Lake County posts facilities worker, senior mechanic jobs as spring work ramps up

Lake County is trying to shore up the work that keeps county government visible to residents every day: clean buildings, repaired road equipment and property assessments that move on schedule. The county posted openings for a facilities worker, a senior mechanic and an appraiser on April 24, a sign that several of the most basic services are being stretched just as spring work ramps up.

The facilities worker job in the Lake County Facilities Maintenance Department pays $18.43 to $24.87 an hour. It is open until filled, with an initial review date of May 8, and the county says applicants need a high school diploma or GED, a valid driver’s license, a background check, drug testing and the physical ability to do the job. Duties include cleaning and sanitizing floors, walls, ceilings and furniture, cleaning bathrooms and elevators, recycling, maintaining custodial supplies, doing minor maintenance and helping care for buildings and grounds.

Lake County also posted an internal-only opening for a senior mechanic in the Highway Department at $29.78 to $40.21 an hour. That job closes Friday, May 8, at 4 p.m. and requires a high school diploma or GED, three years of maintenance or related experience and a valid Class A commercial driver’s license. The mechanic would assign maintenance and repair work, plan fleet repairs, coordinate equipment inventory, determine repair needs and keep repair records. That matters in a county highway system that covers 375 miles of roadways and 77 structures.

The third posting is for an appraiser in the Assessor’s Department, a full-time 37.5-hour-a-week job paying $25.15 to $33.96 an hour. It has an initial review date of May 8 and calls for a high school diploma or GED, two years of related experience or an equivalent mix of education and experience, plus a Certified Minnesota Assessor license within one year, an Income Qualified Designation within two years, an Accredited Minnesota Assessor credential within five years of CMA and a valid driver’s license. The work includes routine appraisal and assessment tasks, construction inspections, scheduling and prioritizing inspections, calculations, training newer staff and explaining or defending assessments to property owners, tax court and county boards.

The assessor’s office, led by Gregg Swartwoudt, with Noah Mittlefehldt as appraiser supervisor, Andrew Fellows as deputy assessor and appraisers Jessica Carr and Joseph Jacobs, says it is responsible for equitable assessment of real and personal property under state law and regulation. County appeal guidance says tax petitions generally may be filed after a value notice and before April 30 of the year the taxes are payable. Together, the openings show Lake County is reinforcing the systems residents notice fastest when they falter: the buildings they enter, the roads they drive and the property-tax process that lands in their mailbox.