Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Good morning.

Welcome to the county board meeting for Dakota County on September 1st, 2026. I'm going to call us to order and your microphone.

He has it on. It's on.

Can't hear you.

You can't hear me? They need to turn it up. Well, it's on. I can hear.

I'm calling us to order. We will note that a quorum is present and the clerk will note who on the board is present. With that, I invite you to rise as your AML and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Next on our agenda is audience participation. If you are here to address the board, we have asked folks to sign up. And so I will... take speakers in the order that they have been signed up. And we have basic guidelines. You may address the board on any item that's not on the agenda or that is on the consent agenda. And comments, we did get some written comments as well that were passed out to the board. And your verbal comments will be limited to five minutes. I'll keep time. And with that, we can go to the audience. The first person on the list is Karen Miller. Um, one thing I will ask is that, uh, if you can keep your comments, uh, uh, original. Um, so if, if other people are addressing what you're addressing, um, you know, whatever new information you can bring the better, um, because we have quite a long list of folks. So, um, So Karen Miller, where are you?

There she is right in the front. Welcome to the board. Thank you so much. Good morning, Dakota County Commissioners. My name is Karen Miller. Thank you so much for this opportunity to speak to you today about our election processes. Let me start by saying that there's nothing more beautiful as a well-harmonized precinct election judge team of regular Americans working side by side to verify that every citizen's voice is heard and every citizen's vote is counted. This is America at its finest, and it should give us all hope. However, what happens when the ballot leaves the voters hands and is inserted into the black box of the tabulator, which has been programmed with inherent complexity to read and tally ballots and even to transmit results, which are opaque technological processes, which go far beyond any citizen's ability to see, to audit or to verify. This was never the intent of our founding fathers, and it's an intolerable situation for a free and sovereign people. Transparency, verifiability, and accountability are the public's main concern. In a recent Alpha News article interview, Anoka County Commissioner Jeff Reinert expressed concern over his discovery that their election system has not been federally tested and certified as configured. This is because the modems do not conform with the minimum federal standards for voting systems established by the US Election Assistance Commission or EAC. They also are not state certified by the Secretary of State. Just two years ago, I raised these very same concerns about the modem as a head election judge in Dakota County. Instead of being listened to, I was fired. Now, the concerns that I brought forward in 2024 are just as valid and relevant now in 2026. Not only are modems not certified by the Secretary of State nor by the federal EAC, but Minnesota Statute 206.845 explicitly bans the use of modems in connection to the tabulator. Subdivision 1 reads, and I quote, prohibited connections. Ballot recording and tabulating systems must not be connected to or operated on directly or indirectly any electronic network, including a local area network, a wide area network, the Internet, or the World Wide Web. Wireless communications may not be used in any way. in a vote recording or vote tabulating system. Wireless device to device capability is not permitted. No connection by modem is permitted. Yet in Dakota County, we are using tabulators that have modems actually embedded within them. This contradiction between what state statute prohibits and what Dakota County practices is profoundly concerning. Because of this clear conflict, plus the clear vulnerabilities that modems introduce in our election systems. I urge Dakota County to review and modify our election equipment and processes to fully comply with all state statute regarding the use of modems. I also encourage you to publish a detailed modem usage report for the citizens of Dakota County Public confidence is strengthened when election procedures and equipment can be examined through accurate, verifiable public records. This request is intended to determine what equipment was used, whether modem capabilities were present or activated, and what the available logs show. It is a fact finding effort. not a conclusion that improper activity occurred. If we do not take these steps to verify and secure our elections, not only may we lose the sovereignty of our nation, but also the voice of our people. So thank you very much for listening to my concerns and considering my quest. Thank you.

Next up, we will invite Tom Lopak.

and introduce yourself and proceed.

Good morning. The question I have that I'm presenting to the board is, was our voting equipment properly tested? And I've been doing some research, and I sent you an email probably a couple weeks ago regarding that, and I haven't really found much information from the Secretary of State. But what I have found, I'm presenting here, And I'm concerned because the fact that I am running for Minnesota House of Representatives for 52B, I want to make sure that the equipment has been tested properly and certified. But I point out that the Dakota County newsletter dated 7-10-2026 indicated that Dakota County's electronic voting system is certified at the federal and state level And well as the Minnesota Secretary of State's office identifies that the equipment is certified, being certified in use for Minnesota and because it was associated and certified by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the EAC. But yet, in fact, it wasn't. You start looking closely at the certification that has been released by the Secretary of State, and they're not identifying our present system, the ES&S EVS 6.5.1.1. They're actually talking about the previous generation 6.5.0.0, which was certified, but In order to bring it up to the standard that we are presently have, what we actually bought for Dakota County, the ES 6.5.1.1, it has to have some engineering changes add to it. In research, I found that there's approximately 16 different engineering changes, ECOs, that have been incorporated, but not all in our equipment. Each state has the ability to pick and choose whatever ECO they want of these 16. That could be one, could be two, could be all of them. But yet, it has to be documented in the certification. Now, you look at our certification from the Secretary of State, and there is no identification of what ECO numbers have been incorporated. Looking at a couple of the ECOs, there are major changes. The Secretary of State with the help of ProVNV, identified all these ECOs to be minor changes, but in my mind, they're not. One of which is a change in the site of the manufacturing of the equipment. I, at one time, worked for UNIVAC. I was in charge of the receiving inspection. I was the quality manager and test manager of all microcircuits, all electronics, all microprocessors. And any time a supplier made a change in their source, we had to recertify the product. Any time they moved their assembly, we had to recertify the product as well as recertifying the product it went into. That has not been done here in this case. So we don't know what has transpired. We don't know what's in our actual equipment. Along with that, the modem was not in the original EVS 6.5.0.0. That has been added since. So, in fact, the certification that the Secretary of State is relying on has been nullified because of that modem that was installed. And I just put a little block diagram in there to identify the architecture of a simple computer. If you start adding items to the unit, it starts loading down the bus lines. You have a bus line for data, addressing, and control. Now, once you start getting too many devices on those buses, you start loading it down and you can compromise the functionality of the other units that are on that bus as well. So that has not been performed, that certification. So in conclusion, I'd like to mention that we're not real sure what is in our DS 300s. The purchasing agreement did not identify What it did identify was the functionality. And that functionality should have been all along. But any change to that hardware or software should be investigated.

Thank you, Mr. Lopak. Your time has expired. And it sounded like you were wrapping up.

But we also bought in our DS-300s the ability to have an audit.

Your time has expired. So thank you.

And that has not been validated or verified.

And we will allow the other speakers to speak. Thank you very much.

All right. Thank you.

Next up is Carol Mulvihill from Mendota Heights.

