By Zach Jensen,
Winneshiek County Supervisors Chair Dan Langreck shares a thought with Supervisor Steve Kelsay during Monday morning’s regular meeting. (Photo by Zach Jensen)
The Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors approved the first run of Fiscal Year 2025-26 funding requests from 21 area nonprofit organizations on Monday. The requests total $516,115. All but three groups were awarded the amounts they requested.
The first organization to not receive its full requested amount was the Emergency Medical Services Association, which asked for $10,000 for the FY25-26 budget year. The association had requested $5,000 each of the preceding six fiscal years.
Winneshiek County Auditor Ben Steines explained the EMS Association is considering calling for a vote to declare EMS an essential county service, which could open up another levy rate or be an income tax surcharge. He said the increase in the association’s funding request was related to educational efforts regarding the potential vote.
County Supervisor Shirley Vermace said she was comfortable with the EMS Association’s $10,000 request for the budget’s first run, but Board of Supervisors Co-Chair Mark Vick suggested granting the association half its requested amount — or $7,500.
“I was going to say $7,000, but $7,500 makes sense,” replied Supervisors Chair Dan Langreck, and Supervisor Steve Kelsay agreed.
The Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging asked the county for $4,700 in funding, but the majority of the supervisors were against funding that organization at all.
“We didn’t fund them last year, we didn’t fund them the year before,” said Kelsay.
Steines said the supervisors used to give NEI3A $500 or $1,000 per year, but at some point the organization stopped attending the supervisors’ meetings. He said this year was the first time NEI3A made their funding request in person.
“They deliver meals to the elderly,” Vermace said. “I’d like to see if we could leave that in the first run. They’re a good service for our elderly.”
But, Vick disagreed with Vermace, saying the county offered NEI3A a building, and the organization didn’t accept the county’s offer.
Supervisor Mark Faldet suggested giving NEI3A $2,000 because of the organization’s support for the county’s elderly population, and Vermace expressed support for Faldet’s suggestion.
Langreck broke the tie by suggesting the county not grant the organization’s funding request.
Organizers with the Winneshiek County Fair asked the county for an additional $30,000 — about $10,000 more than the fair was allotted in FY24-25 — due to increased expenses and grandstand entertainment costs. The supervisors agreed on an additional $5,000 in funding for this fiscal year.
Full article available in the February 6 Decorah Leader.
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