Latest / Grow Clinton Podcast / GCP278 - A Conversation with Clinton County Treasurer Dustin Johnson

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GCP278 - A Conversation with Clinton County Treasurer Dustin Johnson · Grow Clinton Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: My goal is that they don't have to uh spend a lot of time interacting with us.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_02: They they get what they need quickly and can get on with their day.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: You're listening to the Grow Clinton Podcast.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: Grow Clinton is a 501c6 nonprofit economic community development and tourism organization based in Clinton, Iowa.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: For more information, visit growclinton.com.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: Again, that's growclinton.com.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: Now, back to the show.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: What's happening, all you amazing people out there in Podcast Land?
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode, episode 277 of the Grow Clinton Podcast, brought to you by Grow Clinton, a small economic development corporation where we focus on economic development, community development, and tourism, located in the east side of the great state of Iowa, right along the mighty Mississippi River.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: As always, I'm your host for today's episode, Andy Sokolovich, President CEO of Grow Clinton, joined in the studio by none other than Jenny Holm, our director of member in community relations.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: Jenny, what's happening?
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, you know what I've been doing?
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: What have you been doing?
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'll tell you.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: I've been doing an outreach through email campaign.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: I do it a couple of times a year just to see how everybody's doing.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: Check in.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Check it in.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: And say hi and thank you.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: And if you I love it when people write back to me.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I love it when people like ask us to do things, you know?
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: We have nearly 500 members.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: You do a great job of reaching out to all of them.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: But it's often difficult for nearly 500 members to receive emails from us every day.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: So we always tell our members if you have an issue, whether it's potholes or multi-million dollar expansion projects, give us a ring.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: Guaranteed we can help.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: If we don't have the answer, we can find it.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: We have a vast Rolodex of contacts now, Jenny.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: And if they just want to say hi, I'd love that.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: Some of those contacts, Jenny, are sponsored, Citizens First Bank, mic check courtesy of Citizens First Bank, making your finances and our audio crystal clear.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: These new mics in the Grove Clinton studio are proudly sponsored by the bank that's always in tune with our community.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: Find them at gocfb.bankbanking, as it should be with Citizens First Bank, member FDIC.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: Special shout out.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: Citizens First Bank marketing.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: I know she's like an officer of some sort.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know what her official title is.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: Carrie Donaire, her husband, Carlos.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: 50 years old today.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: Happy birthday, big bo.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: Happy birthday.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: Adcraft printware and Sully Sports.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: Blackcraft's been around since 1974.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: You won't be able to tell.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: Dan Sullivan doesn't look like he's been doing it since that.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, he has.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, geez.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: Fountain of Youth.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: Started out as a small company, now a large, cutting edge operation, providing top-notch customized printware to teams and companies all across the United States.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: For all of your custom printware needs, AdcraftUSA.com.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: Be sure to check out Sully Sports on the Web.com or visit their physical location, 19th Avenue Northwest.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: Sign up for the Sully Shirts Club.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: $10.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: Excuse me.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: Let's try that again.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: $24.99.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: I know, right?
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: John, your nephew's going to call me and be like, dude, what did you do?
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: $24.99 per month.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I pay.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: That's mid-tier.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: I get an exclusive members-only t-shirt every single month, plus 10% off everything at the store.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: Miles Communication, the original sponsor of the Grow Clinton podcast, hooking us up with Wicked Fast high speed internet fiber type to ensure that our broadcast is crisp, clear, and consistent.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: If you're interested in some fiber and you want to go ahead and have Wicked Fast internet service at your house or business, go ahead and check out milestelephone.com.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: Lion Double Cell Clinton Complex produces high density, low density polyethylene plastic pellets and resins used to create a variety of products, including household industrial bottles, pressure pipes, food packaging, you name it.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: If it's made out of plastic, chances are pretty good those resins came from Clinton.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: LYB is committed to being a responsible, engaged neighbor in the community where they operate just like here in good old Sea Town, Lion Del Bassel, solutions for it better tomorrow.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: Good show today, Jennifer.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Another sh installment in our very important series of candidates.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: Dustin Johnson, current Clinton County, Iowa, treasurer, the incumbent, uh vying for another term as the treasurer for Clinton County with upcoming election.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: Vote November 3rd.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: Dustin, thank you so much for joining us.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you, Andy, and thank you, Jenny.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: Dustin, you've been doing this for how long now?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: Six years.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: Six years.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that flew by.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so I always ask every candidate, when did you when did when was the moment that made you decide to do this?
