Supervisor Heather Knebel (R-Traer).

Yes, you heard correctly…I am running for reelection as Tama County Supervisor District 3, which includes the cities of Traer and Gladbrook. I am thankful for all of the continued support and am excited to run for a second term. The primary election will be on June 2, 2026.

The Board of Supervisors have held budget meetings with each department to review expenses vs. revenue, possible raises for employees, and possible cuts needed. The Public Hearing for our new tax levy will be on March 23 at 8:15 a.m. We were required to lower the levy on 2 of the 3 county funds the Board of Supervisors manage. The other levy we are responsible for will remain unchanged from last year. Please reach out if you have questions about the levy and cannot make the meeting. As a reminder, we only set the county budget for those funds, as the schools and cities have their own levy. The Iowa Department of Management has a Dashboard that reflects performance of Iowa counties. Tama County reduced expenditures by 13.5% in Year 1 of our new 5-member Board of Supervisors. This did not happen without some hard decisions being made, but it was necessary to balance the county budget.

A question asked by a citizen at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting addressed the subsidies paid by taxpayers to Public and Home Health Care, and what is required by Iowa Code. Other surrounding counties are spending $150K-$350K on their Public Health budgets while Tama County has been budgeting $1.9M. These numbers include 1-2 Public Health employees and 1 County Sanitarian. Tama County Public Health has revenue of approximately $750K-900K to offset some of their expenses, but the deficit is too large to overlook. In recent years the Iowa legislature approved HF718 which limits growth of counties, and the current legislature is looking to reform property taxes, which will add to the challenge for counties to afford non-required services. I would prefer to keep our Public Health and Home Health services as it is because they do a terrific job. The issue remains that it’s not affordable as it currently exists. The Board of Supervisors approves budgets for all departments but does not have authority over how the Public Health Department manages their money or employees. The bulk of their budget is made up of employees in Administration. The Board of Supervisors sent a memorandum to the Board of Health asking those who are responsible for making decisions, to balance their budget and continue to offer services that are required by Iowa law. Time is of the essence as we have to get our budgets finalized by the end of March. A concern of mine is to ensure there is not a gap in Home Health being available to our citizens. Our new Economic Development Director, Jake Buchanan and I met with a private in-home company named Iowa Home Care in Marshalltown. Iowa Home Care already provides services to Tama County and would be willing to increase their staff to support Tama County. They informed us that they accept and work with most insurance companies. There are 1-2 other private home care companies that serve Tama County today. The Board of Supervisors met with and had a good discussion with Tama County Board of Health and Public Health concerning the situation at hand. There were concerns about lower income individuals being able to afford private home health care. I asked Public Health how many people they estimate would be impacted and the costs involved. I will work to ensure that everyone has options for home health in Tama County, whether private or through the county. Just know this topic isn’t taken lightly and I am working on the best solution that still involves access to care, but less taxpayer subsidies funding the department.

The secondary road department has been restructured which eliminated the bridge crew and added truck drivers. Our County Engineer resigned and accepted other employment in Marshalltown, with his last day worked earlier in February. Counties are required to have an Engineer in order to allow road projects to move forward, so I called six of our surrounding counties to inquire about a sharing agreement. Nick Amelon from Iowa County has been approved as our interim County Engineer. Nick comes with 12 years of experience and has been great to help us out. Our Road Foreman and Shop Foreman are working well together and have made some significant improvements to the secondary roads department. We also recently voted to approve an updated GPS location policy, allowing for better tracking of county equipment. Interviews will be held soon for a full-time replacement Tama County Engineer.

Tama County has hired an IT Network Engineer named Cory Reynolds. Cory is currently undergoing some training then he will be assisting employees and working with Supervisor David Turner on IT matters for the county.

Tama County hired a full-time Mental Health Advocate who will work with the Sheriff’s Department as a Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorder Advocate/Law Enforcement Liaison. Her salary and benefits will be paid through the State of Iowa by the Opioid Substance Abuse fund, so no county tax dollars will be spent. This position will enable law enforcement to have an employee trained in mental health and able to help de-escalate situations and/or provide assistance afterwards.

The county-owned crop ground and pasture land was approved for a one-year contract after the bid process. We will reevaluate whether to retain or sell the farmland next year. I still believe we should retain ownership and continue generating revenue through lease agreements.

Jake Buchanan, a Toledo resident, was hired by Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce to be the Tama County Economic Development representative. He will work under the direction of the Marshalltown Chamber team but will be solely providing services for Tama County through our partnership. Jake is doing a great job and has introduced himself to several business owners. He and I recently attended the Gladbrook City Council meeting and we plan to attend the Traer City Council meeting in March. His contact information is located on the Tama County website under Economic Development Department. Please reach out to Jake if you have questions regarding Tama County, either city or rural business. His phone number is 641-481-3870 and his email is jbuchanan@marshalltown.org. We are excited to have Jake advocate for Tama County development.

The Board of Supervisors decided not to move forward with the purchase of the vacant South Tama Middle School. The building is too large for what our jail and offices need. Our Economic Development team visited the school and will continue to explore options for possible uses of the facility. I toured the Marshalltown County Jail with a group from Tama County. The jail is clean and modern, but larger than our needs. It was good to see the technology they utilize and learn about costs, etc.

As usual, please reach out with any questions or concerns.

Supervisor Heather Knebel (R-Traer), the first elected female supervisor in Tama County history, represents District 3, including the townships of Spring Creek, Crystal, Perry, and parts of far northern Carlton (excluding Garwin) and Howard. She can be reached at 641-481-2532 or hknebel@tamacounty.org.