Clay County Commission
Dan Haglund
The Clay County Sheriff’s Department is anticipating a 3.7 percent budget increase for 2024, based on its numbers presented to the Clay County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday in Moorhead.
The main increases come in the areas of contracted building rental, the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force agreement and Police Relief Aid.
The Sheriff’s Department building rent, as agreed upon under contract with the city, is set to go up from its current $400,000 to $425,000 next year.
The U.S. Marshal’s Task Force dollars will increase $15,202.
The Police Relief Aid budget is projected to rise from $300,000 to $315,000, but the department anticipates a state funding increase.
Expected budget decreases come in the areas of pistol permits (down $20,000 from about $80,000 this year) and impound fees (down $3,000 from this year), based on recent historical trends.
For salaries and benefits, the department shows a 5.69 percent increase for next year, mainly due to cost of living adjustments and Steps advancements. The overall salaries will be $3,613,948, a $194,554 increase from this year.
The overall budget proposal would bump the department’s expenses from $1,040,700 in 2023 to $1,079,402 next year, a total of $38,702.
Employee health insurance premiums are anticipated to go up 1.8 percent in 2024, to $699,372.
The Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) budget is set to go up 4.5 percent, to $591,091.
Medicare expenses are budgeted for a 3.5 percent increase, to $52,387, and the Social Security budget is expected to remain nearly static at $24,026 (down from $24,631 this year).
Other budget increases include: gas from Xcel Energy/Moorhead Public Service (up $15,000), telephone (up $5,000), due/memberships (up $1,500 due to SWAT needs), and building maintenance (up $1,000).
Additional budget decreases include: Professional services (down $15,000 for Sexual Assault Nurse Exams, K-9s and background checks), equipment maintenance (down $2,500) and F-M Animal Hospital (down $1,500 due to a decrease in need). The SANE bills will be covered by the State of Minnesota Public Health, so those department costs are removed next year.
Commissioner Jenny Mongeau, Dist. 3, inquired if the department may elsewhere use the monies no longer needed for the SANE piece.
“As you look at the health of your department, without cutting that $15,000 out, is there something that you could utilize those funds to address additional health needs within the department?” Mongeau asked.
Clay Co. Lt. Gabe Tweten said aside from the regular department mental check-ins after critical incidents, that there are some electronic applications some larger cities are looking at. Those apps include direct-dial to an Employee Assistance Program for mental health.
“We really are very family-like and have a good understanding of everyone,” Tweten said. “We just keep in close contact with everyone. They didn’t feel at this point that that (app) was something that would be utilized within the department.”
Other expenses of note for next year include Taser/cloud storage, which will add $29,500 for new in-car and body cameras; an increase of $10,000 for each gas/oil and auto maintenance, $5,000 more for uniforms, and $2,000 more for travel and expenses.
With the legalization of recreational marijuana on Tuesday in the state, Commissioner David Ebinger, Dist. 5, remarked that the Sheriff’s budget remained level in the way of Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) training. The former Moorhead police chief said such specialized training is quite expensive.
“Do we have DREs on staff now, and do we plan to increase that to address the driving under the influence and other issues that are going to come with marijuana?” asked Ebinger.
“Currently, we do not have any DREs on staff,” said Clay Co. Sheriff Mark Empting. “It is a long, extensive training. I was a DRE for five years. The state of Minnesota does have funds available if we do have staff that are interested to attend that DRE training.”
Empting added that the state has set aside $10 million for DRE officer training.