by Leah Justice
Polk County’s 2013 audit includes statistical data over the last 10 years including for voter turnout, public safety, human services, plats and building permits, the library, education and solid waste received.
Voter turnout has risen over the past decade from 69 percent of registered voters participating in the 2004 election to 72 percent participating in the 2012 election.
The number of inmates processed at the Polk County Jail has remained consistent since 2004. The number of inmates processed in 2006 was 648 with the number seeing its low during the last 10 years in 2008 at 561 and its high in 2009 and 2010 at 761. There were 715 inmates processed in 2011; 757 processed in 2012 and 687 processed in 2013, according to the audit report, which was completed at the end of October.
The number of EMS calls dispatched has steadily increased over the past decade with 2,071 dispatched in 2004 and 2,790 dispatched in 2013. The most EMS calls dispatched over the past decade occurred in 2010 with 2,917. The least amount occurred in 2005 with 2,062 calls, according to the audit report.
Building permits and plats recorded have decreased significantly over the past decade with 197 building permits issued in 2004 and 44 permits issued in both 2012 and 2013. The most building permits issued over the last decade occurred in 2006 with 211. The least occurred in 2011 at 34 building permits. Plats recorded in Polk County have also decreased with 256 recorded in 2004 and 128 (the lowest) in 2013. There were 322 plats recorded in the county in 2006 and 337 recorded in 2007. The number of plats recorded dropped significantly between 2008 and 2009 with 305 recorded in 2008 and 192 recorded in 2009, then 143 recorded in 2010, 157 in 2011 and 149 in 2012.
The number of children in foster care in Polk County has decreased over the past decade with 47 children in foster care in 2004 and 21 in 2013. The most children in foster care occurred in 2006 and 2007 at 64 children. The least occurred in 2012 with 20 children in foster care.
The expense per student at Polk County Schools has increased significantly over the past decade with $1,488 spent per student in 2004 and $2,086 spent per student in 2013.
Tons of waste received at Polk County’s transfer station has fluctuated over the past decade with 10,030 tons received in 2005 and 20,894 received in 2013. The most tons received at the transfer station occurred in 2007 with 23,595 tons.
Public transportation has seen an increase over the past decade as well with 301,100 miles traveled and 41,774 passengers in 2004 to 371,596 miles traveled and 46,059 passengers in 2013.
Circulation at the Polk County Library has steadily increased over the past decade with a circulation of 93,901 and 61,037 volumes in collection in 2004 to 110,834 circulation and 59,450 volumes in collection in 2013.