After starting his career on April Fool’s Day, environmental health specialist  Bill Buckley is set to work his last day more than 37 years later on Halloween.

The board recognized Buckley’s retirement Tuesday and spoke highly of his service.

“He’s done a fantastic job for the environmental services, and he’s going to be missed,” Environmental Services Coordinator Angie Knish said.

Buckley said he plans to initially spend his retirement hunting and spending time with his son and grandson. Buckley was proud of his decades of work, and said he felt like he made a difference in the county. He said the county has made significant environmental improvements in the past four decades.

Earlier this year, the county board combined Environmental Services and the Highway Department into a Public Works Department, which eliminated Buckley’s position.

The move wasn’t popular with area conservationists.

Jim Stiles, president of the local Izaak Walton League chapter, along with several others, expressed their concerns at a board meeting in September. Stiles and others asked the board to rescind its decision to eliminate the position, as they believe rural septic systems that cause direct pollution are a concern that would be overlooked.

For the remainder of the year, the board will contract with Norm Craig for SSTS inspections.

“This is a quick stop gap measure to keep us flowing,” Knish said.

The board plans to privately contract services regarding environmental concerns.

 

Vanguard nearing end of commercial re-appraisals

The county is on target to complete its goal of re-appraising all the county’s commercial properties by the end of the year.

Appraisers with Vanguard Appraisals Inc. said they’re almost done with inspections and have about two to three weeks to go.

“Right now, we’re in the inspection phase of the project,” said appraiser Eric Kruse.

Mainly, they have to finish inspections in small towns.

Once the inspections are completed, they’ll start the review process to set valuations.

“We will certainly have it done by mid-December,” Kruse said.

They haven’t set any values yet. And when they do, appraiser Ted Goslinga said the old value won’t be a blanket indicator.

“When we set the new value, we’re not really looking at the old value,” he said.

Instead, they’ll be looking at what they found during their inspections, like recent remodels and the condition of the property.

According to Goslinga, they’ve used about 65 commercial sales over the last five years to help set the values. Along with looking at sales in the county, they’ll also look at sales in communities they’ve re-assessed, many of which are communities in northern Iowa.

 

Board to send out additional info on tax notices

The county board took a step toward clearer tax statements Tuesday.

Assessor Rich Peterson requested the board pay an extra $1,000 for Truth in Taxation notices to include a property’s taxable value.

After the state eliminated the Market Value Credit, the state instituted the Market Value Exclusion, which adjusts a property’s taxable value.

Under the exclusion, Peterson said a property’s market value could be around $250,000, but its taxable value could be lower. However, he said this doesn’t mean the homeowner’s property taxes will decrease.

The exclusion will affect different kinds of properties in different ways.

“In some jurisdictions, the difference is going to be bigger than the homestead credit was last year, in other jurisdictions, it’s going to be lower,” he said.

Even with the notices, Peterson said he expects a high number of homeowners to be confused by the change.

“We’re going to have more confusion amongst tax payers and more questions coming into the office,” Peterson said.

Peterson said the additional information in the notices will help county officials explain the adjustments to the public.

—Matt Peterson contributed to this report.