Good morning, council members. My name is Carol Mulvihill and I'm a resident of Dakota County. I'm here as a concerned citizens about the vulnerabilities of our modems that were built into our newly purchased election machines. I want to share a little background so that you know where I'm coming from. I recently retired from public service. I used to work at a community center as a manager, and our concern was the community and serving our community. Before that, I worked at a bank and also a brokerage firm. Our focus was serving our customers and also making sure that we complied with local and national laws. With that in my background, I continued to want to serve my community, so I got involved in the election process. Since 2022, I served as an election judge, I worked on the absentee ballot board, I've attended public accuracy tests, post-election reviews, and the canvassing board meetings. When I have a question about the process, I would ask my city clerk, election manager, or even the Secretary of State to get answers. I appreciate the article in the Dakota County Newsletter highlighting the measures that have been taken so that we have safe and secure elections. The concerns over the modem have been in the media recently and recent hacks on our water treatment facilities in our state. So I asked the council, as you can see, it's a very detailed and complex situation with modems, And our ask is that we could come back at a later time to give a detailed presentation. So with that being said, I will leave my contact information and I look forward to hearing back from the commissioners. Thank you. Thank you.

Next up. Sorry.

Technology is getting to me. Tracy Killian.

Hello commissioners. Thank you for your time. My name is Drace Killian and I'm a resident of Dakota County. I'm here to request your attention to the new ES&S voting machines the county has purchased and to ask the commissioners obtain and review two audit reports our group has requested through a data request. All new voting systems warrant public notice and careful review. In recent cybersecurity concerns involving water treatment facilities, and reports about foreign manufactured components in election equipment make transparency especially important. This information should be available to voters and should not be withheld without a clear legal basis. The requested logs include successful and unsuccessful connection attempts while election data or results were transmitted and relevant carrier, provider, vendor, modem activation, and technical support records. I thank you for your time and attention in this matter.

Thank you. Next up, Lynn Rankinen. Welcome. Good morning.

My name is Lynn Rankinen and I live in Eagan. I and a group of around 20 Dakota County residents addressed this Board two weeks ago to ensure that you see we want our votes protected and that we will stand with you if you face any outside pressure to restrict votes, not count votes, or not seek duly elected officials. We also asked all of you to sign our public pledge that we're calling the Freedom to Vote Protection Pledge, which states that you would commit to the following. abide by the US Constitution and state election laws. Number two, refuse to comply with any unlawful executive orders or data requests that seek to restrict voting and faithfully play your role to certify and seat the rightfully elected winners this November, regardless of party. This is truly a low bar to commit to of just following applicable laws and then honoring the election results. As of today with only two weeks or so before early voting starts in the general election, only commissioners Atkins and Hammond-Rowland have signed this pledge. We are all disappointed and frankly angry at this response. It's a slap in the face to your constituents who are counting on you to ensure their vote is counted and to all the election judges who volunteer their time and will face the threats and violence of people who believe our elections are rigged because of your silence. I'm at a loss to understand why the five remaining of you chose not to sign this pledge. Do you think that because Minnesota has strong voter protections compared to some other states that were covered? Do you think it's unnecessary because you've already been trained on what to do? Do you feel you'd be taking some kind of risk if you sign it? Or is it something else? Well, let me tell you, there is a rage out there in the electorate. Everyday Minnesotans are taking risks and doing things outside their comfort zone. And when I was young, I would not have thought that I'd come to care about the rule of law the way I have, as I've seen it violated and corrupted by this administration and the Supreme Court. I never thought I'd see my own federal government ignoring my constitutional rights. and have to come here to persuade my county commissioners to do it instead. But here we are. We need to do everything in our power to protect free and fair elections. And we need to know that you are with us by signing this pledge. We have your backs, you have ours. And just as an aside, I have full confidence in all of our voting equipment.

Thank you. Next up, Asif Rahman. Welcome.

Good morning, county commissioners. My name is Asif Rahman. Sorry, I mispronounced. No, that's fine. I'm a resident of Eagan, Minnesota. It's nice to see some familiar faces today. I come here because I'm concerned about our election process. I'm concerned that there's an erosion in the confidence of our election process. by undermining the process itself. I'm concerned about intimidation. I'm concerned if I go to the voting center and I see ICE there, will I be picked up as a person of color? I'm concerned that people who look like me are going to be intimidated to vote. So I'm here to asking you, I recently received their mailing from the Dakota County. It's very informational. I appreciate that. And it was interesting to read that you have 105 mandates. And some of them are funded and unfunded, unfortunately. And one of them was the mandate to conduct free and open elections, fair elections. So I'm asking you to uphold your mandate. I'm asking you to uphold our values of freedom and justice. I'm asking you to sign the Freedom to Vote Protection Pledge. Thank you for your time. Thank you very much.

Next up is Lee Nelson.

Thank you and good morning.

My name is Lee Nelson. I live in Apple Valley. I had the privilege of speaking two weeks ago. I never thought I'd find myself here. I'm just a regular guy from South Minneapolis who was fortunate to move to Lakeville, now fortunate to live in Apple Valley. And we asked you a couple weeks ago to sign our petition. Two of you have signed, Mary and Joe, and we're grateful and we appreciate that. but also it's only been two and it is a low bar. And so we're hoping not to lecture you, but we're hoping you'll do the right thing and sign the petition. I'll have the privilege of being an election judge. And quite frankly, I'm scared. I'm scared for my fellow poll workers. and I'm scared for the voters that are gonna vote in the general election. Michelle Blue has done an excellent job and she assures us that the doors are locked, but I'm worried that they are gonna find ways to bust the doors down. Please do all you can to ensure that we do have a free and fair election. Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you. Next up, Kelly McCowan. And if I said that wrong, tell me.

Okay, great.

Welcome.

Good morning. My name is Kelly McCowan. I live in Eagan. And I've been a citizen of Dakota County for 50 years. I couldn't believe it when I added that up. So I was only two. So, um, anyway, I want to thank you for your service. I really know that you, from my experiences with all of you, um, that you are really dedicated and hardworking and I really appreciate it. Um, and I didn't think I would be here either. Um, But I recently became a grandmother, and I cannot think of what might happen to our elections and not have to tell my grandchildren that I didn't do everything that I could to protect them. And I hope that you will, too, by signing the pledge to protect our vote.

Thank you. Thank you. And next up, Jan Dawson.

Good morning. My name is Jan Dawson and I live in Burnsville. First of all, I do want to thank each of you for your dedication and your service to Dakota County and our residents. It's truly and greatly appreciated. Like many of my fellow Dakota County residents, I'm here to express my concerns about the upcoming midterm elections. And I just want to encourage each of you to do your part to making sure that it is a free and fair election for our citizens. And I do want to just thank you in advance that that is going to happen. And truly, that is my only message today. So thank you for your service.

