Farm Bureau questions county funding

      At its Thursday evening annual meeting, the Henry County Farm Bureau re-elected its president, Charlotte Scott, and vice-president, Harold Pollmeier. The organization also adopted a number of resolutions based on responses to member surveys, one of which expressed concerns about actions by the Henry County Board of Supervisors.

      According to the resolution, ?the Henry County Farm Bureau does not believe the supervisors should fund projects solicited by various organizations that do not directly relate to county responsibilities.?

      Other local resolutions adopted by the Farm Bureau, again based on membership survey responses, indicated that the organization?s members believe it sponsors enough social activities and educational opportunities for its membership. The organization?s members also declared that it ?strongly feels that value-added farming operations that produce and process agricultural crops should be classified as agricultural for property tax.?

      The remaining resolutions adopted by the local farm bureau relate mostly to state and national issues, and officials said the list is drawn from questions proposed by the Iowa Farm Bureau.

      Pollmeier said concerns centered on several groups which approached the county for money, including the proposed Welcome Center and the Main Street project in Mt. Pleasant.

      ?We are seeing more and more organizations and groups appealing to the Board of Supervisors asking for funding,? said Pollmeier. ?With the renewal of the local option sales tax, the Board of Supervisors have more discretion.?

      According to Pollmeier, over 95 percent of those Farm Bureau members returning surveys said they believe it is not appropriate for the supervisors to fund items not connected to local government.

      That doesn?t mean the Farm Bureau opposes the projects, but rather that the organization says funding should come from a source other than county taxes.