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_02: So it actually goes back to 2018.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um I considered a potential run then when um former treasurer Ronda was uh con contemplating retirement.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um at at that time uh she chose to to run again.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_02: So there wasn't um didn't really view it as an opening.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_02: But when she announced her retirement in um late 2019, uh I thought that was an opportunity to um put my name in the hat for appointment uh to fill the remaining part of her term.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: And how long was that?
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_02: That that was uh well it ended up being uh about eight months.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I had to to fulfill her remaining part of her term.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_02: So I had to stand for election then that fall in 2020, um, was successful in that endeavor and uh fulfilled the remaining part of the term.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_02: It was two years, and then stood for my own election in 2022 um on the regular term cycle, and now we're in the second election for that.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's really important for people to know, and we've pointed this out before, that you have another life.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you have a lot to do, so it's very busy for you to, you know, be able to throw your hat in the ring and serve the community.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, uh family and and work life balance is always a challenge for all of us in in everyday life.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_02: And um I I think I've embraced the challenges and and brought some of the lessons from from both lives to public service.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: Now, outside of serving as the treasurer, your farmer, uh, that's where I first met you, is with the Clinton County Farm Bureau back in the day.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: We would travel together out to Des Moines.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you were rocking a three-piece suit back then, and we would go in and you would speak very eloquently and intelligently on the aspects of ag in the state of Iowa.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: Now, as the treasurer, let's just start with this.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: For those that have no idea, the treasurer's office does, they know where they get their license plates and they know where they pay their property taxes, but it's more robust than just that.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so we also do title transfers.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_02: So uh we have uh a lot of relationships with our local dealerships.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um the behind the scenes uh duties of the treasury um are something I didn't really anticipate when I took office.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_02: So um treasury management investing with our local bank partners, uh Citizens First, as you mentioned, was a sponsor.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_02: Uh they're great.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_02: All of our local banks, um 100% of our investment from county funds stays in Clinton County.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_02: We don't invest anywhere else.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I think it's really important to work with our local banks.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_02: They've been fantastic partners, and and we continue to provide a lot of value for our community and and to return funds to our taxpayers.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's uh, you know, one of the things that we started doing at Grow Clinton is as we, you know, we sold some land out there to Atlas Rugan Corporation, we generated some revenue, reinvested a lot of that revenue back in the infrastructure out of the Lincoln Way Industrial Rail and Air Park from the water main extension uh to supporting the attraction of ex an expansion of existing industry.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: But as we look to invest in interest-bearing accounts, we always work with the local financial institutions and we make them battle it out on interest rates.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: So I find that to be a lot easier than me trying to do it.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: Not my jam.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: So what was your biggest surprise as this?
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: What was the biggest, I would say, challenge that you had in the learning curve to do this job?
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_02: So honestly, it was uh understanding just how committed and and dedicated some uh fraudsters are.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my goodness.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_02: And and what we've discovered in the challenges.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_02: You know, when I first took office, it was kind of the start of COVID, and it was a it was a big challenge.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_02: Business was changing, transactions were changing, a lot of a lot more online stuff was being uh embraced, um, a lot of advertising went online, Facebook marketplace became huge, and folks had more time to look at stuff like that.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that created an opportunity for fraudsters to take advantage of folks, and um, you know, government doesn't change very quickly, but uh I'll give the Iowa Department of Transportation credit for um pivoting quickly and and getting communications out as we uh continue to fight fraud.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um now you mentioned marketplace.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: I'm assuming you're talking about vehicle sales, right?
