LINN COUNTY eNEWS

September 2015

Linn County wins awards for excellence in financial reporting

For the 26^th consecutive year, Linn County has received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada for the county’s comprehensive annual financial report. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting.

Linn County has also received an Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting from GFOA for the 17^th consecutive year. This prestigious national award recognizes state and local governments that successfully extract information from their comprehensive annual financial report to produce a high quality popular annual financial report specifically designed to be readily accessible and easily understandable to the general public.

Property taxes due Sept. 30

The semiannual payment of property and mobile home taxes is due by September 30. This is the last day to pay the first half without penalty. A penalty of one and one half percent will attach to each late payment beginning October 1. To make payment more convenient, the following payment options are available:

online
by mail
in person
over the phone

Mailed payments must be post marked by September 30 to avoid late fees. To avoid the potential for waiting in line at the Treasurer’s Office, property owners are encouraged to pay their property taxes online at http://www.iowataxandtags.gov/.

See the reverse side of your property tax statement for a detailed breakdown by percentage and actual dollar amount of how your individual property taxes are distributed among the jurisdictions. More…

Prescription Drug Take-Back event is September 26

On Saturday, September 26, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office will be partnering with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the National Prescription Drug Take-Back initiative that seeks to prevent increased pill abuse and theft. The Sheriff’s Office will be collecting potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction at three different locations throughout Linn County from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This is a free, anonymous service that will help keep your home safe and could even save lives.

The three collection sites hosted by the Linn County Sheriff’s Office are:

Center Point City Hall, 200 Franklin St., Center Point
Linn County Sheriff’s Office (West Parking Lot), 310 2^nd Avenue S.W., Cedar Rapids
Springville Fire Department, 300 Broadway St., Springville

If you are unable to attend the event Saturday, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office (located at 310 2nd Ave SW, Cedar Rapids) has a permanent drug drop box in place that allows the public to safely and anonymously discard expired, unused or unwanted prescription drugs and medications of any kind 24 hours a day.

September is National Preparedness Month

Each year, September is recognized as National Preparedness Month, which serves as a call to action to prepare, now and throughout the year, for the types of emergencies that could affect us where we live, work, and visit.

This year’s National Preparedness Month theme is “Don’t Wait. Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today.” Make your plan today with your family and friends (and pets!) for how you will stay safe and communicate during an emergency or disaster.

Learn why the local food system matters on Oct. 3

There is a growing focus on healthy eating and improving sustainable local food systems, and the Linn County Food Systems Council invites the public to learn more about the effort locally by stopping at the Food Systems Council information booth at the 2^nd annual Hilltop Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 3 from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. on the Cornell College campus in Mt. Vernon (West Science lawn).

At the Festival, you can meet the farmers who grow your food, decorate pumpkins, bob for apples, take part in a pumpkin dessert contest, and enjoy live music and games. The Food Systems Council will have information available about their work to bring together agriculture, food industry, educators, economic development, conservation and hunger representatives to make Linn County’s food system economically, environmentally, and socially resilient. Efforts have included updated zoning regulations to be more permissive of urban agriculture and GIS mapping to identify food deserts.

Nature Playscape community input session at Wickiup Hill

Wickiup Hill is currently in the design process of an outdoor Nature Playscape that will allow children to discover the natural world and how it works. Through abundant loose materials, children are encouraged to use their imagination and creativity in order to foster innovation and independence. Sand, logs, boulders, tree cookies, sticks, and water provide a unique sensory experience for children and adults. This area will allow kids to interact with natural items, build, climb and play!

A children’s input session will be held October 10, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. as part of Fall Fest at Wickiup Hill. Wickiup Hill is located at 10260 Morris Hills Rd. in Toddville.

Learn more about Linn County Conservation.

Find us online:

Website: linncounty.org
Twitter: @LinnCounty

LINN COUNTY eNEWSSeptember 2015