Clay County commissioners reorganize leadership, approve appointments and administrative rules

Elizabeth Smith was chosen as the Board’s chair at the Clay County Board of Commissioners’ Jan. 5 organizational meeting, and Travis Mockler was elected vice chair after a discussion about experience overseeing the county’s jail and law enforcement center project. The Commission completed a long list of committee appointments for the year, including emergency management, the Vermillion Clay Ditch Board and multiple advisory boards, and adopted Modern Addition of Robert’s Rules of Order.

County Auditor Carri Crum read administrative items the Board approved, including the designation of the Vermillion Plain Talk and The New Era as official legal newspapers and authorization of official depositories. Director of Equalization Ina Peterson told commissioners she plans to retire on June 30, 2023 and presented a written notice to the Board.

Smith, who presided after the reorganization, told the Board she was "willing" to serve and to support county work on major projects; the Board then discussed vice-chair authority for ongoing construction decisions and elected Mockler to the role given his facility experience. Commissioners also set per‑diem and travel reimbursement policies and finalized routine administrative designations for the year.