FARGO - Although the Cass County Commission approved Fargo's $8.5 million in requests to the state for flood protection reimbursement, the board said some costs should not be included.
Chairman Darrell Vanyo said most costs in the request were legitimate, but bills from Xcel Energy, Cass County Electric and Forum Communications were like a reimbursement for coffee and cookies at a meeting.
The two utility companies charged the city for electricity shutoffs, while the Forum Communications costs were public notification fees, said County Administrator Keith Berndt.
The 2011 state Legislature set aside $30 million to help offset local flood protection costs. The city of Fargo submitted the 2011 flood costs to the state water commission this month, but under new regulations, the reimbursement requests must be agreed upon by Fargo, Cass County and the Cass County Joint Water Resource Board.
Commissioner Ken Pawluk disagreed with the exclusion, saying if those costs could stand up to an audit, the county should endorse them as well.
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"I think we should tread carefully. I think if our partners feel it is appropriate, it is," he said. "I don't think we should sit here and pick apart their requests."
Pawluk and Commissioner Vern Bennett voted against the motion to deny those requests but approve Fargo's remaining $8.5 million in requests.
Commissioner Scott Wagner said communication should open up in the future.
"There should be some concurrence between the entities going forward in regards to requests," he said.
In other business:
The county will also pay the city of Fargo back for its share of payments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for work on the Red River diversion study. The board agreed to use county sales tax money generated in June and July.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Wendy Reuer at (701) 241-5530
