Niemann, Campbell Re-Elected to County Board Leadership

When nominations were requested for board chairman, Campbell and Rob Arnold put forth Niemann's name. John Perry also proposed Campbell as chairman, but the motion died for lack of a second. Nominations were then closed and Niemann was elected on a unanimous voice vote.

Lloyd Foster and Jeff Simpson then proposed Campbell for vice-chairman. No other names were suggested and Campbell was elected on a unanimous voice vote.

Niemann, Campbell, Doug McCain and Heather Mumma were sworn in to new terms on the Board. It's the first term for Mumma, who defeated incumbent Karen Luchtefeld for the District C board seat in November. McCain, who represents District G in the south part of the county, is now the only Democrat on the board.

The Board also voted to establish a Capital Improvement Advisory Committee and earmark $250,000 for a Capital Improvement, Repair or Replacement Fund. Committee members will include the board chairman and vice-chairman, legislative committee chairman and tax and finance committee chairman. Niemann said he preferred those officers serve on the committee, rather than certain individuals.

Niemann said as the county fiscal year wound down, the county budget ended almost $600,000 in the black. Niemann saluted office holders and county employees for "not spending down their budgets", but exercising fiscal restraint to keep the budget on the plus side of the ledger.

The Board also voted to allow non-union county employees to have two personal days not out of their sick leave time, as is the case with union employees.