During the April 6 SCAT (Sherburne County Association of Townships) meeting, presenters discussed MAT, the Minnesota legislation, election judges, and updates from the county.

MAT

The Minnesota Association of Townships (MAT) is an organization that offers insurance and education for townships and their supervisors across Minnesota. District representative Mike Miller, who represents Sherburne County on the MAT board of directors, approached SCAT to share updates on the board, as well as some concerns. 

The first concern Miller addressed concerned insurance. Many member townships, including those in Sherburne County, are insured through MAT. Miller was concerned, however, that the same members serving as directors comprised the insurance board as well. He urged the member townships to voice their desire to see this changed, and to create the ability to elect a board of trustees to manage the insurance. 

The next issue was in regards to transparency. A town supervisor from Cokato Township (Wright County) wished to make a complaint to the board, as a certain training program was not handled well. Too short of notice was given for some town boards to make an official approval of attendance, and so many township representatives were not able to attend. However, when he approached the board he was told he could not speak as they were in a closed meeting. The man was told to wait in the hallway, whereupon a white noise machine was turned on so he could not overhear the board’s discussion. Miller had an issue with this. He urged the member townships to push for three resolutions. First: That meetings be open to members. Second: That there be term limits for board members. Third: That positions, such as treasurer, etc., held by board members be rotated.

“This is the least transparent piece of government we have in Minnesota right now,” Miller stated. 

Legislative Update

Kurt Daudt was on hand to update the association on state legislative news. Republican representatives are pushing to lower taxes as a response to the budget surplus, whereas Democrat representatives are looking to send out checks instead. Daudt, speaking as a Republican, suggested that it might be best if no solution was reached this year, as the fall election could shift control over to the Republican party, giving them the ability to make larger tax cuts. 

“If we’re collecting too much money, we’re not doing our job,” Daudt stated. 

Election Judges

Diane Arnold, Sherburne County Auditor, was on hand to discuss the recruitment and training of election judges as well as explain the election process. Arnold teared up as she spoke on the hard work that she and the election judges do in order to make sure that all votes are correctly counted and sent on to the state election night. She said the county as a whole needs 478 election judges to make election day a success, and encouraged the gathered supervisors to recruit early. 

Updates from the County

Residents who are interested in the household hazardous waste collection events hosted by the county should download the Sherburne County app, as they are listed there. 

Bruce Messelt, county administrator, noted that property values are up across the county.

The county board will soon make a decision about redistricting, and that process will be finalized. 

Commissioner Felix Schmiesing announced to the association that he would be retiring. He stated the reason was he didn’t want to stay in office too long, as he had already served with the county board for 20 years.