Staff writer
New State Sen. Clark Shultz and Rep. Don Schroeder, who represents the western half of the county, answered questions Saturday morning in Hillsboro but provided few solutions.
Local leaders were able to express their concerns over a proposal to move local elections from the spring to the fall, and other bills currently being discussed in the legislature.
Hillsboro schools Superintendent Steve Noble said he took issue with moving school board elections because of the affect of having new members deal with a budget already in place.
Noble said bringing in new board members in the middle of the budget process is a detriment to the school board. Schroeder said most of the interest is coming from the state, thinking it would increase voter turnout.
County Clerk Tina Spencer said most county clerks have been opposed to the change, but have begun to accept it will happen. She also said moving the elections to the fall will affect schools more so than counties.
“In a sense it looks like a solution to a problem we don’t have,” Schroeder said.
Hillsboro City administrator Larry Paine said he did not agree with the stipulation in a bill that gave police officers and firefighters a compensation claim, particularly when they experience a heart attack off the job.
Shultz said there might have been cases in the past where it was a question to whether the incident was work-related or not, and the legislature tends to want to show support for public safety officers.