I heard it said recently that all taxpayers should want Government representation “closest to the people”. Question: Does your representation increase or decrease with Tama County divided into 3 Supervisor Districts versus 5 Supervisor Districts? Clearly your representation decreases and is diluted when our county has 3 Supervisors instead of 5. I’ve obtained the Supervisors’ salary breakdown for the past 2 fiscal years as well as the current fiscal year to determine what the total dollar amount of increase to the county budget really is. The amount furnished to me comprises the Salary, FICA, IPERS, Health Insurance, cell phones and mileage for the Board of Supervisors (NOTE: our current 5 Supervisors are not reimbursed for mileage). The increase to the county for 5 Supervisors compared to when we had 3 Supervisors was $120,206 for FY25-26, and $128,332 for FY26-27. Based on the levy done by the Board of Supervisors for the current fiscal year, the budget they have control over is $28.9 Million dollars ($28,994,951 to be more exact). $128,332 divided into the total fiscal year budget, is a resulting increase of less than one-half of 1% of Tama County’s total budget. Think about that. I’d say it would be a pretty poor trade-off to dilute one of my most fundamental rights…representation “closest to the people”, for less than one-half of 1% savings to the county budget. Even if you were to believe that you would see a comparable reduction in your property tax bill (which I believe is a flawed theory), that very small percentage would be a pretty insignificant number considering what we would all be giving up if Tama County would only be represented by 3 Supervisors. I urge you to consider what level of representation you think best serves you when you vote in the upcoming November general election. In my mind, it’s abundantly clear we need to retain a 5 Supervisor Board.

Nancy Yuska, Traer