The Wright County Board of Supervisors heard from only one resident during the first of two public hearings on the proposed county property tax levy. Isaiah Lary of Belmond asked the board to lower the proposed levy – which is the same levy as this year – at the April 1 meeting.
Lary said, “I encourage to try the lower your taxation of the people,” citing the higher costs of consumer goods. “Anything the county can do is a big help,” he added.
Supervisor Dean Kluss said those same higher costs are also paid by governments, and added that counties are “likely facing mandated cuts” in taxes from the legislature. Such cuts “start to tie our hands.”
Board President Karl Helgevold said budgeting is a “delicate dance.” Cuts often simply delay purchases for big budget items such as vehicles, or defer things like road maintenance.
Auditor Betty Ellis said the legislature also approved a larger rollback for private property owners, which means that the amount owed in taxes this fall will be less than last year if the property assessment remained the same. The second public hearing on the proposed budget has been set for Monday, April 22 at 9:15 a.m. The levy will be voted on at that meeting.
During the regular board meeting, the board approved a number of changes to the list of project funded by the American Rescue Plan Act. The changes included:
• decreasing the money spent on the public health building from $75,000 to $16,857;
• limiting the costs of remodeling the county’s resource center to $200,000;
• increasing the cost of courthouse door replacement from $30,000 to $36,000;
• limiting the cost of window replacement in the mailroom and server room to $15,000, and the cost of remodeling both rooms to $95,000;
• setting the cost of documenting rights of way for secondary roads at $115,000, and development of the geopermit portal on the county’s website at $25,938;
• increasing the amount spend on new equipment for the sheriff’s office from $8,000 to $10,083, and approving the purchase of an infrared drone for $15,000.
There is just under $10,000 in the county’s ARPA fund that is unallocated. All of the money must be allocated by the end of this year, and spent by Dec. 31, 2026.
The board also approved spending an estimated $550,000 on improvements to the Voss Pit bridge in 2025 from farm-to-market funds. That is 20 percent of the estimated $2.75 million project. County Engineer Adam Clemons said the most of the money will come from a federal RAISE grant, but the remainder must be financed by state or local money. It is expected that a bid for the project will be let later this year, and the project will be done in 2025.
In other business, the board:
—canvassed the votes from a special election held in Eagle Grove for City Council Ward 2. Michael Weland won the seat with 39 votes, while 25 votes were cast for Paul Lawson. There were no write-ins;
—and approved a second reading of the ordinance rezoning land next to the Prestage hog plant for Talus Renewables.
