Valley County Commissioners Allocate Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Funds

The Valley County Commissioners have been holding public meetings on a weekly basis for their regular Discussion and Decision meetings, which are held inside of the Board of County Commissioners in the Valley County Courthouse. In addition to regular business, such as approving employment and termination notices, as well as passing resolutions for 2023, the main topic of discussion recently has been how to best spend the Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund the county received as a result of the American Rescue Plan. The County received 1.8 million in 2022 and is expecting to receive another $1.8 million in 2023, for a total of $3.6 million.

In order to best utilize these unexpected funds, the commissioners have been focusing on priorities outlined in the Capital Improvement Plan. As of press time, the first round of funds have been allocated as follows: Gravel $1,000,000; Long Run tanker $135,000; Airport Fuel truck $95,045; Swimming Pool $100,000; Courthouse heating and air conditioning $62,350; Weed shop and chemical $23,000; tractor for maintenance, as the current one is over 20 years old $48,300; soffits and gutters at the Senior Center $17,250; and a fire alarm system for the Courthouse $5,175. So far, the total allocated is $1,486,120. Up for approval during the Dec. 21 meeting is a $7,500 match for grant application for Fair Grandstand/Arena speaker system.

“When we first had the opportunity to discuss the Capital Improvement Plan and look at what other counties have done. Then you look at all the facilities you have, thinking about what it would take, to do the maintenance, keep every building up, replace all of the machinery, as it needs to be replaced, and so on. It almost looks like kind of a dream when you look at the numbers....is there any practicality of us expecting to have the kind of money to do that? So to have this opportunity is really a big deal. At least [we] can look at pretty critical things that we know we need to replace....Some of our dreams are coming true,” stated Commissioner John Fahlgren during the Dec. 14 meeting.

Other business the Valley County Commissioners have completed during these weekly meetings is passing Resolutions that will go into effect starting in 2023. Resolution No. 1-2023, sets the meeting dates and establishing office hours for the Commissioners. The Board of County Commissioners will establish office hours to begin at 9 a.m., and conclude at 3 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, in Room 110 of the Valley County Courthouse, unless otherwise posted. Resolution No. 2-2023 established daily rate for incarceration for 2023; Resolution No. 3-2023 established fees for services provided by the Valley County Sheriff for 2023; Resolution 4-2023 established a fire season, which will begin Jan. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2023, during which time no person shall set any forest fire, slash-burning fire, debris-burning fire, or open fire within the County protection area without having obtained an official permit to ignite or set fire from the Valley County Sheriff or Dispatch Office, 228-4333, option 2. Resolution No. 5-2023 establishing a location for posting public notices which will include the bulletin board near the Northwest entrance on the first floor of the Valley County Courthouse, the bulletin board located by the door of the Valley County Commissioners office and at the office of the Valley County Clerk and Recorder. These resolutions were passed during the Dec. 7 meeting.

The Dec. 14 meeting saw the passage of Resolution 6-2023, to approve an updated map of the Valley County Commissioners District Boundaries. Maps of all voting district boundaries in the County have recently been reviewed in order to provide a correct copy to the Montana State Library to support voting. During the review, a historical legal description could not be found for the Commissioner District boundaries. Existing wall maps of the Commissioner District boundaries did not provide sufficient detail to ascertain the specific district boundary lines. As a result, the Commissioner District boundaries were recreated using what documents could be found and referenced, as well as current voter registration coding. The updated map does not change the boundaries as far as can be determined.

The Commissioners meet every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m., instead of the Board of County Commissioners inside of the Valley County Courthouse. Agendas are posted on the Glasgow Courier’s Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/glasgowcourier, as they are made available.