On the courthouse lawn July 9, State Auditor Rob Sand (D) spoke to a small group as part of his annual town hall tours of the state. Subjects Sand spoke about included the PIE program, employment with two-year degrees, property tax analysis and more.
PIE
The PIE Program, Public Innovations and Efficiencies, was started by Sand in 2019. The program seeks to encourage public and governmental agencies to find ways to save money and promote efficiency.
“We collect ideas…send that idea to us,” said Sand, as those ideas will be reviewed and possibly implemented in the next year. The PIE Program has been a hit, and has been similarly replicated in two other states.
This year, Sand said three local entities have participated in the program - the city of Murray, Clarke Community Schools and Clarke County Public Health.
PIE winners will be announced later this year, and Sand visits the winners and shares a slice of pie with them.
Two-year degrees
Sand spoke of how workforce shortages could be reduced in the state by removing parts of applications that state a four-year degree is required or preferred. He said people with two-year degrees often have the same qualifications as those with four-years, but are deterred from applying due to the requirement of applications.
“A challenge in Iowa is workforce. I think that includes the public sector….everyone is looking for more people,” said Sand.
In the auditor’s office, Sand said two years ago they started hiring people with two-year degrees instead of four, which has accounted for 10% of their hires since, which has helped them bring more people on board to increase the resources and staff necessary to get work done.
The program used STARs - Skilled Through Alternate Routes - which is often comprised of people with two-year degrees or military service. The employees do the same work for the same pay.
Sand’s office issued a report and made recommendations to government administration, and noted Governor Kim Reynolds had done some work on the issue by loosening some job restrictions. Sand was hopeful the recommendations made would be taken to heart.
“We need to have people doing the work the taxpayers need done,” said Sand.
State issues
Speaking on property tax, Sand shared his office had done an analysis to look at property taxes compared to income and levy rates. What was found was that often, lower income areas pay a higher levy rate, which is generally rural Iowa. He said it had been suspected but no one had really looked at the relationship before, but that it was pretty clear.
“It’s a piece of helping us understand what’s going on in our state so we can get a better idea of how we make decisions together that are going to work for everybody in Iowa,” said Sand.
Sand then touched on the issue of a fertilizer plant that was constructed in Lee County, a project that had been backed by then-governor Terry Brandstad 10 years ago. The multi-billion dollars project was funded by taxpayer money and included several hundred of millions of dollars in tax breaks, with the intent that it would provide more competition in the fertilizer market. The plant, OCI Global, opened in 2017, and produces 3.5 million tons of fertilizers and diesel exhaust fluid each year. In late 2023, Koch Ag & Energy Solutions proposed purchasing the plant, which Sand said would go against the original intent of the plant. While the sale has not gone through, should it sell, it would be likely to see an increase in fertilizer costs as less competition will exist.
Sand spoke against the restrictions that have been placed on the auditor’s office through legislation passed last year. The legislation allows state agencies to keep certain documents from the auditor’s office, which Sand said can create trouble. He compared state agencies knowing that the auditor’s office is there to being followed by a police cruiser - you’re more likely to act within the law if you know you can be prosecuted.
“How do we deter people from stealing your money? How do we deter people from wasting your money…if we can’t look at it,” questioned Sand.
He said a law that failed to pass the Iowa House but did pass the Senate this year would have further restricted the auditor’s office by allowing state agencies to ignore who the voters had chosen by allowing the agencies to choose private auditing firms. Citing it as a waste of taxpayer dollars as the state auditor’s office is less expensive than private ones, Sand said it removes the checks and balances system.
“Our constitution, the State of Iowa, set up the auditor’s office as a way to make sure there are checks and balances. If you allow state agencies to just pat voters on the head when they elect a state auditor and choose someone else, then we don’t have checks and balances,” said Sand.
When asked about the justification behind the restrictions on access to information, Sand replied that he had heard that some were worried the audits would turn out to be political audits.
He said some were also concerned that the audits violated privacy, but pointed out that people should want to make sure that tax dollars are being appropriately spent by the entity that receives those tax dollars.
“The only privacy they want to protect is privacy for waste, fraud and abuse,” Sand said.
He touched on the school voucher system, which he had talked about last year, and the lack of accountability, rules and oversight that private schools are allowed that public schools are not.