Primary election costs Carlton County more than $50,000

The unexpected expense of a special primary and general election for the Minnesota Senate District 11 seat was an unpleasant surprise for more than one Carlton County official.

“Why do the costs for a special primary and special election fall solely on the local counties and townships involved?” asked Carlton County Commissioner Gary Peterson at the Adjourned Session of the County Board Monday, Jan. 28. “The state of Minnesota should cover the costs.”

Auditor/Treasurer Paul Gassert explained the makeup of the more than $50,000 in costs, which include overtime pay because of the Martin Luther King holiday (when his office had to be open), along with regular wages, printing costs, and postage.

“Preparation for an election takes months of planning,” Gassert said. “This election cycle will be completed in less than 35 days. And, of course, the special election is just in one week — February 5 — and it will be costly again.”

Peterson noted that the townships and cities are hit hard also.

“They pay if they have mail-in ballots and jurisdictions that have precinct voting have four judges to pay,” he said. “I hope we can lobby the Legislature to cover this expense through our Association of Municipalities and Counties (AMC) this legislative session.”

Although the city of Cloquet did not yet know how much it spent on the primary election Jan. 22, it won’t be cheap.

In an email response to the Pine Knot News, city administrator Aaron Reeves agreed that the state should pay for special elections that are caused by direct actions of the state.

“Local units of government do not budget for these sort of elections, and considering we have no control over if they occur or not it would only seem reasonable that we should be reimbursed by the party causing the special election,” Reeves said. “At the least we should have the ability to combine our polling places to one or two locations to save costs for what is generally a very small turnout.”

Youth vaping problem

Vaping — or “basing” as it is also known — by the youth of Carlton County was brought up again for discussion by Peterson. Use has been increasing dramatically each year in our area. Talks centered on setting a county ordinance to increase the legal age to purchase vaping materials, commonly sold in businesses selling tobacco products, from 18 to 21.

“The age has been raised from 18 to 21 for the purchase of vaping products in five Minnesota counties,” said Commissioner Mark Thell. “Some action has been taken.”

No action was taken at the county board meeting.

After the meeting, Health and Human Services director Dave Lee added to the discussion.

“The problem is exploding,” he said. “Medical people are starting to realize that vaping use in younger children interferes with lung development. Raising the age will not eliminate vaping use, but it will discourage some of the younger children from accessing it.”

Also Monday:

•Economic Development director Connie Christensen is retiring. In the short term the Economic Development department will be overseen by the county auditor, the board decided. The job description and duties of the new economic development director will be discussed before a permanent solution is found.

•The Moose Lake Area Historical Society is seeking funding for a research and educational wing on its current facility. A proposal will be submitted to the Minnesota Legislature to be included in a state bonding bill. The Carlton County board unanimously gave its support for the project. Other funding sources are being considered for computer equipment and a software package to handle archiving and programming. Furniture for workstations and an in-house classroom also need a funding source.

Lakes and Pines gave an overview report on this past year’s impact on Carlton County services. Of interest:

• Energy Assistance

(Oct. 1-present)

• Primary heat for 935 households, $642,012

• Crisis help for 297 households, $128,247

• Emergency repair for 66 households, $138,176

• Head Start services: 62 families

• Weatherization Program weatherized 15 homes, $100,500

• 6 homes weatherized by the Conservation Improvement Program, $40,200

Pine Knot News staff contributed to this story.