Lindquist chosen as County Coordinator

Mike Mallow

Grant County Herald

Karl Lindquist, longtime Grant County Assessor, has a new job in county government.

In a special meeting by the Grant County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 9, Lindquist was selected from a narrow list of candidates to be the next County Coordinator.

The choice was not unanimous. 

With a narrow 3-2 vote, Commissioners Dwight Walvatne, Bill LaValley and Troy Johnson voted in favor. Commissioners Doyle Sperr and Ken Johnson were against.

Lindquist was appointed as Grant County Assessor in 2012. Prior to that, he was a Senior Staff Appraiser for Douglas County.

At the regular board meeting on Aug. 20, Lindquist reported to the commissioners he was still negotiating with the personnel committee on the coordinator position. He presented ideas he had going forward as County Coordinator, though he noted none of the ideas had been run past the relevant boards.

The commissioners had concerns about how Lindquist would be able to operate in both the County Coordinator and Assessor positions.

“Right now, once I was appointed as the Grant County Coordinator, I would assume I would be vacating the assessor position,” Lindquist said. “The county has 90 days to appoint an assessor. In that 90 days, I’m not going to let the assessor’s office fall through. It’s going to be one of those things where I make sure the essential items get done so that the county continues to flow in a smooth transition.”

Lindquist added that when a new assessor is appointed, he would do what he could to assist them and make sure they were set to do next year’s assessments.

After additional discussion about trainings and tasks the jobs would entail, Lindquist circled back to a point he made at the beginning of his time. “Until we’re done with the negotiation process, I don’t feel like I should be doing a lot of the coordinator position work.”

The details of Lindquist’s salary are still being worked out, with consideration to what compensation would look like while holding dual positions. Lindquist also said he wanted to wrap up some projects in the assessor’s office so he does not have to hand them off to someone new without context.

Commissioners asked if there was anyone currently in the assessor’s office who could take over the Assessor position. Lindquist said he did not feel like anyone in the office would be willing to take on the position. He added that there are a number of licensed appraisers in the area and neighboring counties who could move into the position.

Lindquist also suggested placing a job opening on the Minnesota Association of Assessing Officers website. “It’s all licensed assessors in Minnesota. As long as they’re licensed, we could bring in one of those individuals.”