By Dave Baumeister
County Correspondent
SIOUX FALLS – Kudos went to current Minnehaha County Treasurer Kris Swanson at the end of her annual report to the county commission this week.
Swanson outlined changes that have been made in her office resulting in better customer service with shorter window lines and only brief phone wait times.
She explained that the office is now at “full staff” with 12 full-time employees that can all provide window service, and three part-time employees to fill in during lunch breaks.
Commissioners Jean Bender, Gerald Beninga and Jen Bleyenberg, along with one member of the public, all complemented Swanson on improvements to wait times for doing business at the treasurer’s office.
Bender specifically pointed out the improvements in how the office keeps accounts balanced and up to date.
Swanson also spoke about problems with insufficient funds (NSF) checks taken by the treasurer’s office for license plates and other fees. While she did add that very few of the checks go uncollected over what could be a long period of time, she said that collecting those was very time-consuming for the office.
In his complements to Swanson, Beninga said that the work being done by that office has virtually eliminated all calls to commissioners, saving them a “ton of time,” as well.
In other financial related business, deputy auditor Susan Beaman presented figures on American Rescue Plan Act funds from the fourth quarter of 2023.
Overall, she detailed, the county had received $37.5 million in those funds since 2021. According to ARPA rules, to keep that money, it must be allocated by the end of this year, and then used by the end of 2026.
Through the end of last year, the county had allocated $25.3 million, with $5.1 million being allocated in the fourth quarter.
These funds are intended to go toward COVID-related expense, but they have allowed the county to pay for expenses that would have eventually had to come from the regular budget.
The next county commission meeting will be at 9 a.m., Feb. 20, in their third-floor meeting room of in the Minnehaha County Administration Building at 6th and Minnesota in Sioux Falls.
