WASHINGTON

The Washington County Supervisors Tuesday were asked to continue funding for the East Central Iowa Council of Governments’ East Central Iowa Housing Trust Fund (ECIHTF) and the Washington Economic Development Group (WEDG) at the 2022 level of $4,764 for the former and $23,000 for the latter.

Since 2011, ECIHTF has provided more than $1.8 million to help expand affordable housing opportunities in four counties, Benton, Iowa, Jones and Washington, aiding with everything from supplementary funds for the owner-occupied rehabilitation program and HACP renovations at Old Main to Habitat for Humanity in Ainsworth and the student building program in Kalona.

The counties allocations amount to $18,000, which is the local match needed to secure grants from the state’s Local Housing Trust Fund (LHTF). The ECIHF is the only entity in the county that can apply for the state funds and since 2011 received more than $4 million from LHFT. In simple terms, it means a return of $4 for every $1 from local match sources. In Washington County last year’s $4,764 “bought” $403,034 in successful grant applications.

WEDG’s list for 2023 is more extensive, providing aid to Debi Durham, IEDA, for the YMCA Pool Project Capital Campaign, and earning a $500,000 CAT award through support for rural broadband expansion with $1,842,400 for Sharon Telephone, $3,120,782 for KCTC and $2,698,561 for Wellman Co-op. It also facilitated the sale of four lots in the Washington Business Park; got $50,000 for the student-built home in Kalona; and aided with childcare programs and community support efforts of every kind. In the process, its efforts added some $13,000 to the county tax revenue.

Decisions about all requests will be made before the annual budget deadline in March.

Among those decisions will be the salary increases for all county officials. Tuesday, the board reviewed the recommendation from the county compensation board for a 4 percent increase for elected officials that would be attorney, $160,397 to $166,823; sheriff, $150,450 to $156,468; auditor, $101,433 to $105,490; treasurer, $97,745 to $101,655; recorder, $96,351 to $100,205; supervisor, $49,001 to $50,961, with the supervisor chairman stipend unchanged at $3,500. Indications are the board could be considering an increase to match the 3.2 percent federal cost of living adjustment.

The board deferred action to next week to allow the auditor to obtain similar information from some 15 to 20 comparable counties.

Auditor Dan Widmer said that at present the county is four to five weeks ahead in its considerations, noting some counties have not yet received recommendations from their compensation boards.

During the board comments at the meetings’ conclusion, supervisor Marcus Fedler, in reference to the plan for moving and/or remodeling administrative offices and remodeling of the courthouse and Orchard Hill, noted the need for two work sessions, including discussion about a facility for the engineering department. A work session is tentatively planned to follow the regular meeting on Dec. 19.