Thank you. Next up, Duane Scar. Morning, Commissioners.

I'm Dwayne Scar. I live in Mendota Heights. Actually, I'm here because I actually went to the voting recently with my granddaughter, first voting time she has had, and basically with her two sisters also. So basically, they all observed her vote in this election. I just want to, again, say that I would like this vote to be expected and expected of of us all to participate in this and not to uh sit on the sidelines for this and i would like if possible for you to look at your own personal um selves and uh sign the pledge to hold elections appropriately and fair for all of us thank you thank you

Next up, we'll hear from Brian Lowe. And if I got it wrong, Brian, let me know.

Good morning. I was here two weeks ago urging you to sign the Freedom to Vote Protection Pledge. And I'll have to say that I was really impressed by your attentiveness and your politeness, and I'm really thrilled I guess, gratified to know that our elected officials are receptive to our comments. I want to thank those of you who've already signed the pledge, and I want to urge the rest of you to sign it as well. I think that we're hearing this constant drumbeat in the news of stories about possible interference in the elections from the federal government. I don't understand why the U.S. postal system would get involved with elections at all other than to deliver ballots. I think that probably the best way to make sure that the elections are conducted fairly and freely is not only to do the right thing, but to say that you're going to do the right thing beforehand so that it's very clear to everyone who's planning to vote, who wants to vote, who wants their vote to be counted, to know that elections are going to be conducted fairly and freely, that there will be no deviations from the law or from the Constitution. And so I urge you to sign the pledge. Thank you.

Thank you. And Dan Quillen.

Good morning. My name is Dan Quillen. I live in West St. Paul. I'm 76 years old. And over the last six months, I've had an increasing concern about the upcoming election. And many of us that are here today share that. Why is that? It's because we've seen unprecedented political gerrymandering. We've seen proposed restrictions in mail-in voting. We've seen a federal government obsessed with getting voting rolls. We've seen new proposed rules on proving your citizenship. So now I feel compelled to be here this morning to share my concern and also ask and remind you of the sacred responsibility that you have in ensuring our democracy. I am not alone. Maybe I could ask those of us who are here for the same reason to just briefly stand up.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, I'm not going to be able to say this correctly, so let me know. Weatherly. Weatherall. I told you I was going to get it wrong. My apologies. I couldn't speak it.

Good morning and thank you for hearing what I have to say. My name is Heidi Weatherall. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. So I'm a transplant. I've been in Eagan for over 30 years. I'm a retired biology professor. And I've had students from literally all over the world, from China, Mongolia, just all over. And I've been so inspired by them. And I've witnessed their incredible potential. I know that any changes in our political climate must come from the grassroots. And that's why I'm here, to ask you to please protect our voting rights. And frankly, I'm appalled that this is even an issue.

Thank you so much. Thank you. Next up, Dottie Kvam. And tell me if I did that right, Dottie.

Good morning.

I'm Dottie Kvam, and I use she, her pronouns. And I'm in District 5 with Liz Workman in Burnsville. I have a concern about the free and fair elections. You know, I'm worried. I'm worried about worsening party polarization and corroding public trust in the legitimacy of the outcome of the elections. I'm also worried about Trump's proposed interventions in the voting process. I'm worried about the election, the overhaul bill, the Save America Act. I'm worried if federal involvement in the elections, like troops at the polls, come to pass. I'm worried about the Department of Justice from obtaining state voter rolls. I'm worried people will take for granted their voting, that they're going to take for granted their right to vote. Let me make this clear. I think we all know this. This is not a nonpartisan issue. If we fail here, there will be further corrosiveness of the two parties, the two-party system as we know it. Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up, Melissa Lowe. Good morning.

My name is Melissa Lowe, and I live in Apple Valley. Thank you for listening to our concerns. I'm a retired university professor. I retired three years ago. And one of the great things about retirement is I can say yes to all the things I just didn't have time for or energy for while I was working. So I volunteer at my church, and I volunteered for food distribution delivery during Operation Metro Surge. I spend a day a week in the school year volunteering at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis in a math recovery program. I volunteered at Apple Valley High School in their math department. I became an election judge. I've never been politically involved. I always equated politics with political gamesmanship. Politics is taking care of the people you are elected to serve. So I thank you for doing that. I caucused for the first time ever. I've spoken with my state representative and senator all in the last couple of years. And I urged candidates when I participated as a delegate, I urged candidates to take care of people, take care of their constituents. Um, and I have spoken at, at the board meetings. Thank you. I am also concerned about the voting rights and the security of our elections, especially this fall. Um, Joe Atkins and Mary Hammond, Roland, thank you for signing the pledge. Um, and I'm here to urge those of you who have not yet signed to recommit in this public way to doing your work. Thank you.

Thank you.

Let's see. I can't read it. Hanafi. I don't know what that last. Oh, tell me if I got it right or not. I can't quite read it.

Hello. My name is Maya and I'm from apple Valley. I care about our democracy. I care about all our neighbors and I urge the board to sign the freedom to vote protection pledge.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Let's see, Rukia Abdi. Welcome.

Thank you. Good morning, Dakota County Commissioners. I am so grateful to be here, and I would like to thank you for allowing us this opportunity. My name is Rukia Abdi, and I am from Apple Valley. I'm an author, parent, educator, and a librarian. I do understand it's very important to remind people that's what we do at the library. One thing that I would like to say is thank you for your hard work. I know the work that's happening is very challenging, but mentioning sometimes saying what you're doing and Standing up is what matters, and especially in these days. We see a lot of people asking that we want you to sign the papers. pledge because we want you to protect our voting rights. To be honest with you, I did not expect, living in the United States of America, I would be talking about let's protect our vote because I wanted to get that as a default right. As I said, as a parent educator and a librarian, we tell parents, for example, and my background is in child development. Before that, I would like to thank those who already signed it. But then here, it's not only signing, but it's really standing up, right? And there is a period that's called a sensitive period. And I'm invested in early childhood and reading to our children. The reason I'm telling you is at certain times, if you do not read to your child, it's going to be too late to catch up. That's why we have so many children falling behind, right? There is a language acquisition, for example, window that becomes open in certain time. If you pass that, it's going to take a longer time again, but still it will be happening. So right now we are asking you to stand up and protect our rights as you're already doing. And I'm aware of behind the scene, there is a lot happening, but the fear in the community is also more and they are watching you. They are expecting you. They're counting on you doing the right thing at the right time is called a wisdom. We are looking forward to get this wisdom and see from you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Ahmed, Ahmed.

Welcome.

Hi. My name is Ahmed Ahmed, part of the Lakeville community. I'm here to ask you today to come, please sign the pledge and protect the border lights. Thank you.

