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THURSDAY • MARCH 31, 2016
EDITORIAL/NEWS
RESERVOIR: Continued from Page 1
the algae dies. ‘In the closet’ “From the time I’ve been involved, it seems to me, the two of you are in the closet hiding on this issue,” Patterson said. “And, this is our community’s quality chance at water. I want to know where you stand on this because as the water superintendent, I have to be able to tell people that I’m providing quality water, and I can’t guarantee that with the lake we have.” Fry appeared to be a little frustrated when he responded to Patterson saying he has never been “in the closet” on the reservoir and his stance. “If you had been at any of these other forums in the past six years, you would have heard this issue brought up probably at every single forum and I have addressed it,” Fry said. Phone calls Patterson also expressed his frustration about hearing Fry had been calling people “in the field” about the water issue, and the fact he’s never received one phone call. Fry’s answer was he’s never voted on a bill in the legislature about the quality of water in West Lake. If there had been a bill about West Lake and
it’s water, he would have been calling the water superintendents in his district. As for the reservoir project itself, Fry owns land within the project area and abstains from issues when necessary. “I have publicly said that I do support property rights. Absolutely. I think that’s foundational principle for our country and our constitution,” Fry said. “I also understand need for quality water and there’s got to be a marriage between those two issues.” Local rights At this point in the tense discussion, Sinclair added she believes the reservoir is a local issue. She said eminent domain should be used judiciously as possible because without property rights, most of the other rights don’t matter, either. “I don’t need any more explanation,” Patterson said. “All I ask is, as the person that’s supposed to provide quality and quantity water to the community, I think we’ve been attacked. I think enough is enough, and I think, whether you want to be involved or not, it’s time you guys stand up for this community and do what’s right.” A round of applause went through the room after Patterson’s speech.
FREEDOM ROCK: Continued from Page 1
it is usually brick, and occasionally on the brick you can see a person’s name engraved in it.” The plan is to put the rock on a 2-foot-tall raised concrete pad. The rock is estimated to stand at 9 feet, so the total height is about 11-feettall. Then, a half-moon-shaped concrete pad will surround the Freedom Rock. That pad will be about 18 inches tall and provide natural seating. On that pad will also stand the honor wall, and behind the wall will be the United States of America flag and one flag for each of the branches of military. The honor wall will be covered in tiles that can be purchased for $50. Part of the cost is the purchase and engraving of the dark granite tile, while the other part will be put to-
ward project construction. Between 450 and 500 tiles will be available for purchase, and people with any connection to Clarke County will be eligible for engraving on the tile. “The biggest emphasis is that it’s for Clarke County,” said Craig Justice, chairperson of the Murray Development Corporation. “This is a big project for our community to take on. ... You got to keep an open mind that eventually communities like this have to do projects to keep people coming to this community to live here, to visit here.” Gibbs said the plan is to do the concrete work this summer so the painting can be started in spring 2017. “If people are going to plan a bus tour, we want to be on the top of their list,” Gibbs said. “In the end, the higher price tag is going to be worth it all.”
OSCEOLA SENTINEL-TRIBUNE
Expenditure Limitation Law sets FY2017 spending levels By Rep. Joel Fry
The Fry Times
House District 27 joel.fry@legis.state.ia.us
With the Revenue Estimating Conference’s meeting March 16, the size of the state’s budget will be governed by the Expenditure Limitation Law. For the last five sessions, the House has insisted that on-going revenue and not the Expenditure Limitation Law determine the total amount of state spending. The House has instituted a set of budget principles, which have prevented the Legislature from approving a state budget that spent more than the state collected – or spent just under the level of on-going revenue. From 2011-15 ongoing state revenue has totaled less than legally available revenue determined by the Expenditure Limitation Law. Legally available revenue includes on-going revenue along with any ending balance. This session, the Expenditure Limitation Law has set the legally available revenue amount under the on-going revenue amount. Since it has been several years since this has been part of the budget discussions, Io-
JOEL FRY
wans may want a refresher on how the law works. The primary goal of the Expenditure Limitation law is to ensure general fund revenues exceed expenditures to help lawmakers enact a balanced budget and to build sufficient cash reserves for cash flow and emergency purposes. There are three steps in calculating the expenditure limitation: STEP ONE — REVENUE — The base revenue estimate (ongoing revenue) adopted by the REC is multiplied by 99.0 percent. STEP TWO – REVENUE
ADJUSTMENTS — The accounting for revenue adjustments is a multi-step process: • Estimates of new revenue enacted by the General Assembly that were not included in the REC estimate are multiplied by 95.0 percent. • All estimated revenue decreases enacted by the General Assembly that were not included in the REC estimate are applied at 100.0 percent. • Estimates of new revenue that are not enacted by the General Assembly and not included in the REC estimate are multiplied by 99.0 percent. STEP THREE — ENDING BALANCE TRANSFER – Any excess funds carried forward from the prior year’s General Fund surplus after filling the state’s reserve funds (ending balance) are added to the expenditure limitation at 100.0 percent. This would be the figure after filling the Cash Reserve Fund and the Economic Emergency Fund. It would also be after paying what is due for performance of duty requirements, related to disaster assistance. How does this work for FY2017? Here is the calculation:
Notice to Clarke County Farm Bureau members Contributed graphic
This is the architectural plan for the Clarke County Freedom Rock. The rock will sit on a raised concrete pad, and off to the side will be a halfmoon-shaped raised concrete pad for natural seating, planting of flags and stabilization of an honor wall. The concrete is tentatively scheduled to be complete in the summer, and the painting of the rock is tentatively planned to take place in 2017-18.
This is a reminder to Clarke County Farm Bureau members. It is opinionnaire time again. The 2016 opinionnaire has been emailed to all the Clarke County Farm Bureau regular members in March if they have your email address.
If you want an opinionnaire mailed to you, contact Leola Boyce at 641-342-6066 and let her know. One will be mailed to you. If you want an emailed opinionnaire, be sure they have your email address. You may contact
the Clarke County Farm Bureau office at leola.boyce@ifbf. org or call 641-342-6066. You can stop by the office at 2215 N. Main St. if you would like to pick up an opinionnaire. Please complete and return as soon as possible.
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