Traill County votes to transition Clerk of Court to state control, sets $2.1M reserve target

The Traill County Commission on May 19 voted to transition the Clerk of Court position from county control to state control and set a $2.1 million year-end target for the general fund balance as part of preliminary 2027 budget planning.

Commissioner Eblen presented options for balancing next year’s budget, including a 5% reduction request for department budgets and possible cuts to outside-entity contributions. Eblen said rescinding the county decision to keep the Clerk of Court local and having the State assume responsibility would save the county "more than $104,000" and could provide state employee benefits to current staff. A motion to transition the Clerk of Court to the State passed on a roll call vote: Eblen—Yes; Elliott—Yes; Nesvig—Yes; Amb—No; Young—No. The minutes do not specify who formally moved the clerk-transition motion.

The commissioners agreed that maintaining a $2.1 million reserve in the general fund was an appropriate target to increase cash on hand while preparing the 2027 budget. Commissioners discussed the state-mandated 3% cap on budget increases; during the meeting Commissioner Nesvig observed that departments might need to absorb different percentage cuts to meet that constraint. The record notes the 3% cap as a requirement of state law but does not cite a statute number.

Because the transcript-style minutes summarize speakers’ remarks rather than printing verbatim quotes, the report relies on the recorded motion, the recorded roll-call votes and the numeric figures provided in the minutes for factual detail.