Rice County Turns Down Social Services Collaborative

In the end, the five Rice County commissioners weren't interested.

The commissioners on Tuesday voted against having Rice County join a collaborative effort of 12 southeastern Minnesota counties to deliver human service programs and other government services more effectively.

Commissioner Galen Malecha said under the agreement, Olmstead County, the largest county of the 12, would have controlled 50 percent or more of the power.

"That doesn't sit well with me," he said. "We would be putting money into this collaborative and they would be calling the shots on how our money would be spent."

Malecha said there also wasn't a guarantee that a social services office would remain in Rice County.

(Click on the image to watch the meeting)

The county could consider a smaller collaboration in the future, Malecha said.

The vote comes at a time when the county is with meeting state requirements for deliving services in its social services department.

Last week, the county voted 3-2 against hiring to help with the social services backlog.

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• Rice County board denies social services hiring -- for now

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