fbusch@nujournal.com
NEW ULM Brown County Commissioners established 2021 salaries for county officials and their own salaries and per diem Tuesday.
Commissioners approved raising their annual salaries 2% to $26,705 in 2021, plus $1,500 additional for the board chair and $500 for the vice chair. Commissioner Tony Berg made the motion, seconded by Commissioner Dave Borchert. Daily per diem remained at $75.
County officials also received raises, all on motions by Berg, seconded by Borchert.
⢠Highway Engineer Wayne Stevens, 3% raise to $125,660.
⢠Human Services Director Barb Dietz, 3%, $115,566.
⢠Probation Director Les Schultz, 3.5%, $119,353. (His 2020 salary was incorrectly listed at $155,317 in Tuesday’s Journal).
⢠Sheriff Jason Seidl, 6%, $111,265. Commissioner Berg said Seidl was $7,000 below the 15-county mean.
fbusch@nujournal.com
BROWN COUNTY Â Brown County Public Health Director Karen Moritz said her department has been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is ready to meet the coming challenges of a mass vaccination in the coming months.
“We’re prepared to take the vaccine as soon as it is shipped. With its ultra-cold storage capacity, New Ulm Medical Center will be a distribution hub. It’s complicated and the process changes daily, but we’re ready to vaccinate,” said Moritz. “I’d be pleased with a 50% (vaccine shot) uptake going into May.”
Moritz said the vaccine is not effective immediately. “People need to remember to follow (COVID) guidelines (for masking and social distancing) for a while after getting shots.”