Supervisors continue budgets talks, appointments

Budget talks continued along with several appointments at the Jasper County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday. County Treasurer Doug Bishop said he was maintaining his budget with only wage and benefit increases. He is hoping to get a new copier for his department to replace the used machine that he purchased six years ago.

“I got three different quotes and I actually sent it back to Forbes and said, ‘you need to keep business local. I want to,’ and they did,” Bishop said. “I figured this time around there was a used one when I came in and I bought a used one and got our money’s worth, I figured this time we’ll buy one for the long haul.”

Also in the treasurer’s office, Cindy Meredith and Warren Braun were appointed deputies and approved by the supervisors. County Recorder Denise Allan had two deputies approved as well. Linda Hammer and Pam Keenan were appointed to the recorder’s office as of Jan. 2.

A public hearing will be set for a five-year agreement with ShoreTel Phone Maintenance for phone systems across the county. If the agreement is approved, the county could potentially save $2,450 over the yearly renewal.

Supina Dake was approved for a part-time service coordinator position in the county CPC department. Her start date is Jan. 15 with a pay rate at $16.23 per hour.

The fair board spoke to the supervisors about work that had been accomplished at the fair grounds in Colfax including four new roofs on barns and on the vendor building. It said future projects include two additional roof barns, repainting the pavilion after flood damage a few years ago and new hog pens. It was also mentioned the possible ADA requirements might be coming, including having paved handicap parking.

In the past year, the fair board received $10,000 for the supervisors but showed the board a break down of how much each county gives to its fair. The average was more than $20,000 in the state. No additional money was requested. It presented an idea of how much the new projects would cost.

The supervisors also heard from representatives of the Jasper County Museum, engineer and wellness, information systems, maintenance and capital projects and the auditor’s office. Budget workshop talks conclude Wednesday.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at
641-792-3121 ext. 6534
or jpierson@newtondailynews.com