A State Representative from Des Moines wants to cut the number of counties in Iowa in half by 2017. Bruce Hunter, a Democrat who represents the state’s 62nd district in Des Moines, says he doesn’t think a state the size of Iowa really needs 99 counties. Hunter says the plan would save the state $5 million per year, and potentially $400 million over the long run.
Dallas County Board of Supervisors Chair Mark Hanson says the idea isn’t new. He says the Brookings Institution did a study back in 1933 and concluded that Iowa could survive with just 25 counties.
Hanson says Hunter’s idea is absolutely doable and he doesn’t disagree with the concept. He says we could definitely survive with fewer administrative positions and elected officials. However, he feels that it may be more efficient to consolidate different area.
According to Hanson, out of each dollar of sales tax collected in Dallas County, less than 16 cents goes to the County, while more than 50 cents goes to the public school system. For this reason he says it might be more efficient to consolidate school districts and instead have one superintendent per county.
Dallas County’s population increased from 40,000 to 70,000 between the 2000 and 2010 census. Hanson says that 30,000 person increase in itself, is more people than 77 other counties in the state. Dallas County is already looking into ways to adjust to the rapid growth, which could make things more difficult, though Hanson says combining resources in some of Iowa’s more rural and less populated counties would be fairly simple.
Hanson says he doesn’t think Hunter’s idea is likely to get very far but if it were to happen, he feels there would have to be assignments made as to what counties combine together because he doesn’t see it happening voluntary. Due primarily to rivalries and officials in the less populated counties feeling