The Guthrie County Supervisors met in regular session Tuesday.

The Board heard from Northland Securities Public Finance representative Chip Shultz on bonds held by the county, in which he mentioned that while it may seem like there is a lot, the county’s debt is very manageable. County Human Resources Director Jamie Lindsay then shared that after receiving the 2023-24 Iowa Municipalities Workers Compensation Audit, the county would be getting back money from their payments in the last fiscal year, and also had a projected mod rate of 0.06 for fiscal year 2024-25, and a premium of $163,412, both of which are much lower than previous years.

County Engineer Josh Sebern discussed a safety action plan workshop that he and Supervisors Maggie Armstrong and JD Kuster had attended last week, mentioning that it had good information. He added that for the roads portion of the workshop, they listed paved and dirt roads as focal points, with less of a focus on gravel roads. Sebern also mentioned that the Secondary Roads Department would be finishing brush clearing along paved road ditches in the county by the end of the year, then switching to clearing ditches along gravel roads.

The Board also heard from County Auditor Dani Fink, who shared that up to the meeting Tuesday morning, her office had received over 700 absentee ballot requests. She added that when early voting began, residents could also come to her office to vote in person, and that she and her staff would be there on weekdays for early voting until the election, and on November 2nd, which is the Saturday before election day. On election day though, all residents that didn’t vote early and still wish to vote will have to go to their polling location to vote.

The Board then approved the appropriation of the sheriff’s office budget, and set another emergency medical services ballot measure informational meeting for October 29th at 7pm. The meeting will be held in the public meeting room, but the Board plans to also have the courtroom ready should there be enough people that they need a larger space.