Supervisor Heather Knebel (R-Traer).

Road construction along with dust, gravel, mud, and dust control were the main topics for discussion in April when Highway 63 from the 96/63 junction to Toledo closed on April 20. The Iowa DOT closed the highway to remove the pavement and replace it with asphalt, while making it a “Super 2 Highway” with periodic passing lanes. This project is long overdue but understandably causes headaches for motorists. The detour identified by the DOT is a long one, and gravel roads such as K Avenue are instead getting a significant amount of traffic. The county’s role is to ensure safety and maintain conditions while traveling on gravel roads. The Sheriff recommended to the Board of Supervisors a 35-mph speed limit on K Ave during the construction project to ensure traffic slows down. The DOT agreed to spray dust control on K Avenue at intersections and in front of houses. The County secondary roads department worked hard to prepare the road for the added traffic and the dust control. Rock was spread on this road as well as some other alternate gravel roads with added traffic. I appreciate the hard work done by the employees of our County Road Department in this effort.

The FY25 Audit was completed and the report approved. Overall, the County has reduced expenses and increased ending fund balances. The unassigned balance was low. This means in the coming year we need to work toward having enough funds to cover 10-25% of expenses for the County. We should be in better shape as we prepare for next year’s Audit, as the Audit just completed included the prior Board’s budget and appropriations of money, meaning there was only so much this five-member board could do to tighten the belt on spending.

The new FY27 Budget was approved in April. For the funds that the Board of Supervisors have responsibility for, the levies either decreased or stayed the same. Any increase you see in property taxes is from assessed values, schools, or cities.

The Board of Supervisors approved the Tama County Sheriff’s request to require Mental Health Physicals for the Sheriff’s Department, as well as for the Dispatchers. This will cost $5,000 per year but it will come out of the Health Insurance fund that has a comfortable fund balance. This was an easy decision for me to make, as employees in these departments see and hear more trauma situations in a year than most people do in a lifetime.

Public Health/Home Health continued to be a weekly discussion at Board of Supervisors meetings. Public Health will remain as is required by Iowa Code. Discussions surrounding the Home Health component have run the gambit from elimination, then to decertifying, then staying as is since more revenue was said to be coming in, then back to decertifying. These were all options sent back and forth between the Board of Health and the Board of Supervisors. The final decision for the FY27 budget year was to decertify, meaning the Board of Health voted to Decertify from the Medicare Certification that the department currently holds. Tama County Home Health will continue but at a smaller scale. They will continue service to the underserved and vulnerable including: immunizations, Veterans, indigenous populations, maternal and child health programs, and foot clinic services. The total budget for Public Health and Home Health is $1.08M, consisting of Tama County covering $527K, and Revenue is projected to be $549K. The tax levy and earmark have to be the full $1.08M to account for expenses before the revenue comes in. This has been a stressful situation for all involved: employees, Board of Health, Board of Supervisors, and the public, and we realize there is no perfect solution. I can understand why some feel it best to keep what we have had in place, but the State continues to put pressure on County government expenditures for tax relief. There are private care companies that already exist in Tama County that are more than willing to assist patients with needed care, and Tama County Public Health has a list of these entities. We plan to review how things are proceeding on a quarterly basis going forward with the Board of Health and have joint meetings over the next year.

Supervisor Hilmer and I were present for Government Day, where we met with several groups of senior high school students from Tama County in the Board of Supervisors office. We shared different aspects of what a Supervisor oversees, how we are elected, the various boards we cover, and offered career advice. It was rewarding to meet these students from the community for this event.

I attended the Economic Outlook Breakfast in Marshalltown to hear Debi Durham as keynote speaker. She was interviewed by the Marshalltown Chamber President and CEO, John Hall. There was a table of Tama County elected officials as well as several business leaders who took time to attend. My main takeaway from the event is that Economic Development starts at the local level and we all have a part in it to assist in building our communities. Debi praised the Marshalltown Chamber and how well they have done.

As usual, please reach out with any questions or concerns.

Supervisor Heather Knebel (R-Traer), the first elected female supervisor in Tama County history, represents District 3, including the townships of Spring Creek, Crystal, Perry, and parts of far northern Carlton (excluding Garwin) and Howard. She can be reached at 641-481-2532 or hknebel@tamacounty.org.