The final action calls on thecommission to make inquiriesconcerning temporary assistancein the auditor’s office while Jonesis absent.
Jensen said it will be a chal-lenge to find an available personwho has knowledge of how theoffice works and can step in foran unknown amount of time.
Later in the meeting, Marc-hand told the commission thatstaff from other county depart-ments had looked over Jones’ in-correct tax figures and had anidea about why they might bewrong.
“If we work with Colleen (Skin-ner at the Department of Rev-enue), do we have yourpermission to (work on thetaxes)?” she asked.
The commission declined theoffer.
“I’d prefer the Department ofRevenue come down here and fixit because I don’t want anybodythrowing anything at you orsomebody else, for that matter,”Commissioner Garry Moore said.
Marchand said she was OKwaiting until the state can helpbut warned that it will reduce toabout a week the amount of timeto advise people whose taxes arepaid via escrow accounts if theirbills are going up.
“Right now, the Legislature isin session, or I think the Depart-ment of Revenue would be downhere tomorrow morning,” Moorestated. “They’ve got all their re-sources working through the leg-islative process. They know theissue is here, and my gut feelingis they are going to give peoplean extension on paying their first-half taxes.”
When Yankton County SheriffJim Vlahakis appeared before thecommission, he shared that hehas not received importantbudget documents from the audi-tor’s office. He pointed out thatstate law requires that Jones,prior to Jan. 1 of the fiscal year, isto provide in writing to each ofthe department heads their an-nual budget as adopted by theCounty Commission.
“It is now February,” Vlahakissaid. “I have not received thefinal end-of-year budget docu-ments from 2012, nor have I re-ceived my 2013 annual operatingbudget. I don’t know if any otheroffice has, either.
“As the sheriff, you know I amresponsible for management ofbudgets in the neighborhood of$2.3 million,” Vlahakis said.“Those are five different budgets— the sheriff’s office, the jail, ju-venile detention, the 24/7 Pro-gram and E-911. State law makesnot only me but every other of-fice and the department head ofthose offices in the county per-sonally liable if we cannot man-age within the appropriationsbudgeted to our offices.”
In other words, if Vlahakis orany other department head wereto overspend, they could be re-quired to produce those addi-tional funds out of their ownpockets.
The sheriff said he does notknow what bills have been paidfrom the end of 2012 or January.Based on past experience withthe auditor’s office, that con-cerns him.
“It has not been an uncommonoccurrence for bills to be paidtwice (by the auditor’s office) orfor bills (to be left) with out-standing balances,” Vlahakissaid. “There have also been in-stances where my budgets havebeen charged with expendituresfrom other departments. Usually,I catch those and make contactwith the auditor’s office to getthem fixed.
“Another problem I’m runninginto is, I have federal grantmonies that are time sensitiveand require that money be spentat a certain time or we won’t getreimbursement,” he continued.“Without these (budget) reports,I can’t make those notifications. Ihave a state grant check for$16,000 that I received two weeksago. I’m really hesitant to signthat check and turn it over be-cause I don’t have the budget tolook at to determine where thesemonies need to go.”
Vlahakis said he wanted thecommission aware of the issue —and the same concern wasechoed later by Highway Superin-tendent Brian Gustad.
“I don’t know when, and youprobably don’t know when, we’llreceive those documents,” Vla-hakis stated.
Moore said he had heard simi-lar worries from other depart-ments.
“We need everybody who is anofficer in county government towork with us at this point in time,”he stated. “We will get there andpersevere. We will become a bet-ter county for it.”
In other business Tuesday, thecommission:
• was told by Dave Bartel, man-ager of the James River Water Dis-trict, that his board may have itsMarch meeting in Yankton so theorganization can view the sedi-mentation problem at the mouthof the James River;
• instructed county Zoning Ad-ministrator Pat Garrity to estab-lish a committee that can work ona comprehensive plan for theHighway 52 corridor;
• was told by county Directorof Equalization Lori Mackey thatshe will be taking a medical leaveof at least six weeks beginningThursday. Deputy director MattArcher will manage the officewhile she is out;
• accepted the resignation ofcounty Highway Department sec-retary Paty Davies, who hasworked eight years for the county.The resignation will take effectMarch 6; and
• made a motion allowing thehighway department to use trustylabor.
You can follow Nathan Johnsonon Twitter at twitter.com/AnIn-landVoyage
Thursday, February 7, 2013
5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.Professional Office Pavilion
Avera Sacred Heart Hospital
Spend a fun-filled night celebrating heart health. Enjoy food and wine,
stress-melting massages, nutrition education and some quality time
with friends.
Tickets are $10 at the door with a limited number of tickets available.
Register for your healthy night out by calling 605-668-8080, or stop by
Avera Sacred Heart Hospital’s Information Desk located at 501 Summit.
Remember to wear red in celebration of heart month!