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: And so I sell a vehicle, I own a vehicle outright.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: There's no it's it there's no lien holder, it's mine.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: I have the title free and clear.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: I sell a vehicle to somebody, what paperwork must get filled out?
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_02: So the back of the title, um, and then you need a bill of sale of some sort.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we don't require it to be notarized here in Clinton County.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_02: It makes it a little easier.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but my staff is always available.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_02: If somebody's got questions, please call in um and and we'll be happy to help you through the process.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_02: We understand folks don't do that every day, and we want to make sure we provide good service.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and also on your website at Clinton County-IA.gov, you can go to the treasurer's page, and there's a whole list of commonly sought-after forms and applications that you need.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: So be sure to check that out.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: Now, as you're running as an incumbent for to continue to be the treasurer, moving into the next term, when you're out there knocking on doors, you're talking to constituents, what are you telling them?
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: What are you looking for from them in the way of feedback?
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: And what is your pitch regarding them casting the vote for you come November 3rd?
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_02: So being the incumbent, I have a track record of performance.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_02: So uh we're really proud of our our ability to help folks when they come into the office.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_02: So um our our service time is less than a minute if somebody comes in.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_02: You know, sometimes there's a little bit of a line, but we average less than a minute.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_02: And you walk in the county admin building and turn right at the end of the hall.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_02: And with the remodel, we're we're no longer at the end of the hall.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_02: We're right there on the right.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, just come around the corner.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_02: We move down the hallway to help uh some of our citizens with mobility issues be able to get in and out.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_02: We are the busiest office in the admin building, so being right there by the doorway helps with customer flow as well.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_02: Our new layout with six desks to be able to help walk in um citizens, it it really helps.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_02: Uh folks can just walk up and and be served quickly, get on with their day.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_02: And and my staff takes a lot of pride in that.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a fact, too, because I just had a vehicle.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I just well, too much information.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: I was releasing a vehicle, I went ahead and bought it.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I had to go in and get everything taken.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: I I wasn't even in there.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: I was in there visiting with people long, Natalie, longer than um, and when I walked out, my new paperwork had a smiley face sticker on it because I did such a good job.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: I was really that made my day.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_02: But I'm glad you had that experience.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_02: That's really that's really important to me.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, prior to public service, you know, sometimes you would come into a government office and have a little bit of dread.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_02: How long is this gonna take?
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_02: Am I gonna be turned away?
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_02: And you're talking about the Department of Motor Vehicles, right?
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_02: What you're talking about.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, take a number.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's our our office actually is pretty lickety split, the D in Clinton.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: Back where I grew up, Pennsylvania, no bueno.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you would walk in, take a number, and you'd be like number 192, and then be like, now serving 76.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I was gonna do that.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: No, this was like at the administration building.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I went in and it was really quick and really very, they're very friendly, very quick, done.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_02: And so top-tier professionalism, yep.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but respecting everybody's time, I think, is really uh something that doesn't always happen in government, but I wanted to bring that and make sure that anytime you're gonna transact with the treasury, uh it was done professionally, quickly, and accurately.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's been something we've continued to improve on and we will continue to improve on, uh, especially as technology continues to offer us new tools.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I'm really confident that my staff will continue to perform at a high level.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: Do we do that thing in the state of Iowa where you can go to like IA Treasury and find out if anybody owes you money?
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: Treasure hunt.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: Treasure hunt.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I got to do that.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: My mom does it all the time.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: She said, I am, I think I got like 500 bucks from an old account floating out there somewhere in Pennsylvania.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I cash in.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: I might claim that.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: Do you guys do anything with that at your office?
