Supervisors seek input on spending priorities

The Winnebago County Supervisors will hold a series of public hearings next week, as they seek public input in the face of rising expenses. Specifically, the forums will look at public health, mental health, rural recycling, and courthouse repairs. People are invited to attend to give feedback and ask questions.

The schedule for meetings includes:

• Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 10 a.m. at the Winnebago County Courthouse in Forest City in the supervisors’ meeting room.

• Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 4:30 p.m. in the TSB community room in Forest City.

• Wednesday, Feb. 6, at 7 p.m. at the Thompson Library Community Room in Thompson.

Supervisor Bill Jensvold says the board wants to know what people want to spend their money on. He says costs for public health and mental health are going up, due to more services being mandated. At the same time, he says state tax cuts are forcing the county to raise property tax rates to keep up with funding. He says Iowa’s switch to Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) for Medicaid has also added a lot of paperwork that takes up county employees’ time.

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