Rummel, Brooker, Dryden, Scribner take oath of office
Sanders County Commissioner Carol Brooker, who was re-elected in the November 2018 General Election, signs the official form after taking her oath during the Dec. 27 ceremony at the Sanders County Courthouse.
Pictured after taking their oath of office during the Dec. 27 ceremony at the Sanders County Courthouse are, from left, Nichol Scribner, Clerk and Recorder/Treasurer/Superintendent of Schools; Douglas Dryden, Justice of the Peace; Carol Brooker, Commissioner; and Tom Rummel, Sheriff. County Attorney/Public Administrator Naomi Leisz was unable to attend the oath of office ceremony. Commissioner Tony Cox was the county official administering the oath of office to Scribner, Dryden, Brooker and Rummel. (Joe Sova photos/Clark Fork Valley Press)
Four Sanders County officials were sworn in during an oath of office ceremony last Thursday, Dec. 27 in the justice courtroom at the Sanders County Courthouse.
Current commissioner Tony Cox (District 3) administered the oath to Carol Brooker, County Commissioner (District 1); Douglas Dryden, Justice of the Peace; Tom Rummel, Sheriff; and Nicol Scribner, Clerk and Recorder-Treasurer-Superintendent of Schools (combined offices).
Naomi Leisz was due to be sworn in as the new County Attorney-Public Administrator, but she was unable to attend the ceremony and was to be sworn in at a later date.
This is Brooker’s fifth term as commissioner while Rummel enters his third term as sheriff. Brooker’s term is for six years and it is four years for Rummel.
Glen Magera is the third Sanders County commissioner, representing District 2. He was elected in November 2010, and assumed his post Jan 1, 2011.
Dryden has just completed the term of former Justice of the Peace Don Strine. Dryden was elected to a four-year term in the November election. Leisz also enters a four-year term.
BROOKER LOOKED back upon the year of 2018 in Sanders County.
“Two-thousand-18 was a great year,” Brooker said after taking her oath of office for the fifth time. “The highlight was that we got funding for our solid waste transfer station. We’re in the middle of building that right now.”
Brooker looked ahead to another busy year in 2019.
“I’d like to finish the transfer station, and I think we just need to keep moving forward providing good services to the community,” she said.
She addressed what can be expected in funding available to the county.
“The tax dollars should stay about the same. We’re not asking for any more tax dollars,” Brooker said. “We’re probably going to have to spend some time in Washington, D.C., campaigning to get the rural school money for roads reauthorized because it expires this year. And that’s going to be a big-time consuming proposition because that’s $1.2 million that we’re fighting for.”
Brooker agreed that Sanders County is an expansive area for the county to cover in terms of roadwork and other projects.
“In the road district I think it’s going to be business as usual, trying to get some paving done, some work on a few bridges,” she said. “We’re trying to funnel more money to the sheriff’s office so we can get more coverage for law enforcement, which seems to be a need … You know, kind of moving forward, not backwards.”
COX, WHO is currently serving his second term, reviewed his first six years as commissioner,
“We try to be conservative with the tax dollars and try to spread the money out to where it can be of the most benefit to the public without spending too much,” he said. “Roads are always a big issue. We try to address the needs of the citizens with that. “
Cox spoke about projects of the greatest importance.
“The Heron Bridge was recently completed and we’re working on a new solid waste transfer site that should serve the public for decades to come. It’s an expensive project, but is something that really needs to be done,” he said.
The breadth of Sanders County continues to be a challenge.
“We have three road districts, because it (the county) is 115 miles wide,” Cox said, which include west end, central and eastern road crews, the latter that includes Dixon and Hot Springs.
The county current biennial budget runs through June 30, 2019.
“This spring we’ll start working on the upcoming budget, piecing it together. We don’t actually adopt the budget until about the first of September,” Cox said.
He spoke about county valuation during his six years as commissioner.
“We’ve been fortunate that the valuation has actually gone up so we’ve had a few more dollars to work with,” Cox said. “At the same time, we don’t want people’s property taxes to skyrocket out of sight, but that is the money that we utilize for all these projects and services that we provide.”
Cox spoke about any growth curve in Sanders County.
“Plains has experienced some growth with the new store, new restaurant and new Town Pump,” he said. “Talking with our sanitarian, there are a lot of people getting septic permits. There is quite a bit of new construction going on in the area.
“And, of course, we want to keep the timber industry going as much as possible since we’re (Sanders County) sitting on such a treasure trove of trees here. Someday the potential of the Rock Creek Mine, if it ever gets going, would be a big boom for the west end of the county.”