Heather Knebel.

March has come and gone and we are now in the home stretch of the FY 25-26 budgets being approved. The Board of Supervisors and Auditor have spent over 40 hours in the office working on the budget, as well as several hours at home to ensure a balanced budget. We’ve reviewed each line item to reduce expenses. We cut and transferred $2.5 million in expenses out of the General Basic Fund to make that fund not go negative this year and next. We found several instances of overinflated budgets or revenue that was not correctly identified. Lots of data entry work was done to accurately reflect revenue and expense.

We made budget cuts in each department, some deeper than others. Conservation and Public Health Departments realized the deepest cuts as they had the largest starting expenses. The Public Health Department decided to not backfill three positions, but thankfully they will continue providing in-home healthcare and nursing services even with the cuts made to their budget. They are not closing, and we greatly appreciate the services they provide to Tama County. The Conservation Department will not hire as many seasonal workers as in the past years, and continue looking for other areas to reduce costs. Our 28E contract with Economic Development is being phased out but I am hopeful the cities and businesses of Tama County will help us find an equitable way to fund the department well in the future. We need economic development, but we cannot have just the rural residents paying for the majority of the funding. The Safety Department, consisting of one employee, is being phased out at the end of the fiscal year. Safety is important but it’s all county employees’ responsibility to ensure safety. No other county that I know of has a separate Safety Department so the best decision is to spread the work out amongst the department heads. The Human Resources job is now with an outsourced company and the Auditor’s office will take on a shared job responsibility for the HR tasks. We appreciate the help from all departments to keep spending down so we can build back up our accounts. It’s a team effort for sure!

With all of the hard work we’ve put into building the budget, we are able to keep the levy rate the same as last year for the General Basic, General Supplemental, and Rural Services with no increases. As a Supervisor, I feel it is important we reduce expenses rather than raise taxes for Tama County taxpayers. The amount of real estate taxes you pay may be higher, but that is due to assessed values, or by the city or school taxing authorities, as well as the EMS Levy approved by voters on the ballot last year. The Board of Supervisors held a Public Forum on the Tax Levy and Budget on March 25, 2025, at 6 p.m. at the Reinig Center. We presented a PowerPoint presentation on budget details, then opened up the meeting for Q&A. Around 50 people came and the discussion was open, transparent, and many enjoyed having the opportunity to meet. We held another Levy Budget Hearing on Monday, March 31, 2025, prior to our regular Monday morning meeting. Some of the concerns and frustrations shared were about such things as the past handling of budget issues, audits that should be conducted, and assessed property values being increased significantly. The Supervisors have been primarily focused on budget issues, as assessed property values are not under our control aside from setting the levy rate for the three funds I’ve identified. We’ve been in contact with the Iowa State Auditor’s Office and will provide more information when possible.

We have fielded many questions about the assessed property value increases, and I’ve reached out to Wes Ray, Tama County Assessor. Wes is very easy to talk to, and he welcomes questions from taxpayers with concerns about their assessments. During our discussion, I learned that there is a 3-tier process involved. First, the Assessor handles the Assessment, then the State determines the rollback for the year, and lastly, the Supervisors set the levy rate. Every two years, on odd numbered years, an assessment is completed. Buyers and sellers set the market and assessed values are now closer to appraised values. The state identifies a range for property tax assessment. One thing to note is if a property increases, for example by 20%, that doesn’t mean your real estate taxes would go up by that same percentage. The state sets the rollback percentage. The rollback percentage is the portion of the assessed value of a property subject to taxation. The statewide total taxable value can increase by only 3% due to revaluation. The Department of Revenue applies the rollback. For a simple example, you could have a property that is worth $100,000, but the rollback allows only a $50,000 taxable value. This is property tax relief that the state has in place. This session of the Iowa Legislature is debating the issue that would remove rollback and limit growth to 2%. This will be an interesting challenge for all Iowa counties to understand if implemented. The Board of Supervisors has control over setting the levy rate for property taxes. If you have concerns about the assessed value of your property, please call the Tama County Assessor office. You can informally challenge your assessed value from April 2 through April 25, and formally with the Board of Review from April 2 through April 30 with a meeting to then occur in May.

An IT Director position is currently posted for Tama County. County employees are excited for this position to be filled so we can have our own dedicated IT Director. The Owl Camera is working now, and Board of Supervisors meetings are being posted to YouTube. There are still some glitches at times, which is another reason it will be great to have our own IT Director on site to resolve the issues.

Contracted rock has been spread on county roads to the north, and Tama County secondary road employees spread rock to the south. It is saving money by having the county help spread rock instead of having the job all contracted out. Our public hearing for the FY26 Budget is April 21 at 8:45 a.m. in the Tama County Administration building. The Board of Supervisors and Board of Adjustment are in lawsuits over the industrial wind turbine project in my district that isn’t built as to date. We are working to ensure that the ordinance and permits are followed and all residents, the land, and Tama County are protected and preserved.

As usual, please reach out with any questions and concerns! Happy Spring!

Supervisor Heather Knebel (R-Traer), the first elected female supervisor in Tama County history, represents District 3, including the townships of Spring Creek, Crystal, Perry, and parts of far northern Carlton (excluding Garwin) and Howard. She can be reached at 641-481-2532 or hknebel@tamacounty.org.