Committee preliminarily approves engineer’s FY26 budget; county highlights bridge-repair priorities

The Linn County budget committee preliminarily approved fiscal year 2026 appropriations for the county engineer totaling $20,637,693 and projected revenues of $16,181,491 at its Jan. 17 meeting.

Finance staff and county engineering officials told the committee the engineer’s FY26 request reflects statutory constraints and recent changes to state law that reduced the available transfer amount for secondary roads. Finance Director Don Shindrich noted the department “lost… approximately $98,704 this year” because of recent legislative changes the meeting referenced as House File 718 and Senate File 24.

Nicole Brown, financial analyst for the engineer’s office, gave an overview of the department budget and its statutory basis, saying the office follows Iowa Code chapter 309 for road‑department activities. Brown described major revenue and expenditure lines: federal bridge grants that will be reimbursed upon completion (about $3.3 million in bridge grants across several projects), a projected $470,000 increase in road‑use tax receipts and a substantial cash‑balance requirement to bridge the period before the first tax transfer each fiscal year.

Brown and Engineer Brad Kettles said the county operates on a working cash balance because construction obligations and equipment orders occur before tax transfers arrive. The engineer’s office aims for an end‑of‑year cash balance target of about $3 million; actual balances can be higher depending on project timing. Brown said the office is not budgeting expenditures from the local-option sales-tax (LOST) fund for the new secondary‑roads headquarters until the county more clearly defines building costs.

Kettles discussed bridge condition metrics and long‑term needs. The county’s key performance indicator is the percentage of bridges classified as poor; Kettles said Iowa’s statewide percentage of poor bridges rose and that Linn County’s goal is to keep its bridge inventory at or below 5 percent classified poor. He said recent inspections conservatively estimate about 50 bridges will need replacement over the next 15 years and that the county will prioritize “low‑hanging fruit” projects to avoid a large surge in replacements.

The committee recorded a motion to preliminarily approve the engineer’s FY26 appropriations of $20,637,693 and revenues of $16,181,491; the motion was seconded and the committee carried the motion.

Votes at a glance

• Motion to preliminarily approve county engineer FY26 appropriations of $20,637,693 and revenues of $16,181,491 — moved and seconded; motion carried. (Transcript did not record a numeric roll‑call tally.)

Clarifying details and outstanding items

• Engineer appropriation total approved at meeting: $20,637,693; revenues: $16,181,491. • The department reported about $3.3 million in federal bridge grants planned across multiple projects; these are reimbursable when construction is complete. • The transcript referenced legislative changes (identified in the meeting as House File 718 and Senate File 24) that reduced the transfer amount to secondary roads, producing an estimated shortfall of about $98,704 for the year. • New equipment purchases were estimated at about $1.5 million in the engineer’s presentation; specific projects and timing may be amended as building costs and cash balances become clearer.

Community relevance and next steps

The engineer’s office will present a five‑year construction and maintenance plan at a later meeting (February 26, as mentioned in the presentation) detailing planned paving miles, bridge replacements and roundabout projects. The department emphasized the importance of maintaining a cash balance to meet obligations that arise before tax transfers.