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Lee County Close to Finishing Budget

Fort Madison, IA – The Lee County Board of Supervisors is close to finishing up the county's spending plan for next year. The board spent more than 6 hours on Friday reviewing the full scope of the county's more than $23,000,000 budget. Chairman George Morgan says the numbers are much better than they were at this point last year. He says the property tax rate could be reduced by about 5%, when the final figures are calculated. Last year, the board raised the rate by more than 33%. The supervisors have asked two departments, the Board of Health and the Conservation Board, to review their budgets and find a combined $175,000 in savings. The board also discussed pay increases for employees for next year, with plans to make a final decision tomorrow. The board proposed a 2% pay hike in July and another 2% hike in January for all non-union workers, to match the upcoming raises of union workers. The supervisors also discussed a 2% pay hike for the county's elected leaders, excluding themselves. The county compensation board recommended a 3.5% hike. Several supervisors said the board should give a smaller raise to the attorney, auditor, treasurer, sheriff, and recorder to send a message after a year of confrontations and infighting.