County Commissioner Doug Huebsch of Perham reported to fellow board members that he testified at the state legislature in support of Senate File 1227, a Solid Waste Management Tax Revenue Allocation Modification.
This proposed legislation is co-authored by State Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen who represents Otter Tail County.
If passed, counties would see their current SCORE grant dollars increased. This would help further local recycling goals.
The county board is in full support of this legislation and keeping these dollars local.
Mental health program changes gain support from county board
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The county board of commissioners expressed support to form a committee to make efforts in finding alternatives to jail for individuals who are suffering from serious mental health conditions.
County departments, including the county administrator, law enforcement, and human services, were directed to identify solutions and develop recommendations for future board consideration.
Tim Barry, former resident of Otter Tail County and father of an adult daughter who has experienced mental illness, spoke to the county board about his mission to speak to elected officials on how to stop criminalizing mental illness.
Barry read from a January 2019 letter he had written and sent to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and members of the state legislature. He said most members of our society recognize that detention or jail is not the appropriate setting to effectively treat individuals with mental illness.
