The Todd County Board of Commissioners considered 2010 budget proposals from four different agencies that have received Todd County funding in the past.

Budget proposals for 2010 were received from the Todd County Soil and Water District, Todd-Wadena Community Corrections, Great River Regional Library, and Rainbow Rider at the Sept. 1 meeting.

Harold Jennissen, of Rainbow Rider, said that his bus company is providing 500 - 600 rides per month to Todd County residents in Long Prairie, Browerville, Clarissa and Grey Eagle. Jennissen said that his buses are taking some riders to the Lakewood Health System hospital in Staples..

Rainbow Rider has two buses operating in Todd County, Jennissen said. He said it costs $32 per hour to ,operate a bus. Operational costs are covered by fares, subsidy from the county and subsidy from the state. Jennissen's request for $48,000 was the same as the 2009 amount.

Great River Regional Library

Kirsty Smith, director of the Great River Regional Library, told the commissioners that the library's budget would not increase in 2010 and, in fact, Todd County's share of the six county library system's budget will actually decrease by 2.5 percent or $8,111.

Smith told the commissioners that the library's board of directors had asked her and her staff to develop a budget with a zero percent increase over 2009. Although costs have gone up, she was able to keep her budget at 2009 levels by cutting headquarters staff, reducing the amount of books and materials that the library purchases, and by slightly reducing the hours of four libraries, including the Eagle Bend branch.

Smith also told the commissioners that Great River Regional Library will receive $398,000 in 2010 from the recent increase in the Minnesota sales tax. That money must be used for cultural programs in the towns where there are GRRL libraries, Smith said. They cannot be used to purchase materials or to operate the library.

Todd County will contribute $323,000 to the $6.8 million Great River Region Library budget for 2010. GRRL has four of its 30 libraries in Todd County, including Long Prairie, Grey Eagle, Eagle Bend and Staples.

Community Corrections

Kathrine Langer, director of Todd- Wadena Community Corrections, told the commissioners that her agency would not be asking for any increase from 2009 for her 2010 budget either. Langer's budget request from Todd County for 2010 is $286,000. Langer said that part of her effort to hold her budget in line will be to freeze salaries for the agencies 21 employees in 2010. She said she would also hold off replacing an agent for at least four months. Langer said that another way she is working to reduce costs is by working with Chris Pelzer, the Todd County MIS Director, to increase the use of computer technology in her department.

In addition to receiving funding from Todd County, Todd-Wadena Community Corrections also receives funding from Wadena County, the state, various school districts and criminal offenders referred by the courts. The total proposed 2010 Todd-Wadena Community Corrections budget is $1,604,111. Langer emphasized that the budget will be only a proposed budget until her agency learns whether or not it will receive money from the state for the Community Concerned for Youth program. That will likely happen late this fall.

Soil and Water Conservation

District

Todd County Soil and Water Conservation District Administrator Sandy Rohr told the commissioners her agency had provided county landowners with over $1 million in cost share payments in 2008 and helped farmers obtain tens of thousands of dollars in low interest loans.

The loans are for agricultural waste systems, sewage treatment systems and conservation projects. The SWCD employs four people and works closely with the three employees in the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service that it shares offices with.

"Todd County couldn't get federal cost sharing funds if we didn't have our own Soil and Water Conservation District," Rohr said.

The Todd County SWCD was founded in 1965, she said. The SWCD is requesting a 2010 allocation of $149,000. That is $8,000 less than last year. Part of those funds are grant funds. The Todd County contribution to the proposed 2010 allocation of $149,000 is approximately $89,000.