Zoom allows residents to watch county supervisors’ meetings

To the Editor:

It’s time to “Zoom.” The Iowa County Board of Supervisors meetings are now available on “Zoom.” All you need to do is download the “Zoom” app on your phone, tablet or computer. Then log on to the official website for Iowa County, Iowa (iowacounty.iowa.gov). Scroll down the page until you come to “Recent Documents,” “Board of Supervisors” and you should see the agendas and minutes list. Click on the agenda you want and at the bottom of the agenda is the link and information to listen to the Iowa County Board of Supervisor meeting via “Zoom.”

It is an opportunity to observe how your tax dollars are being managed and what they are being spent on. You can see how your Iowa County Board of Supervisors interact and how they come to decisions. You can witness your government at work.

It is also an opportunity to examine what your supervisors and county department heads do as part of their job. You may think a job as county supervisor is just showing up for a meeting once a week, deciding how to spend your hard-earned tax dollars and going home. It involves much more than that if done correctly. They oftentimes make numerous trips and meetings throughout the week in order to keep up on changes in the rules and laws. They meet with department heads to observe equipment, roads and problem areas, as well as meeting with their constituents to keep in touch with what’s happening in the county. This enables them to make better decisions at the regular meetings. Although they didn’t take a raise in their salaries this time around, it can be argued they certainly deserved one considering the inflation rate.

I attended the public hearing for the proposed budget on April 21. I asked if I was correct in understanding that the money the county will receive from the industrial wind turbines can not be used for property tax relief or to help our schools. I was correct.

So, the money from the turbines will not help our schools or provide tax paying citizens with property tax relief. I don’t know about you, but my electric bill has not gone down, neither have my taxes. But my family’s quality of life has certainly diminished since the industrial wind turbines have started spinning.

Denise Leubka, Williamsburg,