County sends burn resolution back to counsel
Staff writer
An updated county burn resolution once again has been sent back to county counselor Brad Jantz Monday.
At a meeting Monday, commissioner Clarke Dirks questioned Jantz on a penalty section that he thought needed to be reworked to put all punitive provisions in one place.
Landowners who violate a burn ban could be considered guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to jail time and a fine of $500 to $2,500 plus an administrative penalty of between $100 and $500.
If a fire department is called to fight a fire, the property owner will be assessed charges for each piece of fire equipment brought to the fire and $35 an hour for each firefighter summoned. Firefighters’ time will be charged for a minimum of two hours.
The resolution sets other rules for burning of open lands and gives the county emergency management director power to ban burning if circumstances could make a fire difficult to control.
District fire chiefs also would have authority to ban burning in their district. It also sets regulations and requirements for burning brush piles.
In other matters, county administrator Tina Spencer told commissioners a new dump truck that tipped into a ditch Feb. 18 while plowing snow west of Hillsboro had damage only to its side.
The country has insurance, she said, but the amount that will be reimbursed has to be determined.
Commissioners told Spencer to get repair estimates.