Isanti County board elects Alan Duff chair, sets two evening meetings for 2026

Alan Duff was elected chair of the Isanti County Board of Commissioners at the board’s Jan. 6 reorganizational meeting and immediately took the gavel, opening nominations for vice chair.

Commissioner Christiansen nominated Steve Westerberg for vice chair and, after a second, the board elected Westerberg by voice vote. “The meeting is turned over to me,” Duff said after the vote, then moved to other organizational business.

Why it matters: The new leadership will guide the board through 2026’s calendar and budget season. Commissioners spent substantial time debating whether to reduce the number of evening meetings held to accommodate staff and to boost public participation. After discussion, the board settled on two evening meetings — Aug. 18 and Nov. 17 — while keeping regular first- and third-Tuesday meetings at 9:00 a.m., and retaining flexibility to call special evening meetings when high‑interest items arise.

The board also approved a small but notable change to how minutes are summarized: because of repeated budget discussion, commissioners asked staff to add a separate bullet in the public summary minutes capturing the budget actions and levy-percent changes. Staff said the minutes will be published with that additional transparency item if approved today.

Several procedural items were approved as well: the 2026 operating guidelines were amended to include explicit language on the structuring and approval of a consent agenda; Committee of the Whole meeting dates were set for second-Tuesday mornings; and the board approved quarterly Drainage Authority meeting dates (March, June, September and December).

What’s next: Staff will circulate the finalized committee assignments and the amended minutes for commissioner review. The board said it will use special meetings and flexible scheduling when controversial or high‑interest issues require evening attendance by the public.