Board approves 3% administrative increase for general-assistance partners and raises income guideline to 100% of poverty

Colleen Shipper, general assistance coordinator, told the Board of Supervisors on June 24 that the county’s three general-assistance partner agencies will receive a 3% increase in administrative dollars under new agreements for fiscal year 2026 and that the agreements have been in place for more than two decades.

The board approved the resolution renewing those agreements and then voted to amend the county’s general-assistance policy to raise income eligibility to 100% of the federal poverty guidelines, effective July 1, 2025. Under the new guideline, a single-person household’s monthly income threshold will be $1,304.

"We've been doing that for several years," Shipper said in support of the modest increase and of the county’s long-standing partnerships with Eastside Ministerial, Jesse Cosby Neighborhood Center and Operation Threshold. Board members praised the continuity and said the agencies are seeing increased demand.

Supervisors also discussed how recent state-level changes to behavioral-health funding may affect which agency pays for certain judicial or hospitalization-related costs; Shipper told the board she had budgeted for substance-abuse costs in case state contracts do not resume funding, noting uncertainty over who will assume those costs after July 1.

The motion to adopt the policy revision passed by voice vote with an affirmative roll call; supervisors indicated unanimous support during the meeting record.

Why it matters: General-assistance partners provide sheltering, energy assistance and crisis aid to eligible Black Hawk County residents. Raising the income guideline to 100% of poverty increases the pool of households that can qualify for county-funded help and formalizes a modest administrative boost for partner agencies.

What’s next: County staff will finalize agreements, circulate executed contracts and monitor demand under the new eligibility threshold.