Supervisors allocate $66,000 to Fairfield Public Library

After getting opposition to the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors? proposed $60,000 Fairfield Public Library budget, the supervisors agreed on $66,000 for next fiscal year.

Michael Porter, a trustee serving on the library board, represented Rebecca Huggins, library director, who could not attend Monday?s supervisors meeting.

?We developed the [county] budget from information received,? said supervisor Steve Burgmeier. ?We found $60,000 enough for that line item. We didn?t have the rural usage report at the time.?

Dropping the library?s county funding from $68,000 this year to $60,000 in the next year, a 12 percent decrease, said Porter, means there might have to be lay-offs.

?We receive endowments, but those can?t be used for regular expenses,? Porter said. ?Endowment income can be used for capital expenses. This year, we?ll need to replace all of our computers, an expense of $45,000, which can be paid with endowment dollars. But endowments can?t pay for salaries.?

The distinction is important, he said, because the community hears about endowments given to the library and everyone figures more money is not needed. If government funding is lowered and donors don?t contribute as much, the library loses out.

?The library is really very frugal,? said Porter. ?We have nearly twice the circulation count as other libraries our size. A 12 percent drop is a drastic cut. I?m asking you not to do this.?

Burgmeier said working on the budget is like working on a puzzle.

?We have to look at what we have,? he said. ?I?m not opposed to going back up to $68,000 if we look at what that buys.?

Supervisor Dick Reed agreed that going down to a $60,000 budget is tough.

?Taxpayers should have some skin in this,? said Reed. ?I hear you say this [lower budget] might not allow you to get other endorsements.

?I?m thinking $66,000. I know Rebecca won?t be happy. We?re all trying to buckle our belt tightly.?

Everyone needs to be prepared for less next year, said Supervisor Lee Dimmitt.

?I know we talked about the library?s ability to open up more computers for students? use after school,? he said. ?We talked about setting aside four computers during certain times for students. In supporting this, we may need to back it.?

Reed said again, $66,000. Burgmeier said he opposed that.

?I?m trying to be responsible, I don?t like to raise taxes, but if we trim too drastically, it can cut someone off at the knees,? said Reed.

When Reed put it in a motion, all three supervisors agreed to $66,000 for the library.

More budget concerns

The public health director also sought an increase.

Chris Estle-Tedrow asked for an additional $6,000 in her budget to be able to offer health insurance coverage to an employee.

?This is a part-time employee who works enough hours each week to qualify for health insurance coverage,? she said. ?She works on an as-needed basis, based on patient care needs.?

Burgmeier asked how many part-time employees worked in the department. Estle-Tedrow said three, but one does a different type of job.

?With three part-time employees, I think you could arrange hours so nobody works more than 30 hours a week,? he said. ?I say we leave the budget as is.?

Reed agreed, and no formal vote was needed.

The engineer?s budget was mentioned, then dropped because county engineer Tom Goff plans to retire during the next fiscal year, and the supervisors decided to wait for his replacement to discuss the department?s budget.

Dimmitt brought up the $62,000 budget for county sanitation.

?That?s a $48,000 annual salary and benefits, and this has nothing to do with the employee or job performance,? he said. ?But do we need to justify this as a full-time position??

Burgmeier agreed, noting the sanitarian brought in $24,700 on the revenue side.

The county website page for the sanitarian, under public health, specifies the Jefferson County sanitarian duties are:

? Provide enforcement and information about county septic systems and discharge from onsite wastewater treatment and disposal systems.

? Consult on the Regional Utility Service Systems.

? Approve permits for new wells, and well and cistern plugging.

? Conduct well-water testing.

? Provide information about radon and conduct radon mitigation workshops for contractors.

? Inspect tanning salons and provide owner/management testing.

? Inspect tattoo establishments.

? Public pool inspections.

The website also notes food inspections are performed in Jefferson County by the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals.

The supervisors discussed how the position is half time in some neighboring counties, which then share a sanitarian between two counties. No decisions were made Monday.

Differing rates at youth detention facilities

Reed urged anyone who talks with state legislators to ask about room rates at youth detention centers in Iowa.

?There?s a price war going on among youth detention centers,? he said. ?Up there [in Des Moines] rates are $50 a day and down here it?s $104. This is a state system; there are no private detention facilities in Iowa. There needs to be a law to make the system equal.

?It?s about the kids. It should be fair for everyone. This is affecting all detention centers in Iowa.?

He added that Jefferson County has eight to 13 youths per day in detention.

Reed and Dimmitt attended the statewide county supervisors meeting in Des Moines last week.

?It was one of the best meetings in years,? said Reed. ?There?s a lot of issues out there: fuel tax, commercial property tax restructure, mental health restructuring and funding, and the detention center rates. Several legislators attended and spoke, and the lieutenant governor was there. I felt like they all listened. We had good dialogs.?

Dimmitt agreed the legislative meeting was the best he?s attended.

?I personally agree with the Senate?s version of the commercial property tax,? he said. ?It takes local government out of the picture. The tax credits are entirely funded by the state.?

Dimmitt also touched on system standards for Emergency Medical Services.

?EMS has 52 standards, and we?re to identify which standards we meet, and how long it?s estimated it will take us to meet the rest of the standards,? said Dimmitt.

He voiced concern about a local finding.

?We have four radio systems ? one in the law enforcement center, one in a trailer which I?d like to relocate, and two other systems in the building the dispatchers had no idea existed,? said Dittmer. ?They are not trained nor have the keys to these other two systems.?