County seeks public input on future of SGSDs at upcoming town hall

For the past six months, conversations among county officials have been ongoing about the future of Subordinate Government Service Districts (SGSDs).

Several county departments, including the Cook County Highway Department, the Cook County Auditor/Treasurer’s Office, and the MIS Department, which all oversee or manage SGSDs in some capacity, have advocated eliminating the policy.

SGSDs allow property owners on non-serviced roads, such as private, U.S. Forest Service, or DNR roads, to pay a special assessment to the county to manage contracted road maintenance.

The highway department does not conduct the maintenance work directly. Instead, the county hires private contractors to provide services such as plowing, grading, and sanding.

“It’s a way for those folks to get plowing services or gravel services through tax assessments done by the county,” Cook County Highway Engineer Robbie Hass said.

Hass said there are nine SGSDs in the county, serving approximately 260 properties. Of the 260 properties, Hass said that roughly 30 are homesteaded.

The county’s decision to consider dissolving SGSDs involves several factors. Hass said those include the amount of county resources and staff time devoted to managing the districts each year, the use of county tax dollars, and the responsibility of overseeing private contractors when services are not fulfilled.

County officials have revisited budget priorities and the distinction between mandated and non-mandated services during recent Board of Commissioners meetings. Hass said the SGSD policy is not a required service and is being included in the discussion and review process.

Voyageurs Point SGSD Road Liaison Bob Safford told WTIP earlier this winter that the SGSDs are important to property owners in the district, and the potential elimination of the policy would present challenges for hiring and working with contractors, among other factors.

Before deciding whether to keep or eliminate SGSDs, the county has scheduled a town hall to give the public and SGSD property owners an opportunity to provide comments.

“This is the first step to do this, gather feedback, and then see where to go from there,” Hass said.

The town hall will be Jan. 28 from 4-5 p.m. in the Commissioner’s Room at the Cook County Courthouse. The meeting will be in-person and recorded, but Hass said it will not be live-streamed. Representatives from each of the three county departments that oversee SGSDs are expected to attend, along with other county officials.

Hass said, given that most properties are seasonal residences, the county will contact each of the nine SGSD liaisons to ensure all property owners are properly notified ahead of the meeting.

Following the meeting, the county will upload the recorded video to the county website. The public is encouraged to submit comments if they are unable to attend on Jan. 28. Comments can be submitted to robert.hass@co.cook.mn.us.

WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with Cook County Highway Engineer live on Daybreak to talk about SGSDs and the upcoming town hall. The audio from the interview is below.

Kalli Hawkins January 9, 2026