Meeting was January 27 in Vinton
By Jim Magdefrau
Vinton – The Benton County Board of Supervisors heard more budget plans at their meeting Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in the conference room of the Benton County Service Center, Vinton.
Budget
Budgets discussed were for the engineer, auditor/elections, maintenance, attorney, and IT/GIS (Information Technology/Global Information System). Budget information was also presented the by the Benton County Library Association.
Engineer Myron Parizek said there are few changes in the engineer’s budget and it is no greater than the current budget.
Kelly Henkle of the Vinton library met with the board for the Benton County Library Association. There are 11 public libraries in Benton County. Updates were given for each library. The request for next year is the same as this year.
Hayley Rippel, auditor, explained plans for her office and for the primary and general elections. She also updated the board on storage of documents.
Maintenance was outlined by Rick Wood. He is budgeting for a tractor. Capital projects were also discussed. They also discussed foundation work.
Benton County Attorney Ray Lough explained the attorney’s budget as well as the collections department. Benton County is helping to get restitution and fees for five counties. He said there are not many changes in the budget. They also discussed changing an assistant attorney to a deputy position. The deputy’s salary would be tied to a percentage of the county attorney’s salary. Board members would like to see collections salaries in line with other county employees.
IT/GIS was explained by Ben Turnis. The budget stays the same, according to Turnis. Discussion included the radio system, furnace controls, sheriff’s department servers, computers at the Duane Arnold Energy Center.
The supervisors’ own budget was presented by Rippel. They discussed a wellness breakfast, and quarterly department head meetings.
Historic Preservation and Benton County Volunteers will present their budgets next week.
Other business
Discussion was held on Pictometry Imagery Flights. Flights are held every five years. These images are used by the assessor’s office and for septic information.
Parizek discussed the 30th Ave. road improvement project with the City of Urbana. It is a half-mile stretch, with one side belonging to the city and the side to the county. The city’s engineer estimated the cost to be $363,000. They are looking at asphalt for this road. It is now seal coated. Supervisor Chairman Tracy Seeman suggested tabling this for two weeks.
A six-month employee wage and classification change was approved for Alyce Lynch of the auditor’s office.
Health, dental and vision insurance amounts were discussed, focusing on the county’s contribution to single and family plans. They also offer a life insurance policy. The plans were approved.
HEALTH
Single Plan
- Employee pays – $99.44 a month
- County pays – $842.97/month
Family
- Employee pays – $389.55
- County pays – $1715.45
Currently the county has employees splitting the vision and dental as 50/50
DENTAL
- Single $23.50 split 11.75/11.75
- Family -$56.00 split 28.00/28.00
VISION
- Single-$3.09 split 1.54/1.55
- Family-$7.89 split 3.94/3.95
Members were appointed to the solid waste commission. Jon Kaestner, Nancy Gibson, Terry Hertle, Mike Seeck, Coretta Cronbaugh and Amy Boddicker were proposed by Seeman and approved.
Final approval was given on MidAmerican Energy Company Pipeline Inspection Certification. The reimbursement is $167,270.39.
Jim Magdefrau 