Supervisors approve interest rate

The Washington County Board of Supervisors approved a repayment plan for the cleanup of a rat-infested mobile home in Richmond. Last fall, the county demolished the property, owned by Jackie and Sharen TeBockhorst, at a cost of about $18,000. The county now has a lien for that amount of money over the property. The supervisors voted today to charge 6 percent interest on the repayment plan, which will be completed after 10 installments.

Washington County Treasurer Jeff Garrett told the supervisors that 9 percent was the highest interest rate they could charge. He said the range is typically between 5-6 percent. He said charging 6 percent was not out of line.

?We?re not here to act as a bank,? said Garrett.

Supervisor Jim Miksch remarked, ?Us loaning at 6 percent interest doesn?t look like a bad deal.?  

In an interview after the meeting, Garrett said the county can collect the money the same way it collects delinquent taxes. If the debt is not paid by July 1, then there will be a tax sale 11 months later.

?We would bill them (the owners) but it?s collectible just like taxes,? he said. ?If they don?t pay it, it will go to a tax sale just like delinquent taxes.?

The county has notified the TeBockhorsts that they have one month in which to pay off the debt with no interest.  

Garrett explained that since the county?s bill is just like a tax lien, it is connected to the property and not the persons. That means that if the property changes hands, the new owners would be responsible for picking up the tab.

Garrett said an adjacent land owner is interested in purchasing the property. Garrett said the neighbor understands he would be responsible for paying back the debt if he bought the property.

In other news, the supervisors accepted the appraisal of a property owned by Holy Trinity Methodist Church in Richmond. Douglas Hattery of Hattery Real Estate Appraisals in Davenport appraised the church?s 10 acres of land at $7,100 per acre. The property is located approximately 1 mile south of Richmond. It is the proposed site of the Richmond lagoon.

The supervisors also approved the pay increases of a few employees of the jail. Dennis Boecker?s wages rose from $17.19 to $17.79 an hour. Trenton Forrest?s pay rose from $15.73 to $17.79 an hour. Gina Greiner?s wages went from $17.52 to $18.85 an hour. Washington County Sheriff Jerry Dunbar wrote on the personnel change reports that he was giving these three employees raises because recent retirements had given them new responsibilities.

Lastly, the supervisors approved a fireworks permit for Joseph Brown, the program director of Our Time Youth. Brown applied to use fireworks on April 21 at 2610 Nutmeg Avenue. He included in his application a letter in which he wrote that the fireworks display would commence at 9:15 p.m. and end at 9:40 p.m. Brown wrote that he was told that the fireworks at last year?s event disturbed people. He wrote that he does not want to upset anyone, which is why the fireworks will occur outside the city limits and finish before 10 p.m.