The County Line
By Warren Strandell
Polk County Commissioner District 2
There have been more than a few times when someone has asked, “What do you really do as a county commissioner? How often do you meet? What is your job? What does that involve?” 
In the simplist of terms, the answer is that the job of commissioners is to watch the county checkbook.
Whoa. Whoa, I know what you are thinking, that we commissioners are to blame for property taxes, that we can be cut county spending, that we can cut your taxes.
Good idea. If it were that simple and could be done without some real consequences. In reality, most efforts to cut county spending amount to nothing more than pushing things down the road.
Sooner or later almost all of the issues that come before the county board have to be addressed. It is best if we try to look down the road to determine what is going to be needed and when. And then find a way to pay for them with the least effect on the tax bill.
There are, of course, things that don’t really have to be done, that go over the top but as commissioners, with a lot of help from the county administrator, we try very hard not to let them ever materialize.
To just delay things just makes them more expensive when they have to be addressed at a later time.
County government amounts to an extension of state government. Counties are given the duty to carry out many of the things that state law says have to be done.
About the county services:
The basic county offices, those of the auditor, the assessor, and recorder, have to be maintained. There isn’t any room for cutting. It is the same for the zoning and building permits. Public Health and Social Services don’t have options for services to be cut or eliminated. State law protects and regulates them.
Then there’s law enforcement. That’s not an area to be shortchanged. When you need a deputy, you expect one to be there in short order, not hours later. The Highway Department maintains the roads. You don’t want to have to wait another day for your road to get plowed.
And you need ways to get rid of your trash and to do it ways that meet state law.
Certainly not to be forgotten are the veterans. That group deserves the very best of treatment. They have earned it.
The county needs to provide and maintain it buildings and its equipment… everything from the structures to the computer network to the cop cars and the road graders. With the exception of some recent roof problems, Polk County has its buildings in good shape. And it has good equipment. If a financial disaster were to hit, the county would be in good position to work through the time needed for recovery.
About the county work staff? We have really good county employees. They deserve a good and fair salary. That is especially so in this period of worker shortages.
About the levy-
“Levy,” meaning the amount of property tax dollars that need to be collected to operate the county increases: Since 2009, the average increase has been 2.84 percent. That average includes the last two years when the levy increases of 3.5 percent and 3.95 percent were greater but were still only about half of the inflation rate.
Nobody likes to pay taxes. So, if you want to manage spending, even to cut it, where do you start? Things need to be done, services need to be provided, employees deserve fair treatment. Commissioners have the job of getting those things done and how to best pay for them.
That all centers on taking care of the checkbook, if you will. It is like running a business, the farm, or the household. The cost will be more if things are just pushed down the road to save a few bucks for the sake of cutting the tax bill today.
Thoughts for the day:
- No society ever thrived because it had a large and growing class of parasites living off those who produce. Thomas Sowell
- Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy. Its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. Winston Churchill
Disclaimer: Thoughts expressed in this column are those of the author and are not necessarily a reflection of the opinions of the other members of the Polk County Board
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