After serving as Marshall County Treasurer for the past 24 years, Deane Adams said he is looking forward to a new challenge in life.
Adams has declared himself as a candidate for the Marshall County Board of Supervisors, the first Republican to enter the race after three Democrats have already declared.
"I believe in county government, that it is an excellent form of government and I want to protect that, too," he said.
Among the threats to county government, Adams sees the possibility of new federal and state mandates, whether funded or not. Unfunded mandates make the entire situation even worse, he said.
However, any mandate takes local control away from the people and the elected representatives closest to the people, and gives the power to those who may not understand the needs of the local population, or how best to meet those needs.
"I don't want the feds and state telling us what we have to do," he said.
Adams said his more than two decades as county treasurer have been used trying to find innovative ways to do things. Overall, he said the goal has always been to do things more efficiently and provide a better service to the taxpayers at a lower cost.
That is why he partnered with the city to start collecting unpaid parking tickets and other fines.
"Before I started that process, I had no idea people didn't pay their fines. I really had no idea," he said.
He instituted a system that doesn't allow those with delinquent parking tickets to get their automobile tags renewed until those fines are paid. As an added level of convenience for both the resident and city, the county treasurer's office also can collect those fines on the spot and forward them on to the city, at no charge to the city.
"I've always tried to find ways to work together with other governments," he said.
Adams said that Marshall County was the only county in the state with such a service. This year, approximately 10 other county treasurer's offices have implemented a similar system for fine collection for various municipalities.
Another challenge Adams sees in the days ahead is combining the treasurer's office with the recorder's office, which local voters have already mandated.
Overall, Adams sees economic development as one of the key issues, especially in a depressed economy. He envisions the county continuing to be a partner with various economic development engines, such as the Marshall Economic Development Impact Committee.
"What the Marshalltown Chamber does, what MEDIC does, what the city is doing - we can be a partner," he said. "I'm going to work together with those groups and the smaller communities."
Adams has been a lifelong resident of Marshall County, graduating from Liscomb School and then attending Iowa State University.
He farmed in Liscomb for 43 years.
Two seats will be up for election in the fall. One is being vacated by Supervisor Ron Goecke, who is retiring. The other is held by Supervisor Pat Brooks, who has announced he will seek re-election.
A primary on both the Democrat and Republican side will be held June 8, with as many as two candidates from each party moving on to face each other in the fall.
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Contact Ken Black at 641-753-6611 or kblack@timesrepublican.com