County departments report: appraiser protests, e-record growth, MIH patients and IT migration progress

Several department heads gave routine operational reports at the Jan. 8 meeting.

County Appraiser Lisa said the office is processing 43 real-estate payment protests with 14,424 parcels countywide, 22 personal-property protests and 2,218 individual renditions; she emphasized the county is still waiting for agricultural values from the state, which has delayed the value-notice timeline.

Register of deeds staff reported 1,020 deeds recorded in 2025, $158,000 in recording fees, and an increase in e-recording activity (about 23% higher than the prior year). Planning & Zoning director Tim Hamilton said the county issued 75 permits in 2025, including 18 new single-family homes in unincorporated areas, and is preparing draft zoning language for renewable-energy projects and battery-storage issues.

EMS and health director John Holmgren said EMS answered 2,987 calls for the county last year and described progress with a Mobile Integrated Health program (MIH) that had seven active patients; the MIH team reported avoiding at least one ambulance trip and hospital admission through in-home interventions. 911 director Andrew Piper described staffing and quality improvements in the 911 center.

IT director Dustin Parks described progress on an email migration, server-migration planning and a planned core-switch/firewall upgrade; he noted equipment costs have risen and the county is pursuing cybersecurity grant funding to help pay for upgrades.

Commissioners asked staff to continue compiling growth measures (for example, new-construction data tied to building permits) to present a clearer picture of local population and economic trends.