Supervisors authorize hiring of conservation admin assistant/naturalist

Jasper County Conservation received majority support from the county board of supervisors on the hiring of a new administrative assistant/naturalist position, which was a point of contention earlier this fall. Supervisor Brandon Talsma voted against the hiring last week, saying he will likely vote against similar resolutions.

Including those from the sheriff’s office and secondary roads, two departments that Talsma said are some of the most important in the county.

In a phone interview with Newton News, Talsma explained his decision to vote no was motivated by upcoming budget constraints and the uncertainties from possible property tax reform laws coming out of the Iowa Legislature. It is a decision upheld by his past statements regarding new hires and new positions.

“This upcoming budget year is going to be extremely tight,” he said. “We need to try to find cuts and savings where we can … Over 50 percent of our budget is property taxes and the vast majority of property taxes is going to pay for — not equipment, not programs, not special projects — but wages and benefits.”

For the past year or so, Talsma said he has been trying to force conversations with department heads to find ways to save costs, either through attrition — a process in which positions are not refilled after employees leave, thus saving money — or other creative means like shared positions.

Talsma suggested conservation and secondary roads discuss the possibility of a shared position, similar to the one shared by other general assistance and veterans affairs. However, this proposal was contested by conservation board members and caused community wide backlash online for some time.

A delayed appointment to the conservation board only exacerbated the backlash. Robyn Friedman had been awaiting her reappointment to the board for some time, but was ultimately rejected. Instead, supervisors appointed one of their own to the conservation board: Thad Nearmyer. Again, the community lashed out.

Supervisors and conservation board members were originally at odds with over an empty position. If left unfilled, conservation argued it could mean fewer educational programs for students in Jasper County. Conservation also argued it had the authority and money in the budget to hire someone. Supervisors agreed.

Still, what supervisors have described as a miscommunication resulted in some residents speaking out at meetings, or airing frustrations online.

But those discussions about a shared position never took place, and Talsma was against the idea of hiring someone if it meant having to fire the person shortly after to make room in the budget. Talsma told Newton News when an opportunity presents itself, the county needs to ask: Does this position really need refilled?

Talsma said, “Can this position be split across other jobs that already exist? Can it be combined with other needs and requirements from other departments in the county to where we’re achieving multiple departments’ goals? As budget constraints continue to tighten … this is the conversation that has to take place.”

Since those conversations never took place, Talsma voted no against the hiring resolution for the administrative assistant/naturalist. Talsma said other departments are going to be requesting additional full-time positions, including the sheriff’s office and secondary roads.

“My answer is probably going to be ‘no’ to those as well,” he said. “In secondary roads, we eliminated a full-time position in that department a year ago. We took a full-time position and cut it back down to part-time … My priority has always been roads and law enforcement. Now, not saying they’ve got a blank check.”

Talsma stressed his decision to vote no was not personal, saying he is an avid outdoorsman and supports Jasper County Conservation.

The board of supervisors chairman said he advocated for conservation to receive ARPA funding and for the department to be compensated for an easement over a bike trail with MidAmerican Energy. Talsma said he also fought for the updated campgrounds at Mariposa Park.

To him, the board of supervisors — comprised of all Republicans — have to start saying “no” at some of these future hirings. Talsma said if the county continues to fill positions and continues to add new employees, then Jasper County cannot also try to keep its property tax levies low for residents.

Talsma said there used to be a lot of “fat” and overtaxation in Jasper County’s budget. After seven years in office, Talsma said the “easy stuff” that can be cut from the budget that shouldn’t impact citizens or departments too much has already been cut. Property tax reform from the state adds another challenge.

“I feel like Jasper County has done a very good job of keeping our property tax asking down way below what the other taxing entities are, and I want to maintain that going forward into next fiscal year,” Talsma said. “But because we’re kind of running out of those places to cut, it’s going to prop these harder conversations.”

Prior to the board approving the hiring resolution, Nearmyer acknowledged the past issues between supervisors and conservation.

“It’s my goal to help smooth out any problems that there might be,” he said. “So I wanted to take the opportunity today to say that, and I’m looking forward to what the future holds there.”