County plans to merge HRA, RDA boards duties
By Reed Anfinson
Back in 2021, the Swift County Board of Commissioners merged oversight of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) and the Rural Development Authority (RDA) under one director.
However, it maintained the RDA and HRA as separate bodies each with seven members appointed by the county board.
More recently, the two boards began meeting jointly, which could mean 14 board members in the meeting and two different sets of motions and votes having to take place.
Now the county board is considering merging the two bodies into one board.
“At the May strategic planning session, one of the subjects that came up was merging the boards to make them more efficient and provide better services to the public,” Director Leanna Larson told commissioners at their Nov. 19 meeting. “Part of that goal was to meet jointly as boards, and they have been doing that since June.
So far, the experience has met with a positive response from both boards, Larson said. “I think there is a lot of overlap on things.”
However, the meetings are a “little choppy” because there are two boards meeting and each has to have its own motions for approving the agenda and on actions that fall under the authority of each board. “But overall it has been a good transition,” she said.
At the joint October meeting of the HRA and RDA, both boards moved to go forward with a merger, Larson said.
It would involve creating an HRA with EDA powers, she said. “The RDA as it stands would be dissolved. Merging of the two bodies is governed by state law.
The first step is for board of commissioners to direct Larson to notify all the local government units in the county of the intention to merge the two bodies.
A local committee would be formed consisting of 11 to 15 members with state law defining who should be appointed and how the process works, she said. It will take time to get the committee formed and the recommendations back to the board.
For more on this story, support community journalism and subscribe to the Swift County Monitor-News.
