Funding requests of the county to change

     County Auditor Whitney Hein and Attorney Kristofer Lyons met with the Jones County Supervisors during their Dec. 6 board meeting to discuss enacting a protocol regarding budget requests from non-county entities.

   Hein said she wants to make sure the county is compliant with the State Auditor's Office when it comes to the county allocating funds to non-profit organizations. The information she received from the state talks about the county entering into a contract with such entities for their services. Then, the county would pay those organizations based on the invoices submitted.

   "It’s not remittance of a check," Hein said of past practices.

   The supervisors will soon get to work on the county's Fiscal Year 2024 budget; Hein said she would like to have a protocol in place before then.

   "We already have requests coming in," she said. "And the documents provided are not consistent. It makes it more difficult to sift through."

   She said the county needs to come up with a uniform way for these non-profits to request county funds.

   Hein reached out to other counties to see how they go about the process. She shared that she likes how Black Hawk County does their business, having organizations fill out a form, which offers a detailed list of required documents that need to be submitted, as well as eligibility requirements, including submitting a detailed budget.

   "You can evaluate the entities and make a decision," she offered to the board. "The criteria has to be met because this is public money. The funding will be distributed upon receipt and an invoice of services."

   "Is that more work for you?" asked Supervisor Jeff Swisher of the Auditor's Office.

   "Yes and no," admitted Hein. "The work is in year-one. After that, it's standard practice."

   Lyons said when it comes to the use of public funds, they need to be going toward the use of public services.

   "Any non-profit can come in and request funding," he said.

   Hein said this new process would not apply to those entities that are allowed county funding by code, such as public libraries.

   "They need to provide a service to Jones County and submit an invoice to us of these services," said Hein.

   Lyons added that this unform approach would have no bearing on the county's financial commitment to these various organizations.

   "It shouldn't change your commitment," he told the board of their decision to appropriate funds or not.

   "We're not the only county to require this information; we just haven't in the past," Supervisor Joe Oswald said.

   "The point of emphasis is with the current state auditor, and for the next four years, we need to make sure we can provide clear answers and a uniform approach," explained Lyons.

   Hein offered to draft an application form for the board to review before the next board meeting.

   "We need to move on it fairly quickly," Oswald reminded the board.