Thank you. Cheryl Mayers. Sorry if I got your name wrong.

You can correct me. Cheryl Mayers. Thank you very much. And I appreciate your time and your request that we have something new to say. I would like to acknowledge all the neighbors that have already expressed themselves and our concern that this process be respected and viewed as having integrity. And we need all of us to stand up for that and support it.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Ernesto, let's see, is it Bernard? Ernesto, not seeing. How about Hassan Muhammad? Good morning, commissioners.

My name is Hassan Muhammad. I live in Rosemont, in the Apple Valley area, about 13 years now. I'm the Imam of Rosary and Mosque. I came with a group that was asking for the freedom to vote and protection pledge. So community is kind of scared and they want to be free for voting when it comes to voting. because there is a lot of talk these days, a lot of citizenship questions, especially immigrants who become naturalized citizens. As we know, America is a welcoming country. If the person stays here and low abiding person and stays five years and more than that, they become citizens and they participate everything, including the voting. So we are asking commissioners to sign this pledge. It's very simple. Three questions. Number one is abide by the US Constitution and state election laws. Two, refuse to comply with any unlawful executive orders or data requests from the Department of Justice that seek to restrict voting. Three, pledge to faithfully play your role to certify and or seat the rightfully elected winners of the elections this November, regardless of their party elections. So this is a very simple ask. We want all of you to sign this pledge. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Let's see.

Ashlyn or Ash run, um, dumb, dumb Esky or I got that so bad. I cannot wait to hear what I'm supposed to be saying. So welcome. Thank you.

Um, good morning, chairperson Halverson and commissioners. I appreciate being able to talk to you openly today. Thank you for listening and thank you for the work that you do for the County. My name is Ash Irons-Domski. I work as a public health nurse at Dakota County or in the Dakota County Public Health Department. I'm here today as a steward and member of the Minnesota Nurses Association. I would like to take a few minutes to talk about some of the work we do in public health and how it impacts Dakota County families. My hope is that it helps us better connect the budget discussion to the work happening every day. As public health nurses in the Family Home Visiting Program, we step into families' homes to provide health assessments, education, and support. We serve families during pregnancy and up to the child's second birthday. A typical home visit might include taking measurements like weighing a baby or monitoring blood pressure. We may then talk about nutrition and healthy choices with a family. We might even provide referrals to additional resources like primary and specialty care providers or food pantries, for example. Oftentimes, we assist families in navigating services like medical assistance or disability services. And in some cases, we may help a family avoid crises like homelessness, intimate partner violence, or other safety concerns. More broadly, during visits, we strive to model what it means to be caring, reliable, and present so that parents may do the same for their children. We do all of this because it is effective. Family home visiting programs have proved to increase family self-sufficiency and decrease healthcare costs. Pregnant parents who participate in home visiting are more likely to access prenatal care and carry their babies to term, and they are less likely to have babies with low birth weight. There are higher rates and duration of breastfeeding among parents who participate in home visiting. Participants are less likely to need emergency medical care. Home visiting increases parent participation in implementing safety practices like safe sleep. It reduces child maltreatment and it improves school readiness for children. Family home visiting is a proven, accessible, and impactful way to support parents, protect children, and strengthen families. As budget discussions continue, we ask that decisions be viewed not only through numbers on a spreadsheet, but through the impact these decisions have on residents and on the county's ability to provide proper services. The people I work alongside are skilled, dedicated public servants who care deeply about this community. When positions are lost, the impact is real. Longer wait times, reduced services, delayed responses, and fewer opportunities to meet the growing needs of residents. In family home visiting, we have a mantra that helps motivate our work. The developing child cannot wait. We know these decisions are difficult, but we also know that investing in county staff and services is an investment in children and our community. Thank you for your time, your leadership and consideration.

Thank you.

I really appreciate all of the comments and everything that we've been hearing today. I will ask that we refrain from reactions outside of who's at the podium, just that we maintain decorum. I appreciate the participation. Katrina Devone or Devor, please remind me what your last name is.

Good morning, Madam chair and commissioners. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Katrina Devor. I work in the public health department and I'm the chair of the MN bargaining unit here in Dakota County. I am reading the following statement on behalf of one of my coworkers, Kristen Ness, who is a public health nurse who planned to speak this morning but was unable to attend. The following are Kristen's words. I have been a public health nurse here in Dakota County for over 27 years and a 30-year resident of Dakota County. So needless to say, I am invested in our county. As a member of the Minnesota Nurses Association, I ask that you strongly consider the importance and value that public health brings to the residents of Dakota County. We have many critical essential programs in public health to keep our residents and community safe and healthy. As a nurse who's worked here for a long time, I have had the unique opportunity to see firsthand how our programs have made a positive impact. Recently, I walked into work at the Western Service Center. When I heard someone say my name, I turned around and it was one of my very first clients that I worked with 27 years ago. I made nurse home visits during her high-risk pregnancy and then postpartum and parenting of both of her children. She shared that her now adult children are doing well and thanked me for helping her all those years ago. I couldn't believe she remembered me. Another family I worked with more recently has a child with asthma. Upon my first visit with them, they had questions about their daughter's medical insurance, asthma symptoms, and told me she was unable to run without coughing and struggling with shortness of breath. The child had missed a lot of school due to breathing issues. She was not sleeping well at night, and on the days she was in school, she was exhausted. We spent time discussing the child's insurance, helping set up a pediatrician appointment and talked about environmental triggers that may have been causing some of her breathing problems. We discussed when to go to the clinic versus the emergency room and how to follow an asthma action plan. I did a follow-up home visit a few weeks later and the child was so excited to show me her new inhalers. She also told me that she could run without coughing and loved recess. Her mom reported that her daughter was not missing school and that she was sleeping much better without coughing. These are just a couple of the thousands of stories we have from working with families. We make a difference. Currently, we are already short-staffed, we carry higher caseloads, and some programs are starting to implement a wait list. We have lost nurses to other counties and turnover is expensive and stressful. We want to serve our residents efficiently and effectively. We know the upcoming levy decisions are difficult, but when we have a strong public health department, our community and workforce are stronger and healthier. Thank you for your time, leadership, and consideration. Thank you.

Next up, we've got Pastor Tim McKee. Maybe. Maybe. You know, I thought it might be maybe.

Yeah, they're like, this can't be maybe. It is.

Okay. Yes.

