Chairperson Harney called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 5:15 p.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Mike Lehman, Terrence Neuzil, and Carol Thompson, with Sally Stutsman present by telephone.

Convened Public Hearing on proposed FY 2004 Johnson County Budget at 5:15 p.m.

Budget Coordinator Jeff Horne gave a rundown of the budget process. He then gave a summary of the budget. Lehman discussed the Health and Human Services budget. Harney reviewed Capital Projects, Capital Expenditures, and Technology. Stutsman covered Interprogram, State, and Local Government Services. Thompson reviewed Roads and County Environment. Neuzil discussed Public Safety and Court Services. Horne reviewed sources of revenues, with the 2 largest sources being property taxes and intergovernmental revenues. Horne presented a breakdown of the impact on taxpayers.

Melvin Dvorsky spoke in support of the FY 2004 budget. Shirley Yearlys of the Tiffin Library asked for library funding. Joan VandenBerg and Jim Swaim commended the Board on budget decisions they have made, particularly the investment in young people. Bob Welsh spoke regarding the FY 2004 budget, including concerns about the amount of information available to the public before the public hearing.

Neuzil said throughout the process he had concerns in 2 areas, Senior Center funding and Library funding for Tiffin. Due to the difficulty coming up with funding out of the Rural Fund for the 6 or 7 thousand Tiffin requested at this point in the process, Neuzil recommended looking at this in the future as a budget amendment. Neuzil said they should reconsider the Senior Center funding, which in the area of block grants saw a 25% decrease, while other agencies that receive block grants received increases. Lehman appreciated Neuzil’s sentiments and referred to the importance of funding clothing and food, adding that others should have a higher priority. Harney said it is difficult to make these cuts, but at the same time there are ways to manage the Senior Center. He suggested the Workplace Learning Connection, an internship, job shadowing, and placement program for youth, and the Hills Learning Center are in need of replacing lost funding. Thompson said they terminated the 28E agreement with the Senior Center at their request. She said, when they met with Senior Center representatives, $75,000 was something they could agree to. Stutsman said she agrees with Thompson. She didn’t want to pit one agency against another. Lehman, Stutsman, and Thompson were not interested in making changes in the proposed budget.

Public Hearing closed and meeting adjourned at 6:08 p.m.

/s/Pat Harney, Chair, Board of Supervisors

Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor

By Casie Parkins, Recording Secretary

These minutes were sent for publication and formal approval on March 13, 2003.