Technology Upgrades Needed As County Navigates Federal Crisis

The Federal Government shutdown is not only impacting Federal employees but also impacts are being felt at the county level.  Stearns County Commissioner Tarryl Clark joined me on WJON.  She says the lack or reduced amount of SNAP benefits distributed in November is a well known impact but Clark identifies a few other concerns.  Clark says there is a lot of nervousness among seniors and parents with young children that depend on food assistance.  Clark serves on the Central Minnesota Council of Aging board as the current Vice Chair.

What if the Shutdown Lingers

Clark is concerned that if the Federal Government shutdown lingers into December or January the heating assistance that some people depend on, may not be there.  She says the cold weather rule in Minnesota doesn't apply to those who heat their homes using propane and oil.

New Commissioner

Bob Johnson was elected this week to fill out the remainder of the term of Leigh Lenzmeier serving as Stearns County Commissioner in Ward 4.  Clark says Johnson has been attending their recent meetings and she's confident he'll be able to get up to speed on the expectations of a county commissioner very soon.  She says it will be nice to have their full compliment of 5 commissioners.

New Technology

Clark says Stearns County is in search of technology upgrades to help with efficiencies.  She indicates the county is using early 1990s technology that makes many county employee's jobs more difficult than they need to be.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Tarryl Clark, click below.