Lincoln County Commission September 8, 2026

At its September 8, 2026 regular meeting, the Lincoln County Commission approved an RFP for the old courthouse, authorizing staff to adjust publication and scheduling details. The RFP is intended to solicit proposals from architectural or other qualified firms to help assess the building, develop potential scopes of work, and estimate costs; commissioners emphasized that approval does not commit the county to spending money. Commissioners also approved an agreement with Myers Bill LLC and Greasy Law Firm BC for indigent counsel services following an RFP, with the contract intended to help provide coverage while the county’s public defender office is established. No contract amount was stated. Documents for phase-one taxiway construction for the south 20-acre hangar expansion were removed from consent after a commissioner asked about cost; no decision on those documents is recorded in the transcript. The commission also approved a resolution for POET Bio-refining Hudson to seek ongoing authorization to land-apply up to 5,000 tons of off-spec distiller grains.

The commission continued discussion of the 2027 provisional budget, which was not adopted during the meeting. It approved a $157,445 reduction to the State’s Attorney salary-and-wages line, related to removing a paralegal position and budgeting half the salary of an attorney position amid preliminary discussions about specialty courts and possible cost-sharing with Minnehaha County. Commissioners debated proposed employee cost-of-living and step increases, the use of reserves, and other spending. A motion to reduce the GIS/mapping appropriation to a basic plan failed. Requests for county economic assistance were discussed, including Children’s Home Shelter for Family Safety and Canton Area Transit; no change to their listed $15,000 amounts was approved in the meeting. The transcript does not record an award or approval of new spending for the courthouse RFP or taxiway work.