By Melanie Stegner

news@pctribune.com

Budget and levy review and updates were the main topic of discussion at this week’s work session of the Pope County Commissioners.  The Truth in Taxation meeting will be taking place on November 30 and a review of planned expenditures, opportunities for potential adjustment and a discussion of the use of revenue sources was had to continue to fine-tune the budget to get a more targeted number than the preliminary 7.9 percent levy increase. 

A fueling station at the highway department is proposed in the draft budget and levy. Through the planning process, obtaining firm quotes for the project has been met with difficulty and after discussion with the facilities committee, it’s come to light that this project may not be ready for consideration and when the budget is finalized and could be tabled until more information is available.

Another item discussed was the Emergency Management position. Pope County is one of the few counties left that has the sheriff filling this position as it is an involved position. “I think we should craft the job description and all it entails and start looking for a person late in 2024,” stated Commissioner Gordy Wagner.

“I’m fine with getting something crafted and moving forward with this, but I don’t think we should play a guessing game on when we are going to need this,” stated Commissioner Paul Gerde. 

Other items discussed were the addition of a land use specialist/county wetland conservation act officer position and a review of outside appropriations.

An update was given by Jason Murray from the Pope County HRA/EDA on the efforts underway to address the need for childcare in the community.  The shortage of childcare facilities has prompted the county to provide extra supports for both in-home and center-based opportunities. The board toured the Starbuck School Site on Wednesday.

Murray also brought the topic of the Pope County Local Housing Trust Fund to the meeting. A housing trust fund is created to dedicate local public revenue for housing purposes including home-buyer assistance, preservation, gap financing, creating deeper affordability and housing stability. Funding for the trust fund will consist of funds derived from private cash contributions designated for this purpose, grants or loans from federal or state government, principal and interest from trust fund loan repayments, budgeted payments made by the HRA’s tax levy fund, employer-based funds and matches, and several other sources. 

As this was a work session, no action was taken. The next regular meeting of this board is on Tuesday, November 21 at 9 a.m. in the third-floor meeting room.