Budget cuts, homelessness among topics in annual Linn County address

CEDAR RAPIDS — Budget cuts for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 led to tough Linn County budget decision, but some opportunities arose to use funds more efficiently, Supervisor Kirsten Running-Marquardt said Thursday in her State of the County address.

“To minimize a levy increase for the next budget year, we had to cut the budget by more than $1 million. This came after cutting $1.7 million from our budget last year due to an error with the Iowa Department of Revenue,” said Running-Marquardt, a Democrat and chairwoman of the three-member Board of Supervisors, said during her address at the Jean Oxley Linn County Public Service Center, 935 Second St. SW.

“Both budget years were tough, but through compromise and determination, we rose to the challenge as a board and as a county.“

Running-Marquardt said supervisors last year emailed county employees, asking for their ideas on how the county could improve efficiencies and make better use of funds.

Several ideas led to projects, including researching all the parcels of land owned by the county and looking for ways to sell or otherwise remove county liability for that land — an idea suggested by County Auditor Joel Miller.

Two other ideas: Use a federal grant to pay for updating three county buildings to maximize their energy efficiency and reduce operational costs; and introduce a fixed price natural gas purchasing program for the county facilities department.

The county also engaged in smaller efficiency efforts, like selling outdated equipment, consolidating leases, sharing costs of operations between departments and using vehicles for as long as possible, Running-Marquardt said.

“There were so many thoughtful ideas and suggestions, and some of those we were able to move forward on and find savings,” she said. “These efficiencies won’t stop us from having to make tough budget decisions in the future, but they will give us a bit more flexibility to focus in on our priorities.”

Homelessness

Running-Marquardt said the Winter Overflow Homeless Shelter housed more people than in the past, with about 75 people spending the night at the shelter, 1017 12th Ave. SW.

The shelter is operated and staffed by staffers from Willis Dady Homeless Services.

Running-Marquardt said Linn County is working with the city of Cedar Rapids to integrate suggestions made by the National Alliance to End Homelessness after a visit to the city last year.

One suggestion was to create a homeless systems manager job jointly funded by Cedar Rapids and Linn County.

“Through this partnership, our community will have a homeless systems oversight board advisory committee that will oversee the entire system and bring the community together to better address homelessness,” Running-Marquardt said.

Running-Marquardt also shared success stories from the Linn County Mental Health Access Center, 501 13th St. NW, and the Veterans Affairs Department.

She lauded the efforts of the county conservation department to complete the Cedar Valley Nature Trail, which is scheduled to be completed this summer, and also reviewed the projects helped by federal American Rescue Plan Act funds awarded by the county.

Joel Miller reflects

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Running-Marquardt also invited County Auditor Joel Miller to speak about his 17 years as county auditor. Miller — who was elected as a Democrat but changed his affiliation to No Party last year — announced in January 2023 he would not seek re-election to the post. State Sen. Todd Taylor, D-Cedar Rapids, has filed to run for the auditor position.

Miller spoke about the successes and failures of his career, including his attempts to make mail-in voting more accessible — one of which resulted in a lawsuit from Donald Trump — and a mistake in the 2022 election in which the District 1 supervisor race was left off ballots in Putnam Township.

He also talked about the code of ethics that he announced earlier this week had been adopted by the Linn County Auditor’s Office. The code was developed by the Institute for Election Administration Research & Practice and the Election Center, also known as the National Association of Election Officials, and it focuses on providing all eligible voters and opportunity to vote and upholding the constitution.

“While the language in the code is new, the concepts and commitments, the standards, are nothing new to me or my staff in the way elections are to be administered in Linn County,” Miller said. “I believe engaging more people in a democracy is the solution for a better democracy.”

The State of the County address can be viewed on the county’s website.

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com