have started, and sheetrocking is ongoing in administrative areas—and that two contracts for jail design and construction will be discussed on the regular agenda.
He summarized a visit by the Minnesota Department of Commerce that focused on storm recovery and insurance issues; county staff and elected officials met with the department and led a community tour to highlight local needs. He also previewed "Bemidji Day" at the state capitol, noting staff and commissioners plan to travel to meet legislators.
During questions, commissioners raised website accessibility (ADA) and salary-posting concerns. A county webmaster and IT staff reported that the county contracted with a vendor and ran ADA scans; staff said they continue to monitor and improve accessibility but noted that no website is perfectly compliant. On salary-posting rules, the administrator explained the statutory compliance approach: a local government may satisfy the requirement by posting specified salaries on the county website for 90 days as one of several statutorily authorized methods. He said the county has used the 90-day website posting cycle as its routine process and that the public can request specific payroll records through a public-records request to the auditor's office.
No formal action was taken during the update; the administrator said staff would continue to coordinate on construction, legislative outreach and website improvements.