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_02: So we we will submit funds to that.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_02: That's the state treasurer's office that manages the the treasure hunt.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's a great uh tool for folks who maybe had a closed account or a rebate that had to get uh returned if you moved.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um sometimes like utility refunds for deposit will will show up there.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um we have information from Robbie Smith.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_02: Uh he's done a great job trying to promote that.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um that's our state treasurer, and he's done a really good job promoting the 529 accounts as well.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_02: What is that?
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_02: So that's the educational savings accounts.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_02: Ah, yes, yes.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_02: So yep, that's that's an opportunity for for folks to be able to save a little money tax deferred.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_02: And um back back to Clinton County's uh performance, you know, as we have opened up to um across county line titling.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um we've had a lot of citizens from Scott County and even some from Jackson, if they work here, um, come into the office and and we're able to assist them as well.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um it's provided some extra revenue for for our office.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I did not realize that that's awesome.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_02: So uh changes in the law um allowed us to be able to serve other county citizens and changes in the fee structure allow us to do that um and not be a burden to local taxpayers.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_02: So uh I think it was a really wise improvement statewide.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um we're finding efficiencies for citizens that way.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_02: And when when we're available to provide, you know, really quick service, we're able to bring in folks from other counties and and serve them really quickly as well.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: One of the one of the, I'm sorry, one of the other things you did, uh I don't know if it was during your appointment or your first elected term, but you increased the hours of operation in the DeWitt satellite office.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_02: Correct.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for bringing that up.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so we we were identifying kind of what we needed from uh service and customer flow requirements.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_02: I found it uh really important that we had consecutive days out in DeWitt.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um prior, we were on Mondays and Wednesdays.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_02: Well, if you came in and needed a signature, you run and go get it and come in tomorrow.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_02: That doesn't seem like a lot, but when when you mine them up consecutively, everybody remembers what the transaction was.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_02: You don't have a whole day of other business happening, and it just made the transactions go really uh much more smoothly.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_02: So opening that up an additional day, but the the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, um, it's consecutive.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_02: Folks can rely on it, we can staff for it.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's really been an improvement as we've embraced electronic registration and titling.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_02: It allows us to move work back and forth between the offices very seamlessly, and it allows us to devote that resource to keep the office open to serve the citizens on the western side of the county.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, that's great.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_02: Jen, you had something to ask?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: No, I forgot.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: You did earlier.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's okay.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: That's the way this goes.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: One of the things we you talk about a lot uh and I appreciate is debt service, not only at the county level, but also at the municipality level.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: And can you explain what debt service is and how a municipality or a county pays that off?
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: So uh if there's a bigger project going, uh whether it be one of the big ones for the county, was the jail.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, sometimes there's road improvements, uh, school facilities.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it's just like a mortgage on your house.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: You're gonna take out a loan to to do that construction.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that that gets broken down to every year's liability of needing to cover.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_02: Let's say it's a million dollars.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_02: So that million dollars then gets spread out over every parcel in the county based on valuation, and so everybody pays their share of the amount of money that it takes to service the debt, literally the name.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_02: So everybody kind of collectively makes the mortgage payment.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_02: And it's uh it's a segregated uh fund.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_02: It's collected on a different levy than than most general operating procedures or or costs.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: And you'll see that on your property tax bill.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_02: And that that's another thing that we've really worked for uh towards uh in the Treasury is I wanted folks to have a a statement in that they get in the fall that explains where the money goes.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's important that uh folks are proud of what they fund and if they have questions, they know where to go to ask them.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_02: And so we changed the statement, we changed the provider to allow us to put more information on that statement.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we included a a pie chart the last two years that kind of does a quick breakdown for those who might be interested but not interested enough to read all the findings.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_02: So I thought that was a nice addition that we were able to do.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and just kind of breaks down, oh, well, 54% of my tax bill might go to the school.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, how much is that?
