FT. MADISON, IOWA -- Lee County has consolidated county offices for the first time in more than 150 years.
You'll recall back in May the County's Board of Supervisors approved the mergers to save money.
This is a big change for the county.
In the past, there have been duplicate offices in both Fort Madison and Keokuk.
After a three day move, that's no longer the case.
As KHQA's Melissa Shriver shows you, not everyone is happy with the change.
Keokuk resident Rosa Pitman was trying to return her plates Friday to the Lee County Treasurer's office for a refund. But now she says what money she would get back will be eaten up by fuel she'll use to get to and from Fort Madison, where the Treasurer's office is now solely located.
Lee County was one of only two of Iowa's 99 counties that have two county seats. Until now, that meant having duplicate offices. But now these closed service windows tell the tale. The treasurer's office is no longer here in Keokuk. It is in Fort Madison. It's the same story for the county's other offices, all located in one city or the other.
But Board of Supervisors Chairman Ernest Schiller says it's all being done to make tax dollars go further during tough economic times.
Schiller says this may be an inconvenience right now as people get used to the change, but he says it's essential for the future of county services.
He says it's something folks like Pitman will have to get used to. But until then. she's going to have to watch her pocketbook in case she needs to make another trip to Fort Madison.
No employees lost their jobs in this consolidation.
But Lee County Chairman Ernest Schiller says more cost savings are possible in the future, as positions are eliminated through retirements and attrition.
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