CRYSTAL FALLS — Iron County Trial Court Chief Judge Donald Powell updated the county board Tuesday on several staffing changes in the court, due to the pending retirement of Court Administrator Lori Willman.

While Willman’s last official day is Sept. 29, she will no longer be in the office after June 1, as she will be exhausting her unused paid time off. Probate Court Registrar Summer Olson will move into the administrator position and Friend of the Court caseworker Ashley Holm will be stepping in as registrar, leaving a vacancy in the Friend of the Court.

Powell said that each of these positions is highly technical and requires a significant amount of training, Olson and Powell have already been training for their new positions.

Powell hopes to have a new Friend of the Court caseworker hired by April 15 so they can receive six weeks of training before assuming the role.

Wages for the four months when there are technically two court administrators will be covered by a savings of $35,000 the county received when the state assumed payments on the GIS system, the software used by the circuit, district and probate courts.

Powell said that the salaries for the Friend of the Court caseworker are two-thirds covered by state grants. For the six weeks of training the new caseworker, some money would have to be moved around the Friend of the Court budget.

Board Chairman Mark Stauber reminded Powell that the registrar job was a union position and the vacancy needs to be posted internally for five days so that others interested in the position could apply. Powell said he will be posting the position but is unaware of anyone else interested.

The board passed a motion to give Powell permission to seek applicants for the vacant positions.

Also, a budget amendment was passed in order to use a portion of the $35,000 budget windfall to fund the second court administrator for four months. A third motion approved a salary for Olson of $49,000 the first year, $51,000 the second year, and $53,000 the third year.

In other business, the board:

— Appropriated $25,000 to Michigan State University-Extension. The funding means that programs such as 4-H will be able to continue through 2024.

— Set a pay rate for the medical examiner at 50 cents per resident, or approximately $5,816 annually. Dr. Martin Cristanelli is filling the position through an autopsy services agreement with Dickinson County.

— Approved having the sheriff’s department corrections officers receive credit cards for training and transport. According to Sheriff Ryan Boehmke, the department has been running into problems with officers in training paying for hotel rooms and meals. Also, during inmate transfers downstate, petty cash was being depleted. Officers will receive cards with their names on them with a limit of $1,000.

— Approved a resolution expressing support for the Citizens for Local Choice ballot initiative that seeks to restore local control for siting wind and solar operations.