The Grand Forks County Commission on Tuesday approved staff changes for the sheriff's office and the state's attorney's office.
As part of the staff changes, David Stromberg and Joel Lloyd were promoted to chief deputy and captain, respectively.
Newly elected sheriff Andy Schneider added the chief deputy and captain positions and eliminated two lieutenant positions. Gary Grove and B.J. Maxson were lieutenants under former sheriff Bob Rost, who now sits on the County Commission. Grove retired from the department, and Maxson is still with the department as a corporal, according to the Sheriff's Office. Maxson ran against Schneider in November's election.
Schneider said he was reorganizing the department so that there would be a clear chain of command.
Stromberg will go from being paid a salary of $58,422 to a salary of $80,600 as chief deputy, according to county Director of Human Resources Michele Thiel. As captain, Lloyd will go from making $55,261 to $76,171.
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As a lieutenant, Maxson made $75,230. In his new position he makes $65,985.
Schneider also asked for an amendment to the budget for the Sheriff's Department to purchase a vehicle. The department is one vehicle short after a wreck in 2018. The commissioners approved $17,400 to cover the costs of a car and the insurance.
New State's Attorney Haley Wamstad requested approval to hire a part-time assistant state's attorney.
Wamstad suggested hiring Meredith Larson, who has worked for the state's attorney's office for a number of years as both a part-time and full-time employee. The commissioners approved hiring Larson, who will work 15 hours a week at a rate of $45 per hour.
Other business
Retailer Menards asked the county for an abatement on its property value.
The commissioners denied the request at the recommendation of City Assessor Paul Houdek.
Menards asked for their property value to be decreased from about $14 million to just over $11 million.
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Menards, at 3550 32nd Ave. S., gave no appraisal to back up its proposal, but listed selling prices on similar buildings. The buildings listed by Menards were vacant and not a fair comparison to Menards, Houdek said.
"I am closely watching, assessing and adjusting the property value," Houdek said.
