Supervisors updated on property tax reform, improvements needed to computer system at County Courthouse

by Bob Beach

During its regular meeting Monday, October 14 the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met with Allamakee County Assessor Ann Burckart, who updated the Board on property tax reform under Senate File 295. Burckart said that property tax rates on commercial, industrial and railroad properties would be rolled back five percent and that additional tax credits would be offered to owners of commercial, industrial and railroad properties.
She said that 50 million dollars has been put in a fund to pay for the tax credits, but that the specific amount of the credits would be determined based upon the number of property owners who apply for the credit. She also noted that the combination of the tax credit and the rollback could mean that some property owners will owe no property tax at all. She added that the County would be reimbursed by the State for the rollback and that the County's total revenue would not be significantly impacted by the changes.
The Board met with Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission Executive Director Rachelle Howe and TASC Executive Director Mary Ament, who asked for the Board's support in applying for a Community Development Block Grant to fund the construction of an expansion of the existing TASC facility to accommodate a 2,300 square foot handicapped-accessible fitness center. Ament said that TASC has raised approximately $250,000 for the project for matching funds for the grant and that the County is not being asked to contribute, only as the applicant for the grant and as a pass-through for the funds if the grant is awarded. The Board agreed to support the grant application.

Assistant Allamakee County Attorney Dick White asked the Board to consider amendment to two resolutions pertaining to signatures required on recorded plats. White said that while state law requires the signatures of spouses on subdivision plats but not survey plats, the amendments would require spouse signatures (or proof that an effort had been made to obtain a signature) on both in order to be consistent. Chairman Larry Schellhammer and Supervisor Dennis Koenig voted to approve the amendments, but Supervisor Sherry Strub voted no, saying she didn't think it was the County's business whether or not spouses signed the plats.

Zach Ramsey of Solutions, Inc. updated the Board on the need for upgrades to the server computer and back-up systems at the Allamakee County Courthouse. He said that the Assessor's server is running low on memory and that the County Attorney's server is too antiquated to run the latest version of some software. He also reported that the current tape backup system is antiquated and recommended an upgrade to "Datto," a cloud-based backup system.
The cost of the server upgrades would be approximately $23,000 and the cloud-based back-up system would cost $487 per month on a three-year contract. Laurie Welch of the Allamakee County Recorder's office said that sufficient funds had been budgeted to cover the cost of the upgrades. She said that she would review Ramsey's proposal and make a recommendation to the Board next week.

The Board also met with Allamakee County Engineer Brian Ridenour, who recommended entering into an agreement with WHKS Engineering for consulting services for nine different road projects to repair damage caused by flooding this spring. Ridenour said that the projects would not be completed by next summer without the help of the consultants, adding that 80% percent of the consulting fees and the construction cost for the projects would be reimbursed from Federal Highway Administration Emergency Recovery funds. The Board approved the agreement.
In other business, the Board approved the use of County vehicles for the occasional transport by the Victim and Witness Coordinator. The Board also accepted and placed on file quarterly reports from Environmental Health, County Relief and the County Recorder.