County Supervisors Fail To Pass Resolution To Bring Vote For 5-member Board On Election Ballot

The Mills County Board of Supervisors failed to pass a resolution on Tuesday that would have allowed residents to decide at the ballot box in November if they want to increase the number of county supervisors from three to five.

Supervisors Richard Crouch and Lonnie Mayberry voted “No” on passage with Jack Sayers casting the lone “Yes” vote.

Mayberry said he previously supported increasing the number of county supervisors from three to five, but has changed his mind.

"I do believe in less government – I am a conservative," he said. "I’ve also seen the state take more and more of our responsibilities away – workforce development we don’t have anymore, we don’t have oversight on mental health, our judicial districts, among others."

Instead of paying for the salary and benefits of two additional supervisors, Mayberry said he would rather see the county spend the dollars in other areas.

"If we could find $150,000 or $175,000, I would like to see us spend it on a deputy or take some of that money and put it with Jacob (county engineer Jacob Ferro)," he said. "There’s 80-20 or 50-0 matches for road projects. I think that money would be better spent improving our public services and our infrastructure."

Crouch said he's heard from residents of eastern Mills County who believe having a five-member board will give too much power to Glenwood.

"The first thing to come out from people in the eastern part of the county," he said, is ‘Why hell, there goes Mills County. It’s going to be controlled by Glenwood. They’ve got all the votes now, my vote out here doesn’t mean anything.'”

Sayers said he voted “Yes” Tuesday because he believes Mills County residents should be given an opportunity to vote on the issue.

“My belief is that the community has been discussing moving from three to five for years now. The board of supervisors had the opportunity  to put it on the ballot so voters in Mills County could start having a real discussion about it before the general election,” he said. “By causing it to go on a petition, not only are we creating an extra hurdle to a ballot proposition that 77% of Mills County voters say they’ll vote for, we’re also providing one less month for voters to actually debate and discuss it with each other.”

The issue could still appear on the November general election ballot if  proponents of a public vote are able to gather 826 signatures on a petition before Aug. 13.

Tuesday’s vote came a week after the supervisors heard public comments on the matter from several citizens.

“Whether I personally support or oppose a five-member board is irrelevant. I believe the people should decide,” resident Dan Stanley stated. “The voters – not just the three supervisors here – should have the final say on an issue that affects the structure of their government.”

Resident Chris Weide, a member of the Mills County Matters working group that brought the issue to the supervisors agenda, said he also supports putting the measure on the general election ballot.

“Our objective is to let the people decide,” Weide stated. “The Mills County Matters working group promises to research all the pros and cons from everybody – citizens and the supervisors – about why this would be or would not be a good thing so that we can educate people by the time they get to the ballot box, they will understand the issue in great detail because there’s both benefits and detriments. Not even everybody on our working group is sold on the fact that this universally a good thing. It’s a complex issue. I think the people, if we explain the issues, can make the choice for themselves.”

The board did hear some opposition to the resolution. Karen Seipold doesn’t think the public has been educated enough about the pros and cons of having five members on the board.

“I’m not saying I’m opposed to five, but it is something that needs a lot more work and discussion in the community before we put it to vote,” she said. “Why I say that is once it’s voted on, that’s it.

“I can see there’s pros and cons, but we don’t have enough community discussions yet in the rural areas where (the supervisors) are vital,” said Seipold. “I don’t believe we should put it on the ballot yet, but I do think it’s something that needs to be pursued more in the community and with us voters who are going to have to live with the repercussions of this. So, we need a real balanced effort to figure out what this means for us, including cost wise.”

Mills County residents can expect to see petitions to bring the issue to the ballot circulating in the coming weeks.