Despite proposed 5% levy increase, county tax hearing pretty quiet

McLeod County’s truth-in-taxation hearing Thursday night was a relatively quiet event, despite a proposed 5 percent levy increase.
The county is proposing a $19.73 million levy for 2017, as compared to $18.79 million for 2016. Most of that increase will be dedicated toward implementation of changes suggested by a recent wage market study and a job classification study.
Mary Jo Wieseler, the county’s human resources director, noted that the county employs 264 full-time people, 16 part-timers and 66 seasonal employees, such as the sheriff’s posse and summer helpers. The county also deals with seven unions representing its employees.
Wieseler said the compensation and market studies were driven by a high turnover rate, which is currently at 9 percent, or about 30 employees each year. That, in turn, drives up hiring costs, such as advertising and training.

Read the full story in the Dec. 7 edition of The McLeod County Chronicle.