(Spirit Lake)– The Dickinson county board of supervisors today (Tues.) approved a package of amendments to the budget for the current fiscal year totalling 82,500-dollars. They reflect additional expenditures and revenues in several areas that had not been anticipated earlier. The money will come out of the county’s reserves. The supervisors took the action following a public hearing that drew no comments.
In other business, the supervisors approved the purchase of spyware removal software for the county’s computer servers at a cost of 2,600-dollars. The money will come out of the I-T Budget, along with 1,607-dollars for a new laptop computer for the I-T Department, which the supervisors also approved today (Tues.).
There was more discussion over the higher water levels of the Iowa Great Lakes. County Engineer Dan Eckert reported the lakes crested Friday after rising nearly nine-tenths of-a-foot. On that note, there was more discussion about possibly getting an opinion from another drainage attorney on the legalities of replacing culverts at the Lower Gar Outlet with a bridge. The supervisors have expressed concern over one opinion they obtained from a drainage attorney in Pocahontas county. But Assistant County Attorney Lonnie Saunders told the supervisors today (Tues.) that’s the only drainage attorney there is in the state of Iowa. He says if they want to pursue the matter they’ll probably have to seek one from out-of-state. There was no action taken on the matter.
A proposal to form a tax increment finance district in the Shore Acres area on the northwest side of Big Spirit Lake was also on the agenda for today’s (Tues.) meeting but was postponed at the last minute to next week’s meeting.
