(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Board of Supervisors met in a regular session Thursday morning, at the Supervisors Chamber in the Courthouse, with all members present. Auditor Mark Maxwell says Board Chair Steve Kenkel reported that the Iowa Utilities Board will start the CO2 pipeline permitting process on August 22nd. Kenkel noted that there are currently seven counties involved in the pipeline intervention group. Pipeline information is being shared between counties regarding policies and procedures. Chairman Kenkel also congratulated all departments coming in under budgets for fiscal year 2023.
The Supervisors then discussed the appointment of the County Budget Director, Taryn Knapp for fiscal year 2024, and acted on approving the appointment. During the scheduled reports portion of the Shelby County Supervisors meeting:
Alex Londo, EMA Director, noted that a reorganization of a grant process has resulted in EMPG funds being received in fiscal year 2023 and that those funds as well as fiscal year 2024 funds will be received this year. Londo said that his EMA Board was pleased with the result of the recent joint EMA/Board of Supervisors meeting and would like to continue these meetings. Londo said informational meetings have been held and more are scheduled concerning the Emergency Medical Services public measure proposed for this November 7th ballot.
Austin Staley, Shelby County IT Director, said the switch from an outside IT vendor to County IT has been completed and minimal contact with the outside provider is now needed. Issues facing his department were presented and new policies are being crafted for Supervisor review.
Kyle Lindberg, Shelby County Jail Director, informed the Supervisors that this has been a very busy year and a recent State of Iowa inspection garnered high marks for the Jail. Many new State requirements have the need to be completed in the coming years and budgeting for these requirements were forewarned. Insurance coverage for unexpected medical costs at the jail were discussed and budgeting for that expenditure will also be discussed at budget time.
Neil Gross, Shelby County Sheriff, said his office is now fully staffed and the transition of absorbing the police duties in the City of Harlan is going very well. Training for most of the new officers will be completed by the end of the month. There is a new K-9 absorbed by the Sheriffs Department from the City of Harlan. Gross also noted that Chad Butler has been promoted from Sergeant to Captain and that deputies Nate Pigsley and Jake Hoss were promoted to Sergeant.
Lindberg and Gross were asked to present funding requests to the Supervisors for the spending of opioid mitigation funds. Kyle Lindberg Shelby County Jail Director presented his Department report additionally he asked for amending the Jail budget to spend $ 6,000 in opioid funds in fiscal year 2024 and the Sheriffs Department estimated $5,950.00.
In other business, Policy revisions relating to Bituminous Roads were discussed and approved. Copies of the policy are available at the Shelby County Engineer’s office. The Supervisors then discussed and passed a new Partnership Agreement for Private Improvement of Secondary Roads that would allow Performance Grading to make improvements to secondary roads under guidelines set by Shelby County. Copies of the agreement are also available, at the engineers office. Brandon Burmeister, Shelby County Engineer, recommended Jay Ring to be appointed the Entry Level Driver Trainer for Shelby County. He said the position will save money by not having to send new drivers to schooling to learn the driving skills needed at secondary roads. The appointment was approved.
Auditor Maxwell reported that the new election equipment has been ordered. And the scheduled timeline for the upcoming City/School election this November is being prepared by his department. The addition of an IT administrator will be a huge step forward for Shelby County with the maintenance of election IT duties. The tax certifications are completed, and the tax billing process will be started soon. The Auditor’s office is responsible for assigning the tax levies for every taxing district in Shelby County. This includes 11 cities, seven school districts, three community colleges, 16 townships and 5 county wide tax authorities. There are 48 different combinations of levies in Shelby County, depending on where the property is located.
Maxwell noted that recent inquiries into the Shelby County EMA being able to submit a separate levy to Shelby County property tax payers, were sent to an attorney for information. It was proposed the cost of the expenditure be split equally between EMA funds and Shelby County funds. A motion to that effect was passed by the Board. They also passed a Resolution to hold a Public Hearing at 9-a.m. on August 1st, with regard to an amendment of the Fiscal Year 2024 Shelby County Budget.
The proposed expenditure departments include Election for expenditure capital saved over the years for new equipment $60,000.00. Sheriff’s department to expend $843,838.00 for expenses to be reimbursed by the City of Harlan for Public Safety Services and reallocation of the IT departments expenditures within the department that will not affect the total expenditures planned for that department in fiscal year 2024. Also ARPA grants still due to applications totaling $250,000.00 are still outstanding and may be awarded this fiscal year. The ARPA dollars are not Shelby County Property tax dollars, but a grant from the federal government. Also included in the amendment is an additional $200,000 added for income and expenses in the Public Health Department. All County Public Health expenses are grant income and not property tax dollars. Mark Maxwell says there isn’t a way to estimate exactly what expenditures on public health grants in any given year. Also $44,000 will be amended for spending of opioid settlement funds received by Shelby County.
The final order of business for the Board before they adjourned, Thursday, was the approval of an annual Liquor License renewal, for the Corley Community Club.
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