Angie Paulsen takes on another role
Author: Eliza McLaughlin - Staff Reporter
Angie Paulsen takes on another role Eliza McLaughlin - Staff Reporter Angie Paulsen, Broadwater County's Clerk and Recorder/Elections Administrator, will now take on the role of county surveyor -- sort of.
Title 7, Chapter 4, Part 28, Section 12 of the Montana Code Annotated dictates that the board of county commissioners can assign the responsibility of supervising and directing all highways, bridges and causeways in the county to a county surveyor or county road superintendent. While Broadwater County has a road and bridge department, it has operated without a surveyor or road superintendent, until the county commissioners approved the consolidation of the surveyor and the clerk and recorder's office during its Dec. 5 meeting.
Paulsen said the commission's decision to assign a county surveyor was spurred by the need to supervise county roads.
"I'm glad to serve the county where there's a need, and based on the discretion of the County Commissioners, Broadwater County needs to adjoin Clerk and Recorder and County Surveyor," Paulsen told MT 43 News, adding that the decision was spurred by the need to supervise county roads.
As Clerk and Recorder, Paulsen stores all the county's maps and works directly with surveyors, she said combining the two offices made sense. Combining the two offices also allows Broadwater County to avoid the requirement that the county surveyor be either a professional engineer or land surveyor.
"When the office of county surveyor is consolidated with another county office within the county, the requirements of subsection (1) are waived. Unless the officeholder has the qualifications prescribed in subsection (1), the officer shall, with the approval of the governing body, contract for the services of a person with those qualifications to perform the duties of county surveyor," states 7-4-2801 of the MCA. In other words, the law allows the county to assign someone "incompetent" who will then hire those who are "competent."
Former acting county attorney Jania Hatfield told the commissioners that Paulsen will essentially act as a conduit for the county's surveying needs, adding that the commissioners may need to review her budget to accommodate for the contracts.
"My office will now contract qualified surveyors depending on the specific needs of each project," Paulsen told MT 43 News after the meeting.
Hal Plummer, a member of the public attending the meeting, suggested that the county hire a single contractor to improve "continuity" among projects. Commission Chair Darrel Folkvord added that the county's current "on-call engineer" could be a good selection.
As county surveyor, Paulsen is technically responsible for making surveys, establishing grades and preparing plans, specifications and estimates. Additionally, MCA states that county surveyors should "make progress reports and estimates of all work and other facts in relation to the work as may be required by the board [of commissioners.]"
The consolidation of offices went into effect by unanimous vote on Dec. 5.
