BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: County Board votes to restore Master Gardeners funding
Following a show of strong support for the Steele County Extension Services Master Gardener program, county commissioners on Tuesday night voted to restore funding that would pay the salary of Master Gardener Volunteer Coordinator Lorrie Rugg.
The board had voted at its previous meeting to inform the University of Minnesota they were giving the required 90-day notice of a change in the contract with the University that the county would not fund the Master Gardener coordinator or the ag educator positions for 2027. Tuesday’s action affected only the Master Gardener coordinator position.
Master Gardener volunteers from Steele County, along with several volunteers from Rice and Waseca County and community residents spoke during the public comment section of the meeting. All speakers pointed out the value of the program to the county and expressed disagreement with the board’s decision to defund the position. During a discussion after the public comments, several board members pointed out the community support for the program judging by the emails they had received.
Speakers told board members that the local Master Gardener program has continued to grow since Rugg became the coordinator where other counties with a volunteer coordinator had seen their numbers decline. Steele County will have more than 50 master gardeners after the New Year.
They also brought attention to the value of their work, from the help they gave to gardeners, to activities at the county fair, and to how much produce raised was donated to Community Pathways.
The only vote against reinstating the program came from Jim Abbe who at the last meeting also made the motion to defund the position.
During the discussion Tuesday night, he said his concern was about the impact of programs on the Steele County budget for 2027. With federal and state cuts to counties he said, there are “headwinds” that need to be addressed. The county’s goal, he said, is to reduce the 7.1% preliminary tax levy increase when the final budget is prepared. The county needs to look at discretionary spending, he said.
He said he was not comfortable voting to reinstate the program before it was discussed at a board budget meeting.
Abbe’s wife, Lori, is a member of the Master Gardeners program.
Since the coordinator’s position is part time, the reinstatement will amount to $31,535.