In the 17 counties served by Upper Des Moines Opportunity Inc., the increases in assistance are beginning to show.

Julie Edwards, executive director of UDMO, told the Hamilton County Board of Supervisors during its regular Tuesday morning meeting that household assistance numbers rose in 2022 over 2021.

According to Edwards, UDMO’s household assistance rose from 1,589 to 1,974. Individual assistance increased from 4,230 to 5,087.

Total contributions by UDMO to the county in 2021 were $315,040.56 — or $74.48 per individual served. That number in 2022 was $546,115.44 or — $107.36 per individual served.

Consequently, Edwards told the Supervisors that UDMO hopes Hamilton County will raise its contribution to the service by $1,000 — to $14,060.

Jerry Kloberdanz, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, praised UDMO for the assistance the organization provides in the county.

Supervisor Dan Campidilli echoed his support.

UDMO is an Iowa Community Action program with its base office in Graettinger. The Hamilton County office of UDMO is located at Hamilton Outreach,1610 Collins St., Webster City. Its phone number is 515-832-6451.

Also during the meeting, Sara Carmichael, Story County Conservation director, who is also the watershed director of the Headwaters Skunk River Watershed Management Plan WMP.

The Headwaters of the South Skunk River WMP is finalizing its plan, the vision of which is to bring together farmers, landowners, residents, soil and water conservation districts, cities, counties, and other stakeholders through an “all in it together” approach towards watershed management.

In that plan, education, outreach and volunteering efforts will be used to increase water quality, increase flood resiliency and increase soil health across the watershed.

Supervisor Rick Young commented that the word authority refers to “voluntary” authority in the Watershed Management Plan. As a member of the committee, he said, he sought to make sure that was the case.

Young gave credit for the organization’s efforts near the Carney’s Auto site in Ames for ending the bottleneck at Hilton Coliseum.

The Board also set county IT policy on Tuesday.

First, asset security and disposal policy aims to ensure the proper disposal of computers and other device; they must be turned over to the IT department.

Second is the portable removable media policy, which refers to any USB, disk or other portable device must maintain a privacy standard and for county use only; portable media devices must have a secret password protection and always be guarded, and failure to protect the device must be reported to an employee’s supervisor promptly.

Third, all new purchases of IT computers must be approved by the IT Department.

Failure to follow these policies will result in some level of discipline.

The Supervisors also amended the county’s Secondary Road Plan to raise the acceptable bid level for the Annetta Woods Bridge project — from $500,000 to $650,000. This is due to the current increase in construction costs. The project is expected to be 100% federally funded; bid letting by the IA Department of Transportation on June 20.

The second reading setting EMS as essential service in Hamilton County passed Tuesday, This the resolution requires three readings; those readings are necessary to set up countywide vote on the EMS levy in the future.

The Board set March 14 for a hearing to establish the maximum tax levy by the county.

The Iowa Legislature has created a conflict between residential levy rates and those of multi-residential tax rates that could lead to shortfalls in governmental bodies — such as counties, cities and schools — relying on property taxes.

Kloberdanz said if the state government doesn’t fix the tax levy formula problem “we will have to raise our maximum rate so that we can fund our budget.” He said the Supervisors can lower the rate if the state fixes the problem.

In other reports, County Health Administrator Shelby Kroona said communicable diseases are rising in Hamilton County. A county east of Hamilton has reported a case of meningitis, she revealed. Kroona urged county residents to update their vaccines.

And she also encouraged residents to answer the county health department’s calls when it does follow ups on communicable disease, asking residents to truthfully respond to questions about contacts and symptoms.

“This is how we can keep the residents of the county safe,” Kroona said.

Campidilli thanked the Freeman Journal for the in-depth article on the Heart of Iowa Housing Trust. This program has done a lot of good, he said.

“We give special treatment to veterans,” he said. “If a veteran needs a bathroom remodeled, we will move them to the head of the line.”