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News Telegraph

Serving Cass, Shelby, Guthrie, Audubon and Pottawattamie Counties for over 141 years. Volume 235 - No 034

$1.00

County News

Supervisors
Approve
Changes to
Burial Policy
By Jeff Lundquist
NT Publiser -

Crunching the Numbers

Atlantic School Board
Considers PPEL Levy
Voters would have to approve
By Jeff Lundquist

County ...............................see page 2

NT Publisher

ATLANTIC - The Atlantic School District is considering appealing to voters to approve an income sur-tax Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) to supplement future
budgets ofcials said Wednesday night.
The idea came
up during a discussion of the districts
2016-2017 budget.
Atlantic
Superintendent Dr. Michael
noted that
PPEL - The district is con- Amstein
the additional funds
sidering asking voters to approve an inwould give the discome surtax supplemental PPEL levy to
trict more exibility
offset property taxes
in how it uses its
money.
AMOUNT - The district curThis past June
rently collects 85 cents per thousand
our voted PPEL inidollars of valuation from property
tiative was defeated.
taxes for PPEL. After this year is will
And one of the things
not collect anything, unless approved
by voters, from an income surtax.
Budget ....see page 12

THE

RUNDOWN

Check out atlanticnewstelegraph.com for more information

about PPEL and Income surtaxes

Senate OKs 4 percent hike in future K-12 school budget

DES MOINES (AP) - The Democratic-controlled Iowa Senate has passed legislation that would establish future state aid for
K-12 schools, though the funding remains unclear as lawmakers
debate more immediate education costs.
The Senate voted on party lines Tuesday for two bills that
would set a 4 percent increase to basic state aid for schools in the
scal year that begins in 2017. Theyre separate from legislation
that would set the same percentage increase in the scal year that
begins this July.

Weather
Thursday
- Mostly cloudy,
with a high near
23. Wind chill values as low as zero.
East northeast wind
around 6 mph becoming south southwest in the afternoon. Thursday
Night - A 20 percent chance of
snow.

Thursday 2-11 copy.indd 1

State law requires the legislature to establish such advanced

education funding, though lawmakers havent followed that timeline in recent years. Leaders in the Republican-majority House
support a 2 percent increase to state aid for this upcoming scal
year, arguing there are limited funds. They have not formally proposed funding for future years.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

School Calendar

Thursday, Feb. 11

4:30 p.m. - Basketball: Girls Varsity Game (Rescheduled from 0125-16) Treynor at Treynor HS
6 p.m. - Archery Dual - AHS Gym
6 p.m. - Basketball: Girls Ninth Game (Cancelled) Glenwood at
Glenwood HS Auxiliary Gym
6 p.m. - Basketball: Boys Ninth Game (Time Changed) Glenwood
at Glenwood HS Auxiliary Gym There will be two boys games (6
p.m. and 7:30 p.m.)
6:30 p.m. - FFA Meeting, AHS Ag Room

ATLANTIC - The Cass County

Board of Supervisors approved changes to
its indigent resident burial policy Wednesday morning that will reduce the amount
funeral homes receive for the service.
Under the new policy, the county will
provide $1,500 for either burial or cremation. Previously the county had paid a
maximum of $2,000 for burial costs and
$550 for cemetery costs and $1,500 for
cremation costs and up to $200 for additional cremation costs.
The county is not required to provide
the service and several Iowa counties
do not, but board members felt that not
providing the service and reducing the
amount too much would hurt local funeral
homes who provide the service.
I hate to see us backing up on the
funeral homes, Supervisor Frank Waters
said.
But while the policy change will re-

SPEAK

County News

Waters Will
Seek Re-election
By Jeff Lundquist
Publisher

ATLANTIC
- Cass County
District 5 Supervisor Frank Waters announced
Wednesday that
he will be seeking re-election.
Waters (R) is
currently nishing his second term on the board.
Waters made a brief announcement
prior to Wednesdays board meeting, notifying the media in attendance that he
would be on the ballot.
Waters was elected in 2009 and serves
on the Cass County Environmental Control Agency; Cass County Home Health
Care Advisory Board; Regional Planning
Afliate 13; Workforce Investment Act/
ChiefElected Ofcials and Resource Enhancement and Protection Board.
No one has ofcially announced their
intention to challenge Waters, although he
stated Wednesday that he had heard that
Waters ................................see page 2

