Thursday, December 15, 2016

Holiday Project

Each year, Iowa County facilitates and organizes the "Holiday Project" in an effort to ensure that those in need are assisted during this festive time of year.  The County supports the Holiday Project by accepting donations and coordinating community groups that provide presents, meals, and other services.


This coordinated effort developed a few years ago when several groups got together and decided that the many organizations in Iowa County were all serving similar people.  Coordinating community efforts has let to a more efficient provision of services, reduced overlap, and greater confidence that those in need were getting the proper assistance.


The Holiday Project is managed out of the Iowa County Social Services Department.  If you or an organization you belong to wants to help with the Holiday Project, please contact Tom Slaney   Tom.Slaney@iowacounty.org



Thursday, December 1, 2016

Broadband Forward! Certification

On November 29th, 2016, Iowa County received their Broadband Forward Certification from the Wisconsin State Public Service Commission.  Iowa County is the first County in Wisconsin to be certified. 


About six months ago, the Iowa County Board had a strategic planning session where they tried to organize and set goals for the future.  During this meeting, they considered many services and quality of life improvements.  They considered the condition of public infrastructure, our County jail and Bloomfield Nursing home projects, economic development, tax base growth, and a many other topics; but everything kept coming back to our resident’s ability to find high speed internet at an affordable price and how we use that to build a new economy.

Many of our residents enjoy the scenic beauty of Iowa County, but one of their biggest complaints is the ability to access high speed internet service.  At this strategic planning meeting, the Iowa County Board decided that High speed internet was a priority and that we were going to do something to improve our County’s Broadband capacity.

Progress:
  1. The County Board adopted the Public Service Commission’s model ordinance to jump start our broadband expansion by eliminating obstacles and ensuring a streamlined process for approving local broadband investment.
  2. They directed County IT personnel and the County Administrator to start exploring public-private partnerships that would expand broadband services in Iowa County.
  3. The County Board also recently approved a budget that includes a matching grant to provide up to $50,000 to help expansion efforts in 2017.   The funds will match dollars awarded from the Rural Broadband Expansion Program and private Investment dollars.
I am proud to be a part of Iowa County and am pleased that the Iowa County Board has taken the right steps to move our County... "Broadband Forward!".