March 29, 2024

County supervisors hold budget workshop

The Jasper County Board of Supervisors met Wednesday to discuss the next fiscal year’s budget following January presentations in which requests were made. After reviewing two budget options, the board selected an option that keeps taxes at the same rate as last year.

A few items that needed to be settled were funds to be given to Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), Veterans Affairs, domestic violence coverage, the county fair board and the Jasper County Museum. RSVP asked for additional funds of $5,000 to total $7,500 because of a decrease in funding from Skiff Medical Center. The board decided to allocate the additional money because they felt it was a justified use for a countywide service, but will review the amount again for the budget next year.

“For RSVP, that is almost a crisis situation for them. With Skiff cutting their funding that drastically that’s probably endangering the program,” Supervisor Joe Brock said.

The board also agreed to a $5,000 increase to the county fair board to total $15,000. When the fair board presented its budget to the supervisors, they included future projects of two additional roof barns, repainting the pavilion after flood damage and new hog pens. The increase is once again established to be a one-time addition and the board will review the budget again for next year.

Domestic violence coverage through the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence had no increase in funds but did request the use of $2,000. In years past, $2,500 had been approved for the program. Nancy Robertson, a representative for the program, said that any money the program receives from the county will stay in Jasper County.

The Jasper County Museum and Veterans Affairs are projected to receive no additional funds from the board. The museum requested $2,500 but the board explained that it was previously established that those programs were not truly countywide and would not receive any funds.

The board spent time discussing the Veterans Affairs budget before decided not to approve any raise in the budget and to only cover necessary costs. An amount of $25,000 was discussed to be added to the budget for a potential part-time employee, but the board decided against allocating that money and continued with the budget as is. The board is waiting to get additional information from Veterans Affairs before reaching a final decision.

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