Emmons County hosted the Central Dakota Six-County Meeting on Tues., March 13, at the Linton Community Center.

The agenda included reports from District 28 legislators, zoning implications of medical marijuana and the Uniform County Truck Permit System.

The six counties are Emmons, Logan, McIntosh, Kidder, Foster and Wells.

District 28 Sen. Robert Erbele of Lehr noted that counties are “feeling some of the pain” from the budget cuts made by the 2017 session of the N.D. Legislature. He said there were 20 percent reductions in most programs, and the overall state budget was cut to what it was in 2010, all because of the decline in oil and sales tax revenue (which are back to 2010 levels).

To replace the state’s payments to counties to reduce property taxes by 12 percent, the legislature passed a pilot program whereby the state will take over the funding of Social Services from the counties. Sen. Erbele said some counties gained from the Social Services change while others, including Emmons County, did better with the 12 percent property tax reduction.