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2/10/16 8:34 PM

12

Local

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Atlantic News Telegraph

Local News

Board to consider Income Surtax

Budget .....................................................................From page one

Accident near Caseys west includes injuries

Emergency personnel and law enforcement investigated an accident on Wednesday afternoon near the Casey Store on the west side of Atlantic. According to an Atlantic Police
report, Zachary Dill of Atlantic was leaving the Caseys West parking lot from the south
entrance. Dill proceeded to exit Caseys parking lot and headed south on Highway 6. When
Dill turned south, he did not straighten the wheel and continued to turn. The vehicle then left
the road way to the west, and came to rest off the road way on a concrete culvert. The driver
and three passengers were transported to Cass County Memorial Hospital by Medivac personnel with non-life threatening injures. Estimated damage to the vehicle was $10,000.
Photo by Jennifer Nichols

Local News

Board accepts bids for bridge work

By Jeff Lundquist
NT Publisher

ATLANTIC - The Cass County Board of Supervisors accepted bids for two bridge projects scheduled to replaced later this year.
The rst involves the replacement of a bridge
on Akron Road in the northern part of the county on
the Audubon County Border. The board accepted a
bid on that project from Murphy Heavy Contracting
Corp. out of Anita for $433,033.
A second project concerns a culvert replacement

south of Cumberland on 690th Street just south of

Richland Road. The county has received one bid
for that project from Gus Construction Co. Inc., for
$559.699.
The board also approved a bid from Henderson
Truck Equipment for $57,841 for two new dump
truck boxes. The bids include the boxes, hydraulics,
reversible snow plows, tailgate sanders and benching wings for snow removal.
County ofcials have not yet decided on the
type of trucks they will be mounted on.

I think the Board is going to have to do is take a look at that again,

Amstein said. For this reason, right now with our voted PPEL the
way it is the only source of revenue for our voted PPEL is property
tax. With an income surtax it gives you the ability to have more exibility.
PPEL levies are divided into two parts, a property tax component
and an income surtax. On the property tax side district can assess up
to 33 cents per thousand dollars of assessed valuation without voter
approval or up to $1.34 per thousand dollars of valuation with voter
approval. Atlantic currently collects 85 cents per thousand dollars of
valuation from property taxes.
Districts also have the option of seeking an Income Surtax to
supplement the PPEL fund up to a maximum of 20 percent of what a
person owes in state income tax. The district had a 4 percent income
surtax in place but voters rejected its extension last September.
The district raised about $300,000 from the surtax which District
Business Manager Mary Beth Fast noted would offset an amount
about equal to .67 cents per thousand in property tax. PPEL funds
can be used for, among other things, the purchase and improvement
of grounds; construction of schoolhouses or buildings and opening
roads to schoolhouses or buildings and the purchase, lease, or leasepurchase of equipment.
The board took no action but did agree to consider the issue at
its next meeting and look into the possibility of putting on the ballot.
Even if approved the district would not see any revenue until the
2018 school year.
As far as this years budget is concerned, Amstein pointed out
that, while State Legislators argue over the percentage of state supplemental aid, the impact for the school district is huge.
You read in the newspaper or hear in the news that they are battling over 2 percent or 4 percent it can have a huge impact on what it
allows us to do as far as setting the tax rate, he said.
Amstein presented the board with four scenarios involving state
aid rates of 0, 1,2,3 and four percent. With no increase in state aid the
districts tax levy would have to be set at $15.70. At 2 percent, about
the rate at which it is currently set, the tax levy would be $15.28 and
at 4 percent it would amount to $14.87.
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has laid out a plan that included
more than $145 million in new funding for pre-K through 12th-grade
students and teachers - a 2.45 percent increase. But he also included
a plan to divert money from an existing 1-cent sales tax currently
marked for school infrastructure improvements to a water quality
fund.
House Republicans have proposed a two percent boost in general state aid for K-12 public schools in Iowa, while Democrats who
control the Iowa Senate are seeking a four percent increase.
Other factors that will play into the budget include the ongoing
contract negotiations with the teachers union and non-certied staff.
Contract negotiation play a key role since 80 percent of the districts
General Fund goes to paying salaries and benets.

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Atlantic

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