Wolfe addresses state report critical of post-retirement benefits

WALKER - Cass County Chief Deputy Auditor Larry Wolfe responded Tuesday to a recent report from the Minnesota state auditor's office that cited Cass County as being in the top 20 local governments in the state for failing to adequately fund "other post retirement benefits."

Wolfe told the county board not all local governments chose to report their anticipated retiree benefit obligations and, among those who did, some did not report all benefits they expect to have to pay.

Cass is one of a few counties to have fully funded anticipated severance pay for people expected to retire from county employment in coming years, Wolfe said.

The county has obligations to pay a portion for retirees comparable to working employees for medical insurance for life if they were hired before Jan. 1, 1992, or to age 65 if hired after that date.

The post-1992 employees are the funds for which the state auditor cited the county for under-funding.

That could amount to $31,102,000.

However, Wolfe told the board, these figures do not include actuarial calculations to estimate life spans and other factors for those employees. He expects the county's ultimate obligation to be lower once those factors have been calculated.

Tuesday, the board voted to lease the front unit in the Pine River Community Resource Center to the Pine River Family Center when county offices currently using that space move to a building in Barclay West in January. The lease will run through Aug. 31, 2008.

There will be no charge in the county's lease, but the family center will assume about $8,700 in annual operating costs for the unit, according to Administrator Robert Yochum.

Before the lease expires, the board will consider the family center's request to have the property ownership conveyed to the family center at that time.

County Engineer David Enblom reported Leech Lake Reservation officials have informed him the tribal council opposes removing barricades blocking off a portion of the service road at the Y Junction of Highways 371 and 200.

Business owners in the area sought and obtained county and MnDOT approval to re-open access from the service road through an area where the reservation built a gasoline service station this year.

The access would move traffic farther from a semaphore and, therefore, be safer than where the original service road was located.

Enblom said a portion of the service station paved area actually lies on the county-owned service road, as does part of the landscaping for Northern Lights Casino.

The board asked this issue to be added to the agenda for the next meeting between the tribal council and county board. No date has been set.

Acting as the town board for the unorganized township, the board voted to designate Willow River Drive Northeast and Viola Trail Northeast in Willow River Estates near Remer as township roads when they meet county road specifications.

Dean Engen, who developed the area, told the board he had trucks hauling gravel to the area Tuesday and would provide turnarounds as well as widen the road to meet specifications.

Enblom said a county road grader could spread the gravel once Engen provides it.