Healthy Night Out
Avera Heart HospitalDietitians
Avera Sacred Heart HospitalDietitian Nicole Haberer
NO PROFIT HOLIDAY SALE!
It’s because of you, our loyal customers, that we have celebrated over 58 years of business. So, for 3 days only, Karl’s is having a NO PROFIT SALE to say thank you to the people who made this possible: You, our customers!
THIS IS THE WAY IT WORKS!Selected open stock in the store from participating vendors will be sold at a special cost. Some selected models are as low as Regular Dealer Cost, some slightly
above. In all cases, the price will be sensational. There will be a charge for delivery if you are unable to take it yourself. Some manufacturers have asked not to be included in this NO PROFIT SALE. We have honored their request. Some items are guilty only of being uncrated, sometimes only to be inspected. All purchases are
fully warranted and are eligible for our Extended Service Plans! Don’t wait! First come, first served.
THREE DAYS ONLY - FEBRUARY 7th - 9th!
SAVE ON COOKING
APPLIANCES!
SAVE ON TELEVISIONS!
SAVE ON HOME AUDIO
PIECES!
SAVE ON TV STANDS!
50% - 70% OFF MOST
RECLINERS, DINING ROOM,LIVING ROOM,& BEDROOMFURNITURE!
Savings is off of suggested retail.
SAVE BIG ON THESE
NAME BRANDS
SAVE ON LAUNDRY SETS!
SAVE ON REFRIGERATORS!
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Excludes iComfort, 1-Year and 5-Year Warranty Mattresses.
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DELIVERY & INSTALLATION
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*Financing may be available, subject to credit approval and mini-
mum purchase requirements. Some exclusions may apply, includ-
ing but not limited to Electrolux, Fisher & Paykel, Wolf, SubZero,
Hot Buys, parts and services. See store for details. Does not apply
to previous purchases. Clearance items are available only while
quantities last. Prices valid for a limited time only. An amount equal
but not limited to sales tax and delivery charges must be paid at
the time of purchase. All items may not be exactly as shown in this
advertisement and may not be on display in all showrooms. Style
and selection may vary. Although every precaution is taken, some
errors may occur in print. We reserve the right to correct any such
errors. Expires 2/9/13.
PAGE 12 PRESS & DAKOTAN n WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013
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American citizens but other citi-zens as well.”
Hoyer added: “We ought tocarefully review our policies as acountry.”
The Senate Foreign RelationsCommittee likely will hold hear-ings on U.S. drone policy, an aidesaid Tuesday, and ChairmanRobert Menendez, D-N.J., and thepanel’s top Republican, Sen. BobCorker of Tennessee, both havequietly expressed concerns aboutthe deadly operations. And earlierthis week, a group of 11 Demo-cratic and Republican senatorsurged President Barack Obama torelease a classified Justice Depart-ment legal opinion justifying whenU.S. counterterror missions, in-cluding drone strikes, can be usedto kill American citizens abroad.
Without those documents, it’simpossible for Congress and thepublic to decide “whether this au-thority has been properly defined,and whether the president’spower to deliberately kill Ameri-cans is subject to appropriate lim-itations and safeguards,” thesenators wrote.
It was a repeated request afterreceiving last June an unclassifiedJustice Department memo, whichfell short of giving the senators allthe information they requested.
First detailed publicly by NBCNews late Monday, the memo forthe first time outlines the Obamaadministration’s decision to kill al-Qaida terror suspects without anyevidence that specific and immi-nent plots are being plannedagainst the United States.
“The threat posed by al-Qaidaand its associated forces demandsa broader concept of imminencein judging when a person continu-ally planning terror attacks pres-ents an imminent threat,”concluded the document.
The memo was immediatelydecried by civil liberties groups as“flawed” and “profoundly disturb-ing” — especially in light of 2011U.S. drone strikes in Yemen thatkilled three American citizens:Anwar al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old-son and Samir Khan. Al-Awlakiwas linked to the planning and ex-ecution of several attacks target-ing U.S. and Western interests,including the attempt to down aDetroit-bound airliner in 2009 andthe plot to bomb cargo planes in2010. His son was killed in a sepa-rate strike on a suspected al-Qaidaden. Khan was an al-Qaida propa-gandist.
White House spokesman JayCarney, echoing comments Bren-nan made in a speech last April,called the strikes legal, ethical andwise and said they are covered bya law that Congress approved al-lowing the use of military forceagainst al-Qaida.
“And certainly, under that au-thority, the president acts in theUnited States’ interest to protectthe United States and its citizensfrom al-Qaida,” Carney said Tues-day.
“It is a matter of fact that Con-gress authorized the use of mili-tary force against al-Qaida,”Carney said. “It is a matter of factthat al-Qaida is in a state of waragainst us and that senior leaders,operational leaders of al-Qaida arecontinually plotting to attack theUnited States, plotting to killAmerican citizens as they didmost horrifically on September11th of 2001.”
DronesFrom Page 1