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: And you you can see all that broken down.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we have a lot of information on the back that uh tells folks about credit opportunities and and uh exemption opportunities.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_02: So the the one that got a little bit of press here not too long ago was a 65 and older credit.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_02: That program has been in existence for three years, but got a lot of press as it's an it's been updated with the most recent uh property tax reform.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_02: So um we had a lot of folks asking about that this year.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_02: And uh so my staff would very quickly work with the assessor's office if folks hadn't been signed up and and get them put into the system.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_02: So what is that?
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: What is the 65?
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_02: Like a tax credit, yeah.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_02: So it's an exemption.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the it used to be a credit.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_02: So a credit gets reimbursed by the state, and exemption does not.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_02: So it it became an exemption and it's sixty five hundred dollars off of your um taxable value on your home.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: So the total parcel.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: The total taxable value of your house minus sixty five hundred if you're 65 years of age or older.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_02: And that has to be by the by January 1st of the year that we're gonna clean up.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: And you have to complete a form, I'm assuming, at the treasury's office.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so we don't require a form.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_02: We just need to verify your age.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um, a lot of that's in the DOT system, so we can quickly verify it.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_02: And I'll give the assessor's office credit.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_02: They've um been a great partner.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_02: We're able to call them, verify the information for the citizen while they're standing at our desk, and we don't have to send them upstairs.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_02: We can just take care of it for them right away.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: Thank goodness.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_02: So it's just little things like that.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_02: You got a ways to go yet, Jenny.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we got a ways to go.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: So not only uh transparency.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: So you get your property tax bill in um through your tenure serving as the Clinton County treasurer, you made sure that everybody knows where the portion of their taxes is going.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: How many levying agencies do we have in Clinton County?
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: A lot.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_02: So if you look at um every authority, you know, every city, every township, uh, every school district, and then the county uh has different levying authorities.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_02: So um there's several.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_02: And and depending on the location of where your parcel is, um, you know, whether you're in the Northeast School District or the Clinton School District or the Comanche School District, um, and then if you're within city limits or not, it all changes what uh levies apply to your property.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's important for people to know because often when they see their property tax bill, they immediately either want to blame the county because they feel it's they want to contest it, or the municipality.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: And those are the treasurer's office.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: So those are just amazing.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: So the county or the municipality or Dustin's office.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: Just Dustin.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_01: But those are just two of many, many levies that are being applied to your property taxes.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: So you got to look at the entire picture too to identify how those monies are being uh, you know, into well, I guess for the municipality, like when we bond and we do a capital bond referendum and we we secure a what are capital or municipal bonds at right now, like per rates.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_02: It it's gonna depend on the municipality and the amount, but and they're I'm probably in the mid-fours.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm assuming high threes.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: So okay.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_01: So like when we did manufacturing drive bluff boulevard, we had to bond, we had to get money to match a federal fund or a federal grant to be able to do that project.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: Now, when that's we have to start paying that back, which I'm assuming we probably had to start already uh because that project's been going on.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that then is factored into the total levy, but is that separate from the actual municipal levy?
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: Is that so that will show up separately on your tax bill for your property tax?
