Contentious supervisors OK budget

Twenty-eight days elapsed between budget hearings held by the Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors, but not much else changed Monday.
The levy rate stayed the same, the total expenditures stayed the same and unanimity couldn’t be found, but thanks to a 3-2 vote, the county now officially has its 2021-22 budget and tax levy in place.
Like they did in late February when they set the “maximum levy,” the supervisors split on the budget and levy, with Rick Holthaus, Jason Byrne and Matt Kuhn voting for the budget while Jacob Hackman and Tim Zoll opposed it.
“I thought it was a very good budget process,” said Holthaus, the board’s chairman who also defended bringing in former Chickasaw County Auditor Joan Knoll in February to go over the numbers. “I will not apologize for bringing Joan Knoll in. ... I’m never too proud to ask for help — be it here in the boardroom or farming — and I wanted to make sure I understood the numbers. It was for me and it has nothing to do with [current Auditor] Stephanie [Mashek].”
       --For the full story, please see the March 30 Tribune.