Thank you so much. And thank you to the whole board of commissioners here for the work that you do in serving this community. It's a community that I love very much. And so thank you. I serve as the lead pastor at Amazing Grace Lutheran Church in Invergrove Heights right off of Robert Trail and have been doing so for about five years now. As I see it, disenfranchisement of our neighbors is a moral failure for which we are all responsible. This is because self-determination is the bedrock of liberty and the pursuit of happiness, two things that we seem to think are very important. The messages coming from the federal government, built largely on falsehoods regarding our neighbors and massive voting fraud, bear false witness against all of us. We, as citizens in your jurisdiction, need to know that any attempts to undermine the vote of our neighbors will be opposed. In my mind, this includes opposing any efforts to access voting records for political purposes, taking over voting counts, refusing to seat elected officials, and sending troops to intimidate and police voters. I urge you, along with many others, to sign the pledge that has been sent to you to protect our elections. I know what it means to be called to serve a community, and I hope that you take that calling very seriously. Your work is sacred, and holding these elections sacred as well is something we're all responsible for. Thank you.

Thank you.

Regina Gavin.

Welcome. Yeah, thank you. Good morning, Madam Chair and Commissioners. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Regina and I work in the public health department at Dakota County. I'm also a proud Dakota County resident. It's an honor and a privilege to live and serve the community here. I wanted to take a few minutes to connect the budget discussion to the work happening every day across our organization. The work we do matters deeply to residents and often in moments when they need the help the most. In my role, I'm an epidemiologist. I lead investigations for vaccine preventable diseases such as whooping cough and measles and also tuberculosis contact investigation for Dakota County. I've been in my role for about five years. I am the only infectious disease epidemiologist in the county and one of two epidemiologists in the entire county. It takes a lot of training expertise to get to my level. During measles investigations, I interview cases and identify places the cases spend time while infectious and also identify unvaccinated people who are exposed to the measles case during the case's infectious period. In order to keep our community healthy and safe and to stop measles from spreading, my team and I also actively monitor and exclude from the public settings unvaccinated individuals who are exposed to measles cases. When we get notified about measles cases, due to how quickly measles can spread, We respond immediately. I interview cases and work late into the evening, taking precious time away from my family in order to protect our community. I even spent the evening of my child's first birthday working late on a measles investigation. Because measles doesn't wait. It doesn't care if it's your birthday or your child's birthday. These interviews aren't just about ascertaining information. It's being with a community member during a really challenging time. Usually I'm talking with a parent While their child is very, very sick and ill in the hospital, typically a lot of tears are shed. It's a lot emotionally, and we try to relate as parents as well. The work I do keeps diseases from spreading into the community and protects our most vulnerable residents, such as infants that are way too young to get vaccinated, older adults, and also immunocompromised individuals, such as those receiving chemotherapy treatment. With measles case counts at the highest levels in 35 years, yes, 35 years, And vaccination rates dropping in Minnesota and across the nation, we are very susceptible to more infectious disease outbreaks, including more measles outbreaks. There's measles outbreaks going across the nation, including in our neighboring states. My teams and my workload is and will be increasing in the coming years. It's a lot to handle right now. I can't even imagine what it's going to be like in the coming years. To keep our community safe and healthy, we need to increase our staffing to meet the rising demands of our growing county. not cut staffing and public services such as public health. As budget discussions continue, we ask that staffing decisions be viewed not only through numbers on a spreadsheet, but also through the impact those decisions have on residents and the county's ability to provide reliable, timely, and effective services such as responding to disease outbreaks. Our staff are really skilled, compassionate, really care deeply about our community, and just do the work because we really care. I don't really know what more to say about that. When positions are lost, the impact is very real. We'll feel it at the county. Longer wait times, reduced services, delayed responses, and fewer opportunities to meet the growing needs of residents. We know you guys are making really difficult decisions right now with the budget discussions. And we also know that investing in county staff is an investment in the people who rely on county services every single day, including our most vulnerable. Thank you for your time, leadership, and your consideration. Thank you.

And next up, we've got Natalie Stone. And you can tell me if I got that wrong, Natalie.

You're right. Thank you. Good morning, Madam Chair and Commissioners. As I said, my name's Natalie. I'm a public health nurse at the Dakota County Public Health Office. A lot of my Fellow folks in red from the public health office have mentioned a lot of the things I was going to say, but so I'll try to keep it short. Once again, thank you for the opportunity to speak. And I too wanted to connect kind of the county budget with the work we do at the public health office. And I specifically am the only public health nurse in Dakota County that works with children with elevated blood lead levels, kind of identifying those children, connecting with the families, doing education, trying to help them find the source of lead is very important as sometimes children that have lead exposure can end up with lifelong intellectual and physical detriments because of it. So it's really important work. And I also do a lot of public events to kind of help connect people with resources in the community. We get a lot of phone calls from people that are desperate for help and we do our best to help them because it's not just me. All of us at the public health office do it because we're so passionate about it. You all know how it feels to be passionate about helping the citizens of Dakota County. which I also have lived here pretty much my whole life. So not only do I work for Dakota County, but I've lived here for 46 of my 47 years. And, you know, like it's already been mentioned, I know it's a tough balance when kind of trying to figure out the budget. I just ask you to please consider all the work that we do at the Public Health Office and when trying to make that decision. Those of us that work at the Dakota County Public Health Office are very skilled in what we do, very passionate about what we do, and would like to continue doing it. Thank you so much. Thank you.

We have gone through the list of folks who have signed up. However, if there are others who did not get to sign up and still wish to speak, this is your time.

Sounds good. I think we've got, okay, go ahead.

Were you coming forward? Okay. All right. Welcome.

Good morning, everyone.

Five minutes.

Good morning, everyone. My name is Greg Buck and I'd like to speak in support of the, uh, um, the first speakers here. Uh, one thing I'd like to point out, um, based on Mr. Lopak's presentation, which was quite detailed, um, I'd like to have everyone, I guess, think back to when they first started voting. And I think that you will find that voting systems have become incredibly complex compared to where we all started out. And along with that, our election statutes have also been deepened, broadened, and become also complex. And I think that there is an existing problem between the level of technical complexity and statutes that I would like to have the board just consider as it has to do with conforming the equipment that's being used with the statutes Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. Welcome. I see someone else is coming forward.

I'm Catherine Goodby Artson. Though I don't live in Dakota County, I do work for Dakota County and I do pay Lakeville Levee schools. So lucky me. Just quickly, I'm here for AFSCME and social services. And we also at AFSCME support E&EA. So we consider the following when you're voting for your levy and discussing your budget. Many of us are the sole members of carrying health insurance for our families. My husband works for a very, very small company. They don't have health insurance. So it's me or we don't have any. Also, some of us have had babies recently, and we have incurred costs now. And people need their jobs to survive and don't have additional income to fall on while they search for a new job in a market that is discouraging at best. Cutting jobs leads to shifting the tasks to others and increasing the rate of burnout. Cutting costs leads to many services. The county provides limiting hours and directly impacting the residents of Dakota County. And cutting costs leads to longer wait times, caseloads getting bigger, and for more and more stress on a very stressed system as is. Thank you. Looks like I've got one more.

