Mark Doland (R-Toledo).

As we have had a very busy start to our tenure at the Tama County Supervisors’ office, I wanted to reach out to give an update as to what we have accomplished in a very short amount of time from our perspective. Contrary to what you read on a regular basis from a disgruntled former supervisor, we are moving the County in a positive direction. It is awfully rich for one of the folks that are responsible for putting us in this position to criticize how we fix it. I have had many say “I like the way that you are doing it than the way that he didn’t.” While we are all entitled to our opinions, we cannot argue with facts.

We had faced budget deficits every year for at least the past three years. In many of the funds that the county manages, spending and ending fund balances were unsustainable and counter to generally acceptable accounting principles (GAAP). For the first time in years the current Board has balanced the budget. There are many highlights that Heather Knebel eloquently articulated in a previous post. Some of the actions that we have taken should be noted.

The most noteworthy item was the transfer that Supervisors make to the secondary roads fund was always just calculated at the highest amount allowable by Iowa Code instead of what is required by necessity. By reducing this amount, it allows the Supervisors to direct more than a million dollars through our general fund to help make up some of the deficit that we were facing in that fund.

Another item that should be noted was a joint effort that was made by the E911 board and directed by our Sheriff. With a hefty fund balance, they transferred approximately $990,000 to our general supplemental fund. Additionally, E911 was budgeted to receive another $1 million+ and agreed to not receive those funds for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. E911 continues to be in a financially stable position after that agreement.

Through other actions and cuts, we have placed our county in the best possible financial position we could moving forward. Many accolades are given to my colleagues, especially Heather Knebel, Auditor Karen Rohrs, Deputy Auditor Michelle Schroeder, and Treasurer Amanda Kriegel. It was our treasurer who brought the concern to the attention of the board with great concern. Without that alarm, we would not have recognized the need to address this issue as quickly as we were able to and we were able to avoid pushing reporting deadlines. We have learned a lot by baptism with fire and will continue to learn as we move forward.

Moving forward, we all have individual efforts that we will be working on. You can expect to start seeing a lot of movement from my seat on addressing the ongoing needs for resources for mental health and substance use disorder. I have already had several meetings and I will have an update on that in my next update. I appreciate all of the feedback that is constructive that the residents of this County have moved forward and brought to our attention. If you have something for me, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Mark Doland is the chairman of the Tama County Board of Supervisors.