Story County trustees decline 2026 levy for Warren #11, pending reclassification

Story County Board of Supervisors, sitting as Drainage District Trustees, voted May 26 to withhold a 2026 levy for Drainage District Warren #11 while a formal reclassification remains incomplete.

Chair Linda Murken and trustees Latifah Faisal and Lisa Heddens debated whether to levy now to limit mounting interest or to wait until a reclassification—expected to redistribute benefits and reduce some landowners' shares—could be finalized. Drainage Clerk Scott Wall described the situation as a long-running project that restarted after a 2024 Engineer's Report and said the district currently shows a proposed shortfall of $102,432.93, including estimated interest through Sept. 30, 2026.

Why it matters: A levy under the district's current (1951) classification would raise funds immediately but would lock assessments to an outdated allocation that several trustees said unfairly burdens some landowners. Wall warned that the district faces additional construction and engineering bills that will increase debt during the coming months.

At the meeting, Heddens moved to approve a 324% levy recommended by the Drainage Clerk; the motion failed for lack of a second. Faisal next moved to levy $40,000 to cover estimated interest and limit immediate burden on landowners; that motion failed on a 1-2 vote (Faisal aye; Heddens and Murken nay). Murken then moved to not levy Warren #11 this year; the trustees approved the motion unanimously.

Trustees and staff described why the reclassification was delayed. Wall said Tyler Conley, the Bolton & Menk drainage engineer working on Warren #11, had been in prolonged coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; a federal government shutdown in November 2025 delayed Corps review until early February 2026, and Story County Planning & Development had a backlog of floodplain applications before issuing local approval in March. Wall said Conley was directed on May 18 to finish a formal Classification Report, which must be vetted by two district commissioners and then presented to trustees at a public hearing not less than 40 days later.

Financial detail: Wall said the district's original assessed value is about $30,999.82 and that a 324% levy would produce roughly $102,634.25 (leaving a nominal surplus of about $201 after projected interest through Sept. 30, 2026). He also cautioned that work yet to be billed could add roughly $900,000 in construction-related costs, with contract deadlines into December; interest could continue to accrue on new debt.

What happens next: The trustees directed staff to work with Conley to complete the Classification Report as soon as commissioners can vet it. If a new classification is adopted following the statutorily required hearing, trustees would consider adjusting future assessments under that new classification; any levies approved under the current classification would not be retroactively changed. The board adjourned at 9:30 a.m.