Montrose, IA – The Lee County Board of Supervisors voted earlier this month to consolidate four county offices.
The four supervisors who supported the plan said the county could save several hundred thousand dollars by not filling several vacancies.
The County Assessor, Auditor, Recorder, and Treasurer currently maintain offices in the North Lee County Office Building and the South Lee County Courthouse.
The plan calls for the Auditor and Treasurer to move all operations and employees to Fort Madison.
The Assessor and the Recorder will set up shop in Keokuk.
Supervisor Larry Kruse says the goal is to complete that process by July 1.
"We will be moving by individual departments," says Kruse, "because we need to make room as we move."
Kruse says the actual moving order will be determined by the maintenance department and the four department heads.
He says the opening office is expected to be the Auditor's office in Keokuk.
Meanwhile, one service will be halted in anticipation of the consolidation.
County Treasurer Janet Strunk says Thursday, June 2 will be the last day to get a driver's license at the South Lee County Courthouse in Keokuk.
She says starting on Monday, June 6, driver's licenses will only be available at the North Lee County Office Building in Fort Madison.
Strunk says the service will be open in Fort Madison on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays until the consolidation. She says, after that, the driver's license facility hours could be extended.