Welcome. Just introduce yourself for the record, please. Mary Johnson, Christian. And I was here two weeks ago, and I had told everybody that I was at the Dakota County Fair, talked to Dakota County sheriffs, and they had not had any conversations about the midterm elections. I have signed up to be an election judge. I'm afraid also. I'm afraid what might happen at the polls. I'm afraid to happen when the votes come back to Dakota County. Have you talked to the Dakota County sheriffs in the last two weeks? Are you being a group about how to prepare to make the election safe for all of us so that people aren't afraid, so there aren't people outside, ICE people or whatever with guns that make people afraid who are people of color to even come to the polls? I think it's important that we anticipate all the things that might happen, the things that we know about right now that might happen, and that we've had the discussion so we can make the elections as fair and as safe as possible.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Welcome.

My name is Anne Schramm. I live in Invergrove Heights. I also believe that we should follow the Constitution, and I believe that we should have fair elections. And I also believe that legal citizens should be voting. And I don't think there needs to be fear at the election or during the election or outside the polls if that's what's happening. And I also believe that our elections will be fair and safe if we address the modem issue. We need to know that our votes are being counted properly and that they're not being changed. Thank you.

Thank you. Excellent. I just want to be sure.

Sometimes it takes me a minute to get out of my chair. So I wanted to be sure that everybody had a chance. Thank you to everybody who came forward. This is an important time in terms of making sure that people can have their voices heard. Um, I really appreciate the decorum. I appreciate the thoughtfulness, um, that everyone brought, um, to their statements. Um, and, uh, you are always available to reach out to the Dakota County board. If you can't be here at nine o'clock on a board meeting day, um, you know, you can email, you can write to your, uh, county commissioners and, uh, encourage you to do all of those things. Um, I will say, uh, you notice that this isn't a back and forth and it's really your testimony and that's your time. That said, we will, during the county manager's report, hear from Ms. Blue regarding elections. And so the county manager does make time available for us to get reports. And this is a timely item and we will hear from Ms. Blue after we finish the rest of our regular agenda. You also heard, And what really struck me with all these comments is the weight and the breadth that we deal with at the county. And we don't just deal with it as a board. We deal with it with staff and we deal with it with the public, right? I've always said policymaking is a team sport. So that said, we appreciate you being here and being part of that process. So with that, we can move on to... all the super exciting stuff, like approving our agenda. So move, Madam Chair. So we have a motion. Is there a second? Excellent. Thank you very much. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion to the motion? Hearing none, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those no. That motion prevails. Next up, we have our consent agenda. Are there changes or is there a motion to approve?

Second.

We have a motion to approve and we have a second. Thank you very much. We will roll call this item. Jenny, would you please take the roll?

Commissioner Workman? Yes. Commissioner Atkins? Yes. Commissioner Holberg? Yes. Commissioner Halverson? Yes. Commissioner Droste?

Yes.

Commissioner Heyman-Roland? Yes. Commissioner Slavitt?

Yes.

Thank you.

Next up, we move to our regular agenda. We have a presentation on environmental resources for the Certificate of Dakota County Portion of the 2027 Vermilion River Watershed Management Tax District proposed tax levy. Welcome.

Good morning, Madam Chair and Commissioners. I'm Travis Thiel, Administrator for the Vermilion River Watershed Joint Powers Organization, also a Supervisor in the Environmental Resources Department. Today, I will provide you with a high-level overview of the Vermilion River Watersheds proposed 2027 budget, a breakdown of the budget by program area, and a breakdown of the proposed levy. I'll display the historical levies and tax rates for the Vermilion River watershed, and I'll provide a comparison of levies and tax rates of other local watershed organizations in comparison to the Vermilion River watersheds. Lastly, will be today's requested action. The high level overview of the preliminary 27 budget includes revenue and expenses of $1,991,363, and that will allow for us to implement the recently adopted 2026 to 2035 watershed management plan. We have a restricted fund balance that allows the Vermilion River watershed to use wetland bank credit sales, which is a whole other story that I won't get into today. And we've invested in that wetland bank, but it allows us to use that towards other wetland restoration opportunities in the Vermilion River watershed. And lastly, we have an unassigned fund balance of $873,293, which is at 44% of our overall expenses. And within Dakota County Finance's recommended fund balance range of 35 to 50%. This pie chart represents the various program areas that make up the preliminary 2027 budget with our CIP and grants making up the largest piece of that pie at 35% and other program areas making up the remaining at about 65%. Because the Vermilion River Watershed Joint Powers Organization is a joint powers of Dakota and Scott counties, the levy is also provided by both counties, and that's based on the tax capacity within those portions in each county. The estimated net tax capacity for 2027 is made up of just over 96% in Dakota County and just under 4% in Scott County. And as a result, if you apply those percentages to the proposed levy of $1,132,136, It results in a $1,090,798 levy that would come from Dakota County and a $41,338 levy from Scott County. This graph provides the historical tax rates and levies from 2009 to 2027. Tax rate has been decreasing or flat for many years as a result of increases in tax capacity. And the levy was generally flat from 2020 to 2024. with the levy for the last couple of years tracking similar to inflation. Other watershed organizations are currently in the midst of developing their preliminary 2027 budgets as well and aren't able to provide 2027 information until their boards approve those preliminary budgets and levies. So I've compared the Vermilion River Watersheds proposed 2027 Dakota County levy to other organizations' 2026 levies. I would highlight that the tax rate in the Vermilion River Watershed is significantly lower than other watershed organizations' tax rates, and the levy is also one of the lowest overall. In closing, the request of action today is to certify the Dakota County portion of the Vermilion River Watershed Management Tax District proposed levy of $1,098,000. $1,090,798 for taxes payable in 2027. With that, I would stand for questions.

Thank you very much. Members, discussion, questions? Hearing none.

Usually we get the chart on the tax impact on the median home.

It should be in your packet, ma'am. It's in the packet, not on the

Not in the PowerPoint, right? OK, I missed it then. So what can you tell people what it is?

Sure.

Actually have my phone.

If I might pull it up, I can probably get it too.

Did you get it?

I did the same points for tax impact on the median value home in Dakota County, which for 2027 is $392,100. would be $10.39. That would be an increase from the 2026 amount of $10.05 or a 34 cent change. All right.

Thank you.

Thank you. Other questions or comments? Commissioner Slavik.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And I'll talk a little more on the Vermilion update at the end of the meeting. But for sakes of this purposes, I can move the resolution.

And I will second it, Madam Chair.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion to the motion? Hearing none, we will take the roll.

Jenny. Commissioner Atkins.

