Supervisors Discuss Assessor’s Budget

SIGOURNEY – During the Feb. 20 meeting of the Keokuk County Board of Supervisors, the board discussed a request from US Cellular to amend the company’s lease for space on the county 911 tower, so it can add more equipment. The 911 tower is located in the Sheriff's Department’s parking lot and is used for 911 dispatch. 911 Coordinator and Dispatcher Aaron Kephart raised concerns that the added weight or new equipment catching wind could be dangerous for the tower. US Cellular commissioned a study saying the added equipment will not be a problem, but Kephart requested a separate engineering check on the tower. Supervisor Derek Wood stated the county should be “better safe than sorry” and make sure added equipment will be fine. The supervisors requested Kephart look into the cost of an engineering study and gave permission to go ahead with it if the cost is under $2,500.

At the same meeting, the supervisors approved transferring $29,000 from the juvenile prevention fund to the medical examiner budget, to help pay for the unusually high number of autopsies needed this year.

During the Feb. 6 meeting, the board met with the County Conference Board to discuss the County Assessor’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2025. In attendance were Sigourney Mayor Jimmy Morlan, Webster Mayor Bryan Lee, Pekin School Board Member Michael Sieren, Sigourney School Board Member Cody Branstad and Hayesville Mayor Chris Grammack. County Assessor Drew Sanders requested a 5% raise for his employees and approval to hire a part-time employee who will spend 20 hours a week in the office. Hadley shot down the 5% raise, because the county previously approved a 3% raise for other county employees and he would like to be fair. Wood questioned the hiring of the part-time employee, stating that Sanders would have to levy to pay for them. Sanders stated he did not to levy and would work on the office’s ending fund. He explained that one Assessor’s Office plans to retire soon and that he plans to retire in two years, which will lower the office’s expenditures. He said that those expenditures could be lowered sooner if the board really wanted him to retire earlier.

Hadley motioned to approve a 3% raise, without the part-time employee. Lee requested he and the other Conference Board members be allowed to discuss the matter privately in the hall. They returned after several minutes. Lee stated that he agreed with the 3% raise, but noted that the Assessor’s Office had used part-tome employees. Hadley’s motion was not seconded. A second motion was made, to approve the 3% raise and the hiring of a part-time employee. The supervisors voted against this, but the motion passed with unanimous approval from the mayors and school board members.