Davison Co. treasurer has cancer; extra help approved

• Brenda Veldheer

Brenda Veldheer, previously Brenda Sanders

Talk about it

Davison County Treasurer Brenda Sanders repeated her pleas for more office help during Tuesday’s county commission meeting at the courthouse in Mitchell and added a personal note to underscore the urgency.

“I have breast cancer,” Sanders said after getting no positive response for additional assistance. She will receive treatment for several weeks and wants to be certain the office is adequately staffed in her absence.

“It’s been a struggle. It’s very difficult to do the job. I’ve never had this few people,” she said.

After an emergency executive session, the commissioners unanimously gave Sanders permission to hire a full-time deputy at $10 an hour.

They also voted — with Commissioner Jerry Fischer dissenting — to increase an existing part-time employee’s hours to a maximum of 30 hours a week though Dec. 31. The hours will be re-evaluated after that time.

Sanders said Clay County, with 13,864 residents compared to Davison County’s 19,504, has one part-time and three full-time employees in the Treasurer’s Office. Davison County has one part-timer and two full-timers. Sanders said she has put in numerous extra hours.

Sanders and the commissioners have been at loggerheads since the commissioners refused, for budgetary reasons, to replace a full-time deputy she fired.

The commissioners were miffed that Sanders on two occasions allowed a part-time employee to exceed the 20 hours per week maximum previously set by the board.

Sanders said the hours were needed for a busy October tax month and for coverage while she tended to personal medical issues. The commissioners were concerned that further violations will result in the county being forced to pay out additional unbudgeted money for benefits.

4-H adviser

In other business, Alice Nickelson, the new 4-H adviser for Davison and Hanson counties, introduced herself to the commissioners. Nickelson recommended the creation of a board from both counties to offer recommendations on how her services might best be used in each county. She will spend two days a week at each county. Nickelson also asked for temporary office help since the current secretary at the fairgrounds will be out eight weeks for surgery and post-op recuperation. No action was taken on either request.

The commissioners also learned through a discussion with Maintenance Supervisor Mark Ruml that former Extension Educator Ellyn Eddy has not yet fully vacated her offices at the fairgrounds. Nickelson declined comment, except to say that it’s being handled. The commissioners did not press the matter.

Other business

The commissioners also:

• Confirmed a $100 per practice fee for Mitchell Softball Association girls’ fast pitch softball to use the exhibit hall at the county fairgrounds. The rate is the half-day fee quoted on the county’s website. The commissioners said the fee is reasonable considering the costs to light and heat the space.

• Approved a budget supplement of $30,565. The money was approved for a new telephone system but was never moved from the county’s capital accumulation fund to the correct budget line, Auditor Susan Kiepke said.

• Gave Ruml authority to hire a replacement part-time maintenance employee at $8.50 an hour.

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