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_02: So the only debt service that shows up separate on your tax statement is for the county.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_02: Everybody else has what's called a consolidated levy.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_02: So um schools generally have six or seven funds that they're able to tax for cities the same way.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so instead of creating a very busy statement with everything broken down, um they this was well before my time.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_02: They went to what's called a consolidated levy.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_02: So the the school levy and the city levy just show as one number.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um that number, the the breakdown is available anytime somebody would ask, I have access to that.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um you know, one of my my letters I included in the tax statement kind of broke down some of that a few years ago for the for the schools.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_02: It because people don't understand how that works and and what the difference is, you know, for a bond referendum for a school and how that affects the total consolidated levy.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_02: Those are separate, but you don't see it that way.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_02: So it's it's tough for people to understand the changes year over year.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_02: So a typical debt service levy is supposed to only service the the the debt payment that needs to be made in that fiscal year.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_02: And once in a while they'll there will be increases.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um and the reasons vary for why you would do that.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_02: But um one of the common ones is to uh kind of preempt a a vote and so you would raise your debt service levy so that if the vote passes you can say that there wasn't a tax increase even though it was done a year early before the vote happened.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_02: And I kind of have a problem with that happening.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think that's um really right for the citizens because they haven't voted on it and they got the increase uh without the vote and and I think that's that's a way to kind of skew the the results a little bit.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_01: And well I think you're threading into our last topic before we close out the podcast is you often consider yourself and I see the advertisements to be kind of a watchdog of fiscal responsibility from those taxing agencies.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: Explain to us you know what you mean by that and and then at the end give us your pitch as to why people on November 3rd should mark your name at the ballot.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely so I I don't think very many people spend the time uh to to dig into all of those nuances of taxation and I don't really expect them to want to or need to.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_02: So I feel like I'm in a unique position where I don't really get to set the levy rate but I see them all and I feel like I I have a responsibility to share what I see and to inform folks hey this is happening whether you agree with it or not that that's fine.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_02: But I should make sure they know that it's happening if I see it.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_02: And then it's up to the citizen whether they want to engage with the decision makers that that would affect that.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_02: But um being an elected official I I have accountability to our taxpayers.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_02: And I think it's really important that um in the era of so much information you can get bombarded with uh you know six sheets of numbers and not really be able to make sense of it.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_02: Being able to to kind of filter out the noise and provide you know some insight into what happens I think is valuable.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_02: I would have appreciated that uh prior to my my time as an elected official um save me some time let me know when there's an issue uh highlight something that's an anomaly and and let me make an informed decision on what to do.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: And give the facts I mean that trust in an elected official is really important.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah absolutely um so I I think it's important that citizens are engaged in our government uh the the city of Clinton has has had a resurgence in grassroots involvement um you know you and I both know the the challenges you face when you share your opinion on on things publicly um it it comes with accolades and arrows and that's just part of the territory but it's necessary and it's sometimes messy but when the citizens are engaged in in government um when done so respectfully and professionally it's the best thing for our republic.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_02: I I really think it's important.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm gonna continue to fight for that um try and get folks to stay engaged and and even if they don't show up to a meeting just pay attention to what's happening so you're an informed citizen because the dollars involved are are pretty substantial.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_02: So uh to to close on my pitch um you know as treasurer I think it was really important uh to to a provide service to the citizens to to make sure when they come into my office they're they're treated respectfully and their time is valued and we do things quickly um I think we're achieving that there's always room for improvement but I'm really proud of our track record proud of my staff we we have a great team uh I I think we help one another uh handle whatever needs the citizens have when they come in so they can get on with their day uh and secondly it's returning value to the taxpayers so every yeah um you know I've returned money to the general fund from my budget uh it was about 300,000 my first year and last year it was 1.7 million so that's a pretty significant increase in in returns and we've done that through aggressive investment strategy uh while using safe products our banking partners have been phenomenal and we're able to help them they're able to help us and and manage our cash flow um responsibly but aggressively to return investment to the taxpayers and then the performance of my staff uh on the auto side contributes to that as well um we've brought in uh customers dealers from other counties to do work here in Clinton County which provides value and we're able to do that quickly while still providing top tier service to our citizens and that's created an extra revenue stream that didn't exist before and cultivating finding those relationships and uh we've had a few that didn't work out but we continue to try and I think changing the the mindset of government of like we're here no matter what to know it's really important that we we respect our taxpayers we serve them um that's what I think everybody deserves.