Polk County is in the midst of a tight race to decide who will be its district three supervisor. However, most people are seemingly unaware of what a county supervisor does or that the position even exists. Here is what the people of Polk County should know ahead of the election on Nov. 5.

The Board of Supervisors consists of five members. Each member represents a different district of Polk County for a full term or four years. The Board of Supervisors has a lot of duties, but Republican candidate Mark Holm briefly described the main responsibility of the Board of Supervisors.

“As a supervisor, they have authority over the budget. They have the authority to make policy decisions as a group,” Holm said.

On Oct. 15, a forum, hosted by the Ankeny Chamber of Commerce, was held that featured Republican candidate Mark Holm and Democratic candidate Kim Hagemann. Holm has served as the mayor of Ankeny since 2021, while Hagemann has been in the agricultural field for over 30 years. 

This forum allowed the two candidates to respond to questions from the community and to discuss what their plans would be if they were to be elected. Hagemann expressed her concerns about the current state of the Board of Supervisors.

“The meetings held by the supervisors are very short. They tend to be less than 20 minutes long,” Hagemann said. “It is very hard for the average person to know what is going on because very little discussion occurs and very little press [is covering] what the supervisors are doing.” 

Holm also experienced negative interactions with the current board members.

“There’s some criticism with the current supervisors. [Only] one or two of them tend to show up [to the meetings],” Holm stated. “They pound the table, they make threats, and then they run off. That’s not how the government should work.”

Hagemann said that the supervisors normally meet together every other Tuesday. In those meetings, they discuss plans with the budget and how to manage growth. Decisions are made by majority vote.

“I learned early on [that] if you want to be successful, you have to be able to count to three. You serve on a board of five,” Holm said. “You’ve got to get that and you have to work with other people. That’s how you get things done.” 

Hagemann has an ideal environment for what the board would look like if she wins the election.

“I want a professional atmosphere of transparency among the supervisors and with the public,” Hagemann said. “I want to keep the focus on moving the county forward on issues that will best serve the people.”

Once they have a solid and efficient working environment between the Board of Supervisors, both candidates share the same goal of continuing Ankeny’s growth. Both of them agreed that they need to sustain this rapid expansion to keep Ankeny as a bustling town.

“If you’re not growing, you’re dying,” Holm stated during the forum.

Polk County Supervisors control a budget of over 400 million dollars. This budget can be used to greatly influence the quality of life in Polk County. Because of this, it is important to vote for the candidate that best represents what voters want for the county.

“If people want a government that works for them then that means voting at every level of government for candidates that value people and the environment over profits for the few,” Hagemann said.