Story County supervisors review Planning & Development budget; staff flag intern, licensing and membership costs

STORY COUNTY, Iowa — Story County supervisors and staff reviewed Planning & Development’s draft budget at a Feb. 4 work session, with staff underscoring several provisional numbers and requests that could affect permit processing and departmental capacity.

Assistant Auditor Lisa Markley opened the substantive review by noting a placeholder increase in salaries: “There is a 5% increase in there. That's just a placeholder right now,” she said, adding that actual salary adjustments have not been decided.

Planning & Development director Leanne Harder walked the board through revenue and expense lines. Harder recommended reestablishing revenue from county-ordinance violations for the current fiscal year “up to $3,000,” and said the department recently received a $500 fine. She described permit volumes as the primary driver of revenue and said floodplain and zoning-permit income is expected to remain roughly consistent.

On personnel and operating costs, Harder told the board the department is restoring intern funding this fiscal year and expects to return to the prior full amount next fiscal year after two years without interns: “We've not had an intern since August 2023,” she said. Board members pressed for context on prior-year averages; staff noted past budgets carried roughly $14,000 for interns but the three-year average appears lower because of gaps in hiring.

Harder said an increase in the office-supplies line partly reflects a $700 contingency to cover unanticipated supplies and permit refunds, and she described a temporary rise in copier costs tied to another program’s use of departmental equipment that she expects to abate.

On consultant and plan work, Harder proposed removing the Iowa State Design Studio item for next fiscal year because of scheduling and response timing, and recommended moving forward with an update to Chapter 6 (economic prosperity) of the county comprehensive plan. She said she had a MIPA quote of $8,000 and the board later agreed to split a $7,500 estimate between the current and next fiscal year to spread the cost.

Harder raised an operational risk tied to the county’s permitting platform migration and asked the board to approve a short extension of CitizenServe licenses because a staff vacancy has delayed the migration. She said she had asked for a quote to extend licenses through April 30 and that the vendor’s initial quote for all 12 licenses was $7,200; Planning & Development expects to need only two licenses and estimated an extension cost likely near $1,200 for the needed users. Board members asked staff to seek month-to-month options and to explore extending resources through May or to the end of the fiscal year if necessary.

Members also learned that several professional dues have increased; Harder said the county zoning officials’ dues rose to $200 from $80 and that other associations (including the American Planning Association and the Floodplain Managers Association) also raised rates.

Auditor Lucy Martin and others noted the county is operating two permitting platforms during the transition (Beacon and the legacy system) and recommended adding $1,200 to the current fiscal year budget to account for geo-permitting (Beacon-side) license costs; staff will confirm whether an IT budget amendment is required. Board members also flagged Mimecast and other IT items that were not budgeted and said these would be reviewed in subsequent budget work.

No formal motions or votes occurred during the work session. Staff said they will return to the board with a formal proposal and clearer cost estimates (including the MIPA scope and CitizenServe extension options) and indicated they plan to present that material on Feb. 25.

The session ended with the chair thanking staff for the review and confirming follow-up work on cost clarifications and timeline adjustments.