Yes.

Commissioner Holberg.

Yes.

Commissioner Halverson. Yes. Commissioner Droste.

Yes.

Commissioner Heyman-Roland. Yes. Commissioner Slavitt. Yes. Commissioner Workman. Yes. Excellent.

Thank you.

Thank you very much for your presentation. Next up, we have our interagency reports. And we can go... to Commissioner Heyman-Rowland to start the Association of Minnesota Counties.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Association of Minnesota Counties met for our strategic planning on August the 20th and 21st. Commissioner Slavik and myself were engaged in that strategic planning. We agreed that we will meet with gubernatorial candidates to share our issues. The board felt that last year's focus on modernization was impactful and that we can't let up on the throttle for the best results. Um, we have to protect our Minnesota safety net, um, the supplemental nutrition assistance program and longterm services support. And as a result of, um, a variety of different situations, um, including the shifts in HR1, the SNAP-fed assistance to the state, and in turn costing the counties a projected between $76.5 million to $177.8 million in 2028. That's substantial. The long-term services support was today at $60 million and projected to rise to $75 million before the end of the decade. We need to ensure that the residents' needs are better served by transformational change and that counties have a seat at the table, that we have formal participation. Eliminate disproportionate cost shifts. add inflationary adjustments, and state administrative share paid to counties. And so that was kind of a quick piece of information on that. And then did you have anything you wanted to add?

Commissioner Slavik. Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a couple of things related to the strategic plan that I think it fits in some of our conversations over the last hour, as well as I think issues that we as county commissioners struggle with very regularly. And it started a conversation, you know, the Association of Minnesota Counties and county commissioners are nonpartisan. We do not have a letter. When you go and vote on election day or before, we do not have a letter by our name. And the reality is that we are still partisan human beings. We've either been elected in a partisan role before, we have our own personal values and beliefs, and the fact of the matter is, how does that go in and correlate when we're all up here And when we're up at the Capitol trying to go and advocate on behalf of all counties and all of our residents and businesses. So we had a very good conversation. I mean, to the point where some people were saying, maybe we just need to say we're not a nonpartisan organization anymore. We are a bipartisan organization because the reality is if we're going to get the best results, we need to have the best ideas of each party. And so it was a great dialogue and great discussion that came out of that part in there. But I think it's going to help shape the organization in the years to come as At the end of the day, we did still affirm that we are a nonpartisan organization. County commissioners are nonpartisan, but there are issues in one party or the other party that is frankly the best pathway for counties and we should be going to continue to advocate if it is a if the best idea in the room is a republican idea we should be going and saying that's the idea we as counties are going to work for if the best idea is a dfl or a democrat idea that's what we should be working for and because the end of the day we're working on behalf of the residents and businesses of the counties and so i think that that is a great conversation in the years i've been on this organization to be able to get to this point to affirm where we were going but i think actually make it a little more clear so i it's a very positive for uh, where I think we'll be going in the future with the association of Minnesota counties.

Thank you. Thank you. Interesting.

Yeah.

Any other conversation about that? No, I just would add that it, I think that, um, the, the success that we had around modernization, um, our, uh, nonpartisan, uh, uh, standards and values really, um, I think helped make that successful, um, as well. And so, uh, we have, I think some good, um, what do I want to say? A study, if you will.

Step in the right direction, right?

Exactly, exactly. Very interesting. You guys did hard work at that. And so the Metropolitan Emergency Services Board.

The next meeting is September 9th. Bill, was there an executive meeting as well last month?

Excellent. Oh, Bill? No. Okay. September 9th. September 9th. Excellent. We have MICA, the Minnesota Inter-County Association. We have our next board meeting is on the 9th as well. There's a trend. And we have all been kind of assigned some small policy development groups that MICA board members are going to be working on. I get to work on transportation. I don't know how I got so lucky. And Commissioner Droste got assigned to property tax reform. So we'll be having some good conversations around policy there. Anything else? Metropolitan Mosquito Control Commission.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We had a full board meeting the other day. Lots happened, but I have to tell you about the bat boxes. I guess it does have something to do with mosquitoes. Bats eat mosquitoes. There was two Girl Scouts troops, or one troop, two girls, who wanted to provide homes for the little brown bat. And that population of bat has decreased like 90% over the last 15 years. And some of it is because of a disease called the white-nose fungus and loss of habitat. So these girls decided they wanted to help promote colonization. So they built three bat boxes and they went up at the Mosquito Control District's Jordan office. And too soon to report if there's any colonization going on, but they did say that they wanted to continue doing this. And so I invited them to come to Dakota County the next time because it's in certain areas where they can catch a bat population. And apparently Southern Dakota County is right for that. So I said, when you're ready, we'll, we'll help you. Thank you. So that was fun. You get to do fun things once in a while. So thank you.

Thank you very much. And thanks for making that connection. If I may add, um, I got to visit with the mosquito control district staff at the Dakota County Fair and see their larvae swimming around in the water. And they were there providing some really good information about the work they do and risks that we have for vector-borne illness in our communities and the way that the mosquito control board works to eliminate those. And they're at the state fair right now. So go find them. I believe they're in the education building. Victoria, our mascot, our mosquito mascot. And next up, the National Association of Counties.

Anything?

Nope. All right. We'll take a pass. Transportation Advisory Board, Commissioner Holberg.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So the Applications for the regional solicitation and active transportation grants were due the end of June. There were a total of 172 applications, 82 for active transportation, 90 for the federal dollars. And the amount requested for federal dollars is 541 million with a projected availability of 215 million. And the requests for the active transportation totaled over 140 million, with 50 million being available. So in both instances, two to three times the request above what is available. Met Council seemed to be pretty proud of the fact that there were over 100 volunteers, they use the term volunteers, but in many instances, they're being paid by taxpayer dollars, but over 100 individuals being used to score these applications that were supposedly the goal was to make them easier. And we just, in my opinion, we've just failed miserably in this whole, whole process. And so looking at at least as presented in last week's meeting, awards not occurring until January, which could provide some challenge to our CIP process. And we won't know when we have to do a final budget, whether or not we will receive any of these dollars for any of the projects that we applied for. And since that time, there has been some response to the letters that Scott and Dakota County sent to Secretary Duffy regarding the process and the scoring. The Federal Highway Association has weighed in with concerns on the community considerations portion of the application. So I don't have any update on whether or not how Met Council is going to respond to that and how that would change scoring criteria, et cetera. But that's kind of one stick in the spokes that occurred on Friday. And then the other issue that when I've raised this before, but now it's kind of coming to a head, this whole greenhouse gas mitigation issue, they have now put in writing, we're not sure how it came to be, if it's just a Met Council thing, or if it was in consultation with MnDOT, but they're proposing that projects funded by federal transportation dollars, that the credits accrue to the region proportionately to the investment in a project that would net credit. So think transit, things that get food for their cars. So, There's going to be a meeting on Thursday with the county commissioners that are on TAB to try and start figuring this out. But it's kind of an outgrowth. Some of us worked last year on the whole greenhouse gas mitigation issue at AMC. This issue is just not going away. But it's, again, something that could have some really dire impacts. Right now the the in the regional solicitation there was an interchange category and there was only one application in that category with a pot of money of $20 million and Washington County is the only had the one project. So at least initially you could envision where all of the credits would accrue to that project in that region rather than. spreading credits across. So stay tuned, but it's going to get more and more interesting, I think, here in the near term. Happy to answer any questions.

