SYCAMORE – Next week, an election will be held for one of the smallest units of local government.
The Soil and Water Conservation District of DeKalb County will take votes from anyone 18 and older who lives, rents or owns property in DeKalb County for the five members of the board of directors.
“Not many people know they can vote,” said Dean Johnson, representative conservationist with the district.
He said some years, 20 people come to the office and vote. In years when they would pair the voting with an event at the farm bureau building, they might get as many as 100 voters.
The district just celebrated its 70th year. A federal program that has its roots in the Dust Bowl era and the Great Depression, the district is locally run and funded, but it is not a taxing body.
“We’re one of the most efficient units of government in the state of Illinois,” Johnson said.
He is the only employee of the county district, although in years past, it has they’ve had others, he said. Years of state funding cuts have forced the district to get more creative and focus on how it spends its money.
The local management is in part born out of the Dust Bowl, Johnson said. People had a distrust of the federal government, and the arrangement allowed the government to provide the aid while the locals determined how it was managed. The district began by focusing on soil in 1947, with the water portion of its mission added in 1960.
This year, three directors are up for election to two-year terms. Next year, two directors will be up for two-year terms. Aside from the five voting members of the board, there are assistant directors who come to the meetings, Johnson said.
“They’re folks that have an interest in what we do,” Johnson said, adding that although they don’t vote on issues, they can participate on any of the discussions the board has.
The district can be involved in almost any project that involves soil or water within the county. For example. they will report on proposed developments and what type of environmental effect they could have on the region. The district is involved in watershed planning throughout the county, as well.
Hearkening back to its Dust Bowl origins, the district often focuses on erosion issues.
“As long as it continues to rain and the wind blows, we’ll have issues with erosion,” Johnson said.
This year, the three directors up for election are running unopposed, as they are most years. Because the district is involved in so many projects, and projects in all areas of the county, from cities to farmland, Johnson would like to see more participation.
“I’m always looking for people with with an interest in this type of work,” he said. “I like to get people with good conservation ethics.”
The election will be from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the DeKalb County Soil and Water Conservation District office at 1350 W. Prairie Drive, Sycamore.