Dunn County residents will soon decide whether or not to increase the size of the County Commission from three members to five. Andy Schmidt and Ray Kadrmas of Dunn County petitioned to get the question put on the June 8 ballot.
Schmidt and Kadrmas said they want more commissioners because of an increase in activity in the county.
"There's a lot more work involved with the oil activity," Kadrmas said. "More people working on a problem should be a plus, I would think."
Schmidt agrees there is too much of a workload in the county for three commissioners to handle.
"There's various state and regional meetings ... they can't attend many of the meetings and many of the state and countywide functions that go on," Schmidt said.
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However, Dunn County Commissioner Cliff Ferebee of Halliday said he believes the commission does a good job attending meetings.
"I don't think any of us are overloaded as far as any extra meetings that the county has," Ferebee said.
Kadrmas cited multiplying road issues as a problem that may be better resolved with five commissioners.
"Our roads are getting so beat up and we're pretty much just scrambling trying to keep up with it," Kadrmas said.
Ferebee said the county would have to restructure their road department if the commission size increased.
He has mixed feelings about the idea of increasing the commission size.
"There is times when we'd be better off with five and there's times when it's better off with just the three," Ferebee said.
Reinard Hauck, Dunn County auditor, said it would cost the county about $78,800 a year to add two commissioners to the board. He added the money would come from the county's general fund.
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Ferebee said he is unsure where they would cut back to be able to cover the cost of two extra commissioners.
"We can always put the money someplace," Ferebee said. "I don't know that any specific thing would suffer from it."
Schmidt said a five-member committee would run more efficiently and make up for the extra cost.
The issue of inadvertently having a quorum of commissioners in one place may also be resolved by adding more members to the board.
"If there's any two commissioners talking to each at any time about anything, they're breaking the open meetings law," Kadrmas said.
Ferebee said open meeting issues have not been a problem in the county the past.
Other issues that have not yet been explored may arise from the issue, said Ross Sundeen, Dunn County state's attorney.
"There are some other committees that would have to increase in size as a result of going from three to five, which would be another additional expense," Sundeen said.
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For example, the Dunn County Planning and Zoning Board would have to increase from seven members to nine, he said.
A second issue was added to the ballot by law, Sundeen said. It asks whether commissioners should continue to be elected at large or whether the county should break into five districts.
All five men agree it would be best to continue electing at large.
"It would be a nightmare if we're going to divide the county into five districts of equal populations, in my mind," Hauck said.
Since most of Dunn County's population is in Killdeer, the city would likely be broken up into several districts.
If Dunn County citizens decide the county should be split into districts, the commission must do so within 10 days after it's voted on, Sundeen said.
"I would just encourage anyone who is interested in the topic to educate themselves as best as they can," Sundeen said.
