Consolidation, sharing talk headline first legislative briefing

By BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Roles were reversed Saturday at the first Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance?s legislative briefing in the Chadwick Library on the campus of Iowa Wesleyan College.

Operating under the theme, ?governing cities, counties and schools: What can we learn from one another?,? legislators did more listening than speaking. Discussion centered on possible efficiency and cost-saving through the consolidation of governments.

In addition to State Sen. Rich Taylor, D-Mt. Pleasant, State Rep. Dave Heaton, R-Mt. Pleasant, the panel also featured former Henry County Supervisor Kent White, former Mt. Pleasant Mayor John Freeland, Mt. Pleasant Superintendent of Schools Mike Wells and Public Institute President Don Racheter.

Panelists pointed out that sharing of services has been happening in the county.

?The county and city are working together in economic development,? noted Freeland. ?It takes cooperation to be successful in economic development.?

Freeland also said that the county sheriff?s office and local police departments often cooperate in cases. Secondly, he remarked that Iowa has benefitted fire districts whereby city fire departments provide protection to rural residents.

Cities and the county cooperate in the maintenance of roads and in sanitation issues, White said. ?It has worked very well over the years, such as past work on Courtland Avenue (west side of Mt. Pleasant). The storage facility for trash pick-up in the county is also located in Mt. Pleasant.?

Despite some sentiments to the contrary, White said Mt. Pleasant never received any favors from the county when he served on the board of supervisors. ?Some rural residents are jealous of Mt. Pleasant. However, I can assure you that from a county government point of view, Mt. Pleasant does not get any favors.?

Wells said there are plenty of opportunities for school district sharing with the city, mentioning that the school district rents space from the city for its central office.

?There are operation sharing of personnel opportunities, such as sharing a librarian. We also could jointly construct a YMCA-type building.

?Recent laws have made it easier to share,? Wells continued. ?Currently, we are sharing a librarian with the Keokuk School District and saved $50,000 (per year). Changes in the law have opened more doors for sharing and we will be talking to the city about more sharing.?

Racheter listed dual-credit (high school and college credit) courses as one way school districts and colleges are banding together. He also mentioned Iowa Wesleyan College?s recent education and tuition agreements with Southeastern Community College and Indian Hills Community College. ?That was all done through governmental cooperation,? he stated.

Dave Helman, who served as moderator of the event, asked whether Iowa needs 99 counties.

?This is the way we have always done it,? Racheter said. ?I would propose if we have county consolidation that we would keep all the county courthouses (and offer some services from the satellite courthouses). If we did that, the argument of having to drive farther for services would be eliminated. I think we could save money through the use of technology.?

Wells reflected that when he was superintendent at Corning, Taylor and Adams counties did a study to share services which was vehemently opposed by residents of both counties because of the distance factor.

Freeland doubted there ever would be a push in the legislature to consolidate small counties, a point later agreed to by Heaton. ?I get the feeling the state does not want to enact laws that give local control.?

?It is really up to the people on what they want,? Heaton said. ?It is not up to us to tell them what to do. If you want to consolidate counties, it is not up top the state legislature to tell you to do it. It is up to the local people.?

Panelists also discussed a countywide school district.

Wells said that as many as three rural countywide school districts could be run by one superintendent. ?Of course you could not do that in some of the larger urban school districts, but it could be done in rural areas,? the administrator said. ?The county superintendent?s role would be more about finances, but I think it would save a lot of money and expand the curriculum for school districts.

?One of the problems, though, is some communities would feel they are losing their identity and voice,? Wells noted.

?I see some merit in county school districts,? agreed Heaton. ?If school districts want to consolidate that is their business, I don?t think we (state legislature) should mandate it. When school districts can?t offer a full curriculum is when they get into trouble.?

Rural Iowa must make some changes soon, Freeland emphasized. ?Rural Iowa is dying if we don?t change. When I came here, there were 3,400 students (in the Mt. Pleasant Community School District), now we are under 2,000.?

The panelists also discussed whether it would be better if county officials were elected through a non-partisan vote (non-party affiliation) or appointed rather than elected.

White, the former supervisor, said he didn?t see the need for candidates to run by party. ?I don?t see a need for partisan politics in county government,? he began. ?I don?t feel my politics ever entered into any decision I made. I also think there are some positions where it is better to have a professional rather than an elected official.?

Continuing, White said professionals could serve most county offices. The sheriff?s office is one position, he said, that should remain an elected post. ?There is more of a bond between rural residents and an elected sheriff. They (rural residents) have a lot of dialogue with the sheriff and show more passion toward that position than others.?

The former supervisor, however, said he would not be in favor of a county manager position. ?Do we need more positions to govern? I am not a fan of big government. In Henry County, I would not favor adding a county manager.?

Taylor noted that as part of a study committee last summer, county-hired positions (such as auditor, treasurer, etc.) were discussed ?and there was not support for it. It was felt that the current checks and balances are working fine.

?As far as consolidating counties,? Taylor continued, ?I can?t even get north and south Lee County to come together. It is like a Civil War. When you are taking services away from one county and giving to another, you have to be careful.?

Legislators briefly discussed business on ?The Hill.? Heaton said Gov. Terry Branstad?s budget is $27 million more than anticipated state revenues, which Heaton said is shocking. ?This is the first time I?ve seen the governor spend all of the money and then some. I don?t want to spend more than we take in.?

Taylor said the Iowa Senate is working on the education allowable-growth bill and looking at 6 percent new money for state school districts. ?We hope to have a bill on the floor Tuesday. Iowa ranks 37th in the nation on per-pupil spending. We also want to invest more money in human services. We feel we have to do more for our kids, and we are looking for more money to help kids in poverty. Kids are our future and that is where we are going to invest our money.?

The next briefing will be Saturday, Feb. 22, at Chadwick Library. The topic is ?Economic strength: Helping Iowa grow through tax reform and infrastructure development.? Briefings are from 8:30-10 a.m.