Officials hope to get more area youth involved in county government

Commissioners endorsed a plan by Lisa Johnson, interim county administrator, to stage a series of activities during County Government Week, which will be April 6-12.

Activities could include an open house, guided tours of the historic Franklin County courthouse and other county facilities, and displays, Johnson said.

Johnson said she’s also working on presentations to various high school civics classes.

She also said she’ll make contacts with the city of Ottawa’s Youth in Government program.

The city’s youth program has been a state and national model for getting students involved in city government. Sara Humm, who went through Youth in Government as an Ottawa High School student, successfully ran for the Ottawa City Commission.

County Government Week is an annual event by the National Association of Counties to raise public awareness about counties and the services they provide.

As plans are firmed up, activities will be announced.

In other matters Monday, the commissioners:

• Scheduled a vote on a plan to raise rates in the Centropolis Sewer District at a later meeting.

The fees, which are $4,000 for initial hookups and $41 per month, aren’t raising enough money to cover the district’s expenses, Larry Walrod, county planning director, said. Because Centropolis isn’t incorporated, Walrod is the county official in charge of the district.

The district had hoped to raise more money to establish an equipment replacement fund as more people hooked up to the district. However, because Rural Water District 5 doesn’t have any water meters available, only four households have joined the district in the seven years of its existence, which hasn’t raised enough money, Johnson said.

If the district raised its fees by $5 a month and the hookup fee to $5,000, the district would have enough money to meet its expenses and to set aside money for repairing or replacing equipment, Walrod said.

In response to a question about raising the hookup fees, Walrod said that someone building a new house in the county could spend $7,000 to $12,000 building a new septic system.

Commissioners agreed to put the rate increases on the agenda.

The hookup fees would take effect immediately after the commission approves them. If the increases are approved, the monthly rates won’t change until next Jan. 1, Walrod said.

• Approved changes to the county’s personnel rules.

Most of the changes are relatively minor, Johnson said.

However, Gene Hirt, Williamsburg, pointed out one section that would make funeral leave non-paid for new county employees still in their first six months of probationary employment.

Although new employees accumulate paid leave and vacation, they can’t get it  until they clear their probationary period, and the change would have made funeral leave unpaid.

That was unfair and would hit new employees at a time when they’re unusually vulnerable, Hirt said.

Commissioners agreed with Hirt and new employees will continue to get up to three days of paid leave for the death of an immediate family members.