Timber activities on land managed by Koochiching County last year will provide more than $2.2 million to the county revenue and unorganized township funds and $839,983 to six school districts in the county, reported county Land Commissioner Dennis Hummitzsch to the county board Tuesday.
Hummitzsch provided details of the apportionment of 2013 net receipts from the sale of tax-forfeited timber and lands, which showed a total tax forfeited expendable trust fund profit of more than $2.2 million.
Money provided to individual school districts is based on where the wood was cut and how much wood was cut from within each district. Hummitzsch said the majority of the money to the school districts went to: District 361 — $129,098; District 362 — $230,101; District 363 — $371,653.
"This helps offset the taxpayer," he told The Journal. "The department costs taxpayers zero because we're able to pay for ourselves. It's a unique form of government."
The sales also provide for a promotional account to cities, based on state law and the county board setting a per capita amount. Five cities and the Koochiching Development Authority usually receive a total of $66,555, with International Falls receiving $13,311 and the KDA $39,933.
The board tabled action to provide that money until Feb. 18 to allow time to consider whether more money could be provided to the city funding, which is to be used for promotional activities.
Meanwhile, Hummitzsch reported $3.07 million in total trust fund income from sales of land and leases. The revenue to be apportioned, $2.27 million, is a result of deducting department expenses, he said.
In the budgeting process for this year, $68,000 was set aside for forest development and $45,000 for parks development.
Hummitzsch said the department met its target goals for the year.
"We've got some pretty firm goals we need to accomplish to achieve our long-range forest plan," he said.
Reaching those goals is an accomplishment, he said.
"Trying to whittle out what stands to go into and get our ducks in line and planned and put into sale is a large task," he said. "And tracking it all is an arduous task on its own."
He added other work was also done during the year.
"That brought us into 2014 going forward with some new things, and looking pretty good in here," he said.
He noted some counties aren't able to sell all the wood they have available, while Koochiching County is able to sell all the wood.
"That's a good thing for us and a good thing for the community," he said.
Successfully meeting forest certification under the Forest Stewardship Council and Sustainable Forestry Initiative standards thru annual audits is "a huge accomplishment," Hummitzsch, said. He said 2013 was a full standard audit for SFI and 2014 is a full FSC Standard Audit.
"These certifications are important to potential marketing of paper and wood products," he said.
Hummitzsch also reviewed the January timber auction with the board.
The auction sold 16,164 cords for a sale value of $397,795 with the average for all species selling at $24.61 per cord.
The aspen price at the auction ranged from $19 per cord to $40.70 per cord with the average aspen price at $29.51 per cord.
In other action Tuesday, the board agreed to acknowledge a resolution by the Association of Minnesota Counties to seek legislation that would allow local governments to only post legal notices on their websites and remove the state requirement to pay for the notices to be published in local newspapers.
Commissioner said the lack of Internet access in some areas of the county and by some county residents does not make removing the requirement of the newspaper favorable.
They noted the county's aging population makes publishing the notices in a newspaper a better local option.
The board recognized Barbara Howland, assistant treasurer, whose last day on the job is April 30. Howland has worked in the treasurer's office since November 1965 - 43 years.
The board set the County Board of Equalization meetings for 1:30 p.m. June 17, which will open with an assessor's report. The meeting will continue 6 p.m. June 24.
