Supervisors approve $19.9 million budget

By Mary Zielinski
The Washington County supervisors Tuesday approved the fiscal 2009-10 $19,943,200 budget that will see a $7.66420 per $1,000 levy for urban areas and a $10.51430 per $1,000 valuation for rural areas. The levy is a 4.28 percent increase and was criticized by Brian Hora, Ainsworth, as being a full one percent higher than last year’s.

We held it as tight as we could

Hora said, “It is not a wise time” to be seeking more money with property tax increases, especially with carryover money.
Chairman James Miksch said the board did not take it lightly to ask for more property tax and that the county’s fund balance is lower than that recommended by the state, despite “1.9 million may seem like a lot.”
Hora, referring to the county road situation, asked how the county would spend less on them. He suggested that more cuts should be made the budget “should be tighter.”
“We held it as tight as we could,” said supervisor Adam Mangold, noting that when it comes to road use funds that problem rests with the state, especially legislators and the governor.
County Auditor Bill Fredrick noted that a major consideration is relocating the Public Health Department, the first step of which is developing a plan for where and how to house the department for which $125,000 has been allocated. Fredrick explained that this is from carryover designated for Public Health.
He explained that the county needs to have significant balances to avoid having to borrow funds, such as the $150,000 for the recent Orchard Hill remodeling.
Following the public hearing on the budget, the board approved the board and certification which has to be done by March 16.
Of the $19.9 million budget, $7,442,529 comes from property taxes. However, there is $380,000 from the gambling tax and $175,000 annual payment from the city of Riverside, paid to offset the use of TIF funds used to repay $9.4 million in revenue bonds. The county lent the city its bonding capacity to allow Riverside to get the funds to build the water and sewer infrastructure needed for the casino. Riverside has since hired an attorney to renegotiate what will be $1,750,000 paid to the county over ten years.
In other business, the board:

• approved “blanket” road embargo to allow the Secondary Roads Department to embargo county roads as needed. Engineer Dave Patterson said there already is a five-ton vehicle embargo, imposed Tuesday, for 11.5 miles on six roads: Fir AVenue from G38 to Hwy. 92; Gingko Avenue, G39 to Hwy. 92; Underwood AVenue, 230th Street to G36; 230th street from Underwood Avenue to W64; Juniper Avenue from G20 to 155th Street, and Kiwi Avenue from G 20 to 155th Street. Much of Kiwi, directly north of Highway 22, is currently flooded and impassable. Permits can be issued for vehicles in excess of five tons provided it is for necessary products such as farm produce or home heating fuel, said Patterson. Embargoes will be enforced by the county sheriff’s department and the Iowa DOT;

• approved a liquor permit for the Kalona Golf Course;

• approved removing a dilapitated storage building at the county recycling center. Supervisors Wes Rich said he had spoken with an Amish man who would do the work, including clearing the site, for material salavage at a cost of $600, but Miksch asked to wait a week to accept it to see “if there are others who would be interested and do it for less”; and

• approved a bid letting for 2009 local culverts project (part of the Vine Avenue reconstruction) for 9:30 a.m. March 31. Estimated costs is $85,000 to $90,000. Patterson said that the work, part of the national stimulus package for which the county could receive nearly $800,000, is to start in April.