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_02: What's the the ongoing joke I'm here from the government and I'm here to help well my goal is that they don't have to uh spend a lot of time interacting with us they they get what they need quickly and can get on with their day.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: And what you're saying too is that I'm just I'm not just here from the government.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_02: I'm part of the community and I know you absolutely I've been in your shoes I know the challenges and and we want to make this experience better for you.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_01: All right well that was a great way to close it Dustin best of luck to you on election day remember November 3rd it is your right and honestly in my opinion your uh my expectation for you to go out there to the polls and cast a vote for your elected officials both at the county level and at the state level and one quick plug you can go to the auditor's office they're um available for early in-person voting and I it was a big line when we first started last Wednesday but um they're they're able to get folks in and out very quickly it's a convenient way to to vote if your schedule doesn't come quick it does go quick if you want to vote in advance.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a traditionalist I like to get the I voted sticker on November 3rd so I will go there and cast my vote on that day.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm very excited this is I think going to be a very pivotal election for the state of Iowa.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_01: I mean we are we're looking at some major changes there's been a lot of talk about not the drag us on but the consolidation of services too across the state you already alluded to the fact that you're able to assist folks from outside of Clinton County um so we're we're kind of looking as a state with a population of roughly 3.2 million people geographically a large amount of land and some people that are very rural have to travel great distance to get to their county building.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: We often forget about that because we got the landfill right here, we got our admin building right here with the county seats not everybody has that option.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: Talking about DeWitt where it's not consecutive days, that would be so frustrating and I can imagine that that has really lowered a lot of that confusion and frustration.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_02: So I have friends in the western part of the county we've we're farmers or farm community or I've known them since I was uh a younger man but um it's over an hour for them to drive one way to the Clinton office.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_02: So uh having that resource available into it's really important.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yesterday I drove back from Mason City three and a half hours.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_01: And of course which it's you know it's not a big deal but I pull off I get on highway 30 I start heading into town I'm I'm westbound and then I hit a a stretch of construction where it's down to one lane each direction.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_01: So I had to pause for that.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_01: And then as much as I love seeing our combines out in the fields harvesting that corn yeah uh then they pull onto the road and it's like it reminds me of that song like uh what is it how's it go?
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like something about my tractor she thinks my drive is sexy.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: But then I had to so it it took me about five hours to get home yeah and it was rough but you don't realize once you bust through Cedar Rapids and you're northbound northwestbound there is a lot of like empty farmland and stuff up there.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_01: There's not a tremendous amount of of development but it's a cool drive and I really enjoy it.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_01: And then you bust into you know you get out and you get into Mason City Clear Lake area and stuff.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_01: They had a beautiful little downtown they passed a bond referendum several years ago to put in a mall and then they have a ped mall.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_01: So a lot has changed since I was last there in 2015.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: But you don't realize how big the state is until you have to start traveling to areas that you don't normally frequent.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: You don't really realize how big our county is our county's huge.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_02: The eastern part of Clinton County is is fairly densely populated in the rural areas but I think folks want that kind of lifestyle and uh those those homes and those properties are sought after and I think that's a development opportunity for our community as well with some of the beautiful scenery we have oh my gosh our countryside is is absolutely gorgeous especially with the sunrises and sunsets this time of year.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_02: The river uh we have a lot to offer here can't beat it.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_01: I was driving I was coming around the bend and I had just turned I take the back road uh 13th Avenue north uh from here to DeWittz and I made the bend the one little sharp turn there and it was the sun setting and the combines were out harvesting and you could see the lights in the combines were just kind of kicking on and it was it was cool.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_01: I mean it was just like a very picturesque Midwest Iowan shot.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: I always say the same thing I was I had the opportunity to go to France and I was gonna go on the channel from London to Paris and everybody kept saying French countryside you're gonna it's so beautiful.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_01: You're just gonna and I'm thinking okay great I got there and I'm like no this isn't Iowan we we all right everybody thank you for listening to episode 277 getting to know Dustin Johnson Clinton County Treasurer again election day November 3rd be out uh be sure to go out and cast your vote my name as always Andy Sikolovich if you're not subscribed to the Grow Clinton podcast please do so wherever you get your podcast just search Grow Clinton podcast download that bad boy subscribe never miss an episode until we speak again folks stay classy see ya thank you for listening to the Grow Clinton podcast be sure to subscribe and follow us on all your socials until next time see ya