Supervisors approve yearly fiscal budget, hear upcoming road projects

By Rick Morain
Jefferson Herald

The Greene County Board of Supervisors March 27 adopted the county budget for fiscal year 2023-24, which begins July 1.
Property tax dollars for 2023-24 will not exceed $5,010,233, an increase of $110,018 or 2.2 percent over the current fiscal year’s amount. Tax dollars for rural county services will not exceed $2,018,666, an increase of $114,993 or 6.04 percent above the current fiscal year’s amount.

COUNTY SALARY INCREASES

Prior to the budget resolution, the board adopted a resolution approving the county compensation board’s recommendations for salaries for county elected officials in the coming fiscal year. Those amounts are as follows (current year’s salaries in parentheses):

Attorney, $131,101 ($123,100); sheriff, $110,171 ($97,067); auditor, $77,895 ($73,141); treasurer, $75,297 ($70,702); recorder, $74,076 ($69,555); supervisors, $34,652 each ($32,537). The increase for the sheriff is 13.5 percent; all the other elected officials are receiving increases of 6.5 percent.
A public hearing to take comments for the proposed budget was held prior to the approval, with no oral or written comments received.

LOCAL CONSTRUCTION

The board approved County Engineer Wade Weiss’s proposed secondary roads budget for 2023-24 and the five-year construction program, both of which are sent to the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT).
Most of the funds for the five-year program come from state farm-to-market funds or federal funds. The planned work includes the following projects:
• 2024: South Grimmell Road bridge replacement (Jackson Bridge just southwest of Jefferson), $3.4 million. This is a joint project with the city of Jefferson, and it includes $1.5 million of city funds.
• 2024: Patching and subdrain on County Road P-29 from Highway 4 four miles north to the county line, about five miles east of Churdan, $400,000.
• 2024: Pavement widening and asphalt resurfacing of County Road P-46 from the south county line north two miles to 320th Street south of Rippey, $1.2 million.
• 2024: Replacement of Snake Creek bridge on County Road P-46 just north of Rippey, $575,000.
• 2025: Replacement of Parkland Avenue bridge over Hardin Creek about a mile east of Jefferson, just south of Highway 30, $800,000.
• 2026: Rehabilitation of bridge on County Road E-63 a mile north of the county line in the south part of the county, just west of Highway 4 over Greenbrier Creek, $450,000.
• 2026: Rehabilitation of bridge on County Road P-14 about four miles west of Highway 4 in Greenbrier Township over Greenbrier Creek, $350,000.
• 2026: Patching of paved county roads countywide, $1.5 million.
• 2027: Asphalt overlay of County Roads E-18, E-26, and P-46 east of Grand Junction, Dana, and Paton, totaling 17 miles, $7.5 million.
• 2027: Replacement of bridge over Hardin Creek on County Road E-33 east of Farlin, $850,000.
• 2028: Replacement of bridge on Apple Street on the Carroll-Greene County line west of Scranton, $1.2 million, project shared with Carroll County.

Weiss also discussed IDOT’s plan for an overlay on Highway 30 from Jefferson to Scranton. The plan includes a worksite plant at the old Beazor Pit. Gravel road approaches connecting with the road overlay will be funded with the county’s local option sales and service tax monies.
He added that calcium chloride used by the county secondary roads department for dust control on gravel roads has increased in price by 21 percent. That product cost is to be passed on to those who sign up for dust control.

HIRINGS

The board approved three hirings in the county ambulance service: Jamie Brenner from current part-time emergency medical technician (EMT) to full-time EMT at $34,000 per year, effective March 6; Shelby Lietz as part-time PRN registered nurse at $20 per hour, effective March 12; and Rick Hamilton as part-time PRN EMT at $12 per hour, effective March 12.

Chuck Wenthold noted the Hudson Law Firm has provided an opinion to the Bolton & Menk consulting engineering firm that the Iowa drainage code allows for a drainage district to create its own watershed project.
At the end of the meeting Billie Hoskins and Michelle Fields, members of the county’s HIPAA committee, discussed joining the Iowa State Association (ISAC) HIPAA program. The program costs considerably less than the services now being provided to the county by the Compliancy Group (The Guard). The ISAC program provides yearly training and tracking for employees. The board took no action on the proposal at the meeting.