Story County supervisors review FY27 Environmental Health budget, flag extra well grant and vehicle needs

AMES, Iowa — Story County supervisors and Environmental Health staff reviewed the department’s proposed FY27 budget on Feb. 4, focusing on state grant revenue, permit and program fees, equipment and vehicle needs, and short-term data‑migration plans.

Supervisor Lisa Heddens opened the session saying the purpose was to examine the FY27 budget request for Environmental Health. Staff described a $45,000 annual award from the Groundwater Protection Fund and a separate $50,000 appropriation they received this year after they had “exhausted all our funds,” according to Laura Johnston, environmental health ("We get the 45 every year, and then the 50,000 we got was because we exhausted all our funds."). Matt Corey, environmental health, added that the $45,000 baseline for the current year has already been largely spent: “We’ve halfway through, we’ve already exhausted that 45,000.”

The department said that the additional $50,000 should be fully usable in the current fiscal year and that staff will reestimate expense projections to reflect the added funding. Supervisors and staff discussed how to present the reestimate; staff noted a projection exercise that would change the groundwater rehab line to reflect 75% pass-through calculations.

Revenue…