Kathy Lientz is the Mower County Employee of the Month award winner.

Monday, June 11, 2001

Kathy Lientz is the Mower County Employee of the Month award winner.

David Hillier, Third District Mower County commissioner, presented the award to Lientz at last week’s regular county board meeting.

Hillier, who is county board chairman, said Lientz’s communications skills, organizational strategies and ability to train new employees were outstanding.

Lientz, an office system specialist for the Mower County Correctional Services department, was praised by Gary Nyquist as a "day-brightener," who makes co-workers feel good about themselves and their work.

Nyquist also said Lientz earned the "trust and loyalty" of the Correctional Services office staff and was a "very hard worker."

In other action Tuesday, the county commissioners approved a personnel policy change recommended by the county board’s personnel committee.

Ray Tucker, Second District county commissioner, described the changes as "housekeeping" duties. The personnel committee chairman said provisions for overtime compensation and flexible benefits for non-union salaried employees were being deleted, while work schedule pay, on-call pay and term life insurance benefits were being added.

County Coordinator Craig Oscarson described one of the changes as clarifying overtime pay. Some people, now receiving overtime compensation, will longer no receive that compensation.

The county department heads will have until July 1 to implement the changes and Oscarson admitted some of them may return to the county board to have some non-union salaried positions changed to hourly positions.

Also Tuesday, the county board acknowledged receipt of a letter from Dick Chaffee, Austin City Council member at-large, announcing the City Council’s finance committee has denied a request from the county to share the funding of additional prosecution help in the Mower County attorney’s office.

Hillier said the matter will be referred to the county board’s personnel committee, for further review. "The personnel committee will be asked to work on this issue," Hillier said. "It hasn’t been resolved yet."

The increase in the county attorney’s office caseload, which includes prosecuting cases for the city of Austin, caused the request for additional attorneys in the office.

Just last week, Mower County Attorney Patrick A. Oman concluded prosecution of three murder suspects in Dakota County District Court at Hastings on a change-of-venue request.

When he returns to his duties in Mower County, his office also faces two other high-profile murder trials: one involving a son accused of killing his adopted father and his father’s female companion and the other a defendant in the death of a man, during the operation of a methamphetamine lab.

In addition, the county attorney’s office now routinely assigns chief deputy prosecutor Glenn Jacobsen to serve as legal counsel to the county board and other county commissions and boards, which reduces Jacobsen’s time to prosecute other criminal cases that come before the county attorney.

In other action last Tuesday, the county board:

n Approved a coordinated enforcement plan for reducing juvenile crime that earmarks $14,384 for another truancy officer position, serving all schools in the county, plus another $2,000 to provide drug testing available to all parents, as well as school districts as well as probationers.

n Denied a $10.56 refund of interest request to Kim Ibach, citing the recommendation of the county treasurer.

n Approved a Health Alert Network agreement between the Minnesota Department of Health and Mower County Community Health Services, that Len Miller, Fourth District county commissioner, said was an enhancement of an e-mail communications system linking local governments with state and federal agencies. Also Tuesday, the commissioners agreed to meet with Margene Gunderson, community health services director, to discuss remodeling of her office space.

n Set meetings with the Mower County Fair Board building committee to discuss the proposed renovation of Crane Pavilion at the Mower County Fairgrounds and immediate improvements to a sheep barn.

n Approved the county’s agreement with the state for the contract venture purchasing program used, in part, to replace county vehicles.

n Delayed final payment to Paul R. Johnson Architects Inc. pending completion of a final inspection’s "punch list" of improvements made to the Mower County Health, Human Services and Veterans Services building.

Call Lee Bonorden at 434-2232 or e-mail him at lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com.