Thank you. Vermilion River Watershed Joint Powers Board.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So the Vermilion River Watershed Joint Powers Board did move on August 27th. Obviously, the action that we took as a full board was the recommended vote from the watershed. Second thing that we did is, as you know, much of what the watershed budget has been doing has been best practice management as part of the 10-year watershed plan. And then as some of those projects have, how do we make sure that we can extend the life of some of those? So part of the budget now is putting some money in to go and do some operational maintenance and kind of planned and processed expenditures related to maintenance and repair so that we can have the best bang for the buck on projects. Some of them are public. Some of them are private infrastructure. so there was a small part that was put into the plan we did receive an update on some of that work to be able to extend the life of those best management practices and then lastly a pretty exciting thing for those who may remember a number of years ago as part of the south branch greenway we had started i think our very first dakota county conservation area and it was a section of the vermilion river south branch which back in the 50s basically the meandered vermilion river became one straight waterway so that you could farm more of the land and Trout Unlimited has been working with some outside resources almost a million dollar project to go in and re-meander so that you can have the habitat since it'll be able to actually be a better asset for the future greenway but additionally it's the habitat water quality so the very straight river will actually be able to hold sediment and habitat and wildlife so that we're working on that project that is part of the levy that we approved for earlier in this meeting.

Thank you very much. Workforce Development Board. Thank you, Madam Chair. As you all are aware, our fearless leader, Mark Jacobs, who's the executive director of the workforce, is retiring. And we will be gathering at Las Tortillas on Monday, September the 14th from 4 to 7. So if you're able to do it, make sure you give Darla an email and let her know that you'll be present.

Thank you. And that's it. Thanks so much. It's the end of an era, as they say. Are there other updates from board members?

Yes, Madam Chair. Commissioner Hayman-Roland. I would like to let everyone know that the Juvenile Services Center has masterfully been engaged with the master gardeners and created a beautiful garden. So Anna, you know all about this. 500 pounds of fresh produce were harvested and then delivered to food shelves. And I just think it's a wonderful collaboration, very successful and has an impact on our people who are um, food insecure. And it's a great thing for our, um, the juvenile population to know that through their care and effort and attention to, um, growth that they can make a difference in the world. So, yeah.

Thank you. Thank you. Other updates? Um, I just have, uh, one reminder, um, that our, uh, Next budget open house is going to be held on September 10th, which is coming up very fast, from 5 to 6.30 at the Apple Valley Western Service Center. So another chance to engage with the board. That's all I have. We can go to our county manager's report. I'll turn it over to Heidi.

Madam chair commissioners. Thank you. The open house was on the top of my list. Also, I would say from five to six 30 at Western services center, we have received a lot of comments and we continue to receive a lot of comments. I know commissioners have appreciated hearing from as many constituents as possible. And we really invite everyone to attend that who has questions or comments about our budget process. The other item on my list is to invite our elections director, Michelle Blewup, just to give you a quick update on elections. The purpose of her speaking is not to engage back and forth with the comments that were received earlier, but just to give the board a quick update. Thank you.

Thank you, Heidi. You're welcome. Thank you. Thank you, and good morning, Madam Chair and Commissioners. My name is Michelle Blewup. I'm Dakota County's elections director. And I appreciate the opportunity to follow up on some of the comments and concerns that were discussed today. The equipment that we purchased was certified and tested by the Secretary of State's office. Their certification is dated February 24th, 2026. This is a month-long process that started last year. It is extremely intensive and open to the public for anyone who wants to observe that process. The state certification is a document that I have. It's a public document. I've shared that with each of you in the past, and I'm more than happy to share that again if that would be helpful. That document specifically certifies the software that we use, which is 6.5.1.1, as well as the hardware that we currently use. Our state law requires that an electronic voting system be certified by the Secretary of State and tested by an independent accredited testing laboratory or a federal government like the Election Assistance Commission, the EAC. Counties do not have a role in the certification process. That all happens at the state level. As far as modem usage, the EAC guidelines do not require certification for any ancillary hardware. That is equipment that doesn't perform any ballot reading or processing or counting, recording. Modem function is always tested prior to each election to make sure that it is operating appropriately. And the use of a modem is specifically authorized by Minnesota. specifically authorized as a means to transmit unofficial vote totals, and only after voting has ended. This is a secure means of transmitting vote totals from the precincts around Dakota County, simply that we can post those unofficial voting results quickly for public review. Our elections are certified from the paper ballots and the documents that were prepared by election judges in every single precinct. They're prepared and signed by all of the judges that worked in those precincts, and the unofficial modem results are not part of that certification process. Again, our tabulation equipment is never connected to the internet or any wireless network during voting. Our process of paper ballots and public reviews involves safeguards and transparency at every single step. So that's certification at the Secretary of State's office and at the federal government. Our public accuracy testing, that involves that pre-marked and pre-audited test deck. We have unique totals for every single office candidate in question, so we know exactly before we scan those ballots what the vote total should be, and then we can prove that the vote, that the tabulator is operating correctly. That is also a process that is open to the public. We have a post-election review, which is a hand count of all voted ballots for the precincts that were selected by lot at each county's canvassing board meeting. And then we conduct recounts and audits as allowed and required by law. Again, all of those are open to the public and we very much appreciate having members of the public come see for themselves how secure that process is. We continue to conduct elections that are fair, secure, and accessible. Our 144 polling places remain welcoming and safe for our voters and for our election judges. Our elections are successful because it's a team effort. I am deeply grateful to Dakota County's 3,000 election judges and volunteers, our city and township partners, as well as our state and local law enforcement partners like the Dakota County Sheriff and every city's police department, which I have personally spoken with. They have all prioritized election safety and security this year. And thank you for all of your continued leadership and support.

Thank you, Michelle. Questions at all? Nope, not hearing any. Very good. Heidi? And that's all. Okay, excellent. With that, we can entertain a motion to adjourn.

Second, Madam Chair.

It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? No. We are adjourned. Thank you.