MARSHALL — Budget and workforce cuts have a tenant at the Lyon County Government center asking for a smaller office, county officials said this week.

At Tuesday’s Lyon County Board meeting, county commissioners heard a request for a reduction in the amount of office space the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development rents from the county. County Administrator Loren Stomberg said the request wasn’t unexpected, but it would mean the county would receive about $24,000 less in rental income per year.

“I did have that worked into the budget. I knew something was going to happen,” Stomberg said. “It’s better than losing them entirely.”

Stomberg said DEED was also requesting some changes to their office space like putting up walls. Commissioners voted to move forward with a lease agreement and give Stomberg the authority to negotiate with DEED.

DEED currently rents 7,010 square feet of office space in the county government center, Stomberg said. The funding and workforce for the Marshall DEED office had been reduced, and they no longer needed that amount of space, he said.

DEED was requesting to reduce their office space by 1,540 square feet when their lease renews in August, he said. If approved, it would reduce rental income for the county by $23,870 each year, Stomberg said.

The current annual rent for the full 7,010 square feet comes to $105,150.

Stomberg said DEED was also asking for some other changes to go with the smaller office footprint. “They are asking for a wall to be put up,” he said. Making changes to the layout of the office and its utilities would carry some costs for the county. “I hesitate to do that until we find a tenant here,” Stomberg said. So far, there wasn’t a tenant lined up for the space that would no longer be occupied by DEED.

“I did talk with Human Services. They said they need more space, but they didn’t know if they could afford it,” Stomberg said.

Commissioners discussed the proposed options for the reconfigured DEED office. In the end, they voted to have Stomberg negotiate with DEED.