District court may take over municipal judge duties

The City of Carrington may not continue to pay a Municipal Judge if research on transferring the duties to the District Court pays off.

During the Carrington City Council meeting held on Monday, November 13, the board discussed transferring the duties of the Municipal Judge to the District Court.

Under that scenario, the city and county would each receive 20 percent of the revenue from fines, and the state would collect the remaining 60 percent.

Carrington Police Chief Chris Bittmann said state law allows cities to double traffic fines for violations in their jurisdiction and he is looking into the details.

Mayor Tom Erdmann said he would also do more research on the matter.

In other business:

• A bid from Roughrider Industries for new office furniture for City Hall has come in at $26,418. A motion was passed to accept the bid.

• Erdmann reported that three people have said they are interested in cleaning City Hall. A motion was passed to allow City Auditor Jennifer Gast to negotiate for the cost.

• Erdmann reported that Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance for city employees will increase 13.7 percent for next year and dental insurance will increase 5.3 percent.

Committee Reports

FIRE:

• Fireman Jason Wolsky reported that the fire department received four fire calls on the “city side” and one call for service on the “rural side” including a cooking fire at Golden Acres Manor; gas leak at Carrington Inn & Suites; semi truck roll over and combine fire.

ORGANIZATIONAL REVIEW:

• The board passed a motion to approve the language of ordinance #279 relating to dilapidated buildings within the city and ordinance #280 dealing with junk.

FINANCE & LEGAL:

• A motion was passed to give Waste Management’s annual donation of $1,500 to Carrington Community Endowment Fund.

• Erdmann reported that the one-percent city sales tax will probably hit $500,000 by the end of this year.

• Erdmann reported that Gast was asked by the North Dakota League of Cities to sit on a review board for new city auditors.

CCEDC:

• An application for a grant from the Federal Parks & Recreation agency for Rainbow Gardens was submitted, but the city was not chosen for any grants from ND Tourism.

• The board learned that grants from the North Dakota Department of Commerce will be open in the near future relating to workforce shortages.

• The board received a scholarship incentive application from Hayden House and Leading Edge Equipment for tuition assistance.

• In a special meeting of the Carrington Community Economic Development Corporation the board recommend setting the sale price of unsold lots in the fourth industrial park subdivision at $5,000 per acre to be reviewed bianually.

CVB:

• The board is looking for ways to promote more downloads of the city’s community app.

• The CVB will advertise in the ND Travel Guide and the hunting & fishing guide.

LIBRARY:

• The City Library has received a new collection of Wonderbooks for older kids and preloaded tablets for the younger kids which have games to enhance literacy for them.

• The new tables and chairs along with the 3D printer have arrived.

• The reading room has been painted, the carpet cleaned; new chairs and couch installed.

POLICE:

• The Carrington Police Department is down three officers.

Bittmann reported that he has not received any applications.

A motion was passed to increase officer pay by 15 percent and to increase new officer pay from $50,000 to $58,000 in the hopes of getting some applicants and to help retain officers.

PUBLIC WORKS:

• Wolsky reported that the west-side water expansion project has all been tied together and was pressure tested. It is basically done except they still need to send water samples to the state lab.

• A short discussion was held on what to charge SIRN2020 to lease space on the water tower for their antenna.

• Wolsky reported that there were two water breaks since the last council meeting. Both have been repaired.

• Wolsky also reported that there have been boiler issues at the armory dealing with corrosion of the pipes.

BUILDING OFFICIAL:

• Wolsky reported that eight building permits have been purchased since the last meeting.

NO MEETING:

• Airport

• Tree Board