Contact District 1 Supervisor Lu Barron
Email: lu.barron@linncounty.org
Phone: (319) 892-5000
Lu Barron has served the people of Linn County as a supervisor since 1996. On July 24, 2007, the voters of Linn County voted on a measure to change the form of government of the County from Supervisors At-Large to Supervisors By District. Linn County is now divided into five (5) supervisor districts effective January 1, 2009. Lu represents District 1, which includes a portion of Cedar Rapids.
Lu represents Linn County on many local and regional issues. Flood recovery remains Lu's number one priority. She is a member of Linn County's Disaster Recovery Team that addresses flood recovery issues specific to Linn County buildings affected by the flood. Lu also represents Linn County on the Recovery and Reinvestment Coordinating Team, the Neighborhood Planning Process Steering Committee and the Legislative Committee.
Governor Chet Culver appointed Lu to the Property Tax Study Committee, the Task Force on Non-Profit Organizations, the Regional Workforce Investment Board, the Rural and Urban Land Use Commission and the Courthouse Security Task Force. Lu is an active member of the Public Leadership Summit Group, the East Central Iowa Council of Governments board and Downtown Rotary.
Lu is also involved in local, state, and national groups, especially those involving health and human services. Lu serves on the Iowa State Association of Counties’ (ISAC) Human Services Steering Committee. Lu is also a graduate of the Iowa Community Health Leadership Institute.
Lu is currently a member of the National Association of Counties’ (NACo) Human Services and Education Steering Committee. She is also president of the Women Leaders of NACo and is president of NACo's Affiliate on Aging. Lu is also vice chair of NACo’s Rural Action Caucus Steering Committee, which works to improve conditions in rural counties through federal legislation. In addition, Lu is vice chair of NACo's Midwest Regional Membership Standing Committee.
Lu is a board member with the National Czech and Slovak Museum, New Bohemia/Czech Village Main Street and the United Way Public Policy Committee. She is a founding member of the Linn County Community Empowerment Board and is a graduate of the Leadership for Five Seasons.
In 2006, Lu received the Leadership for Five Season's Community Trustee Award and the Corridor Business Journal Women of Influence Award. In 2005, she was named the Heritage Agency on Aging “Outstanding Elected Official” and was named to the Corridor’s Top 25 Most Influential List. Also in 2005, Lu received the Peter Teahen Award for patriotism, community and family service.
Prior to being elected to the Board of Supervisor’s Lu spent six years as executive director of the Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival, which she transformed from a three-day event to a 10-day, fun-filled celebration with an economic impact of $10 million. Lu’s experience also includes small business ownership and operation with her husband, Bill Barron.
Lu is a native of Cedar Rapids. She and Bill have two children: a son, Will, who is living and working in Prague, and a daughter, Barbara, who lives and works in New Zealand.
Duties of the Board of Supervisors
The five-member Board of Supervisors is both the executive and legislative branch of county government, setting policy, overseeing departments and controlling the budget.
The Board of Supervisors oversees the county’s $104 million budget and over 850 employees. Managers of the following county departments report directly to Lu and the other board members: Finance and Budget, Human Resources, Information Technology, Risk Management, CSRU, Engineer, LIFTS, Soil Conservation, Medical Examiner, the weed commissioner and historic preservation.
The Board of Supervisors appoints members to the Board of Adjustment, Board of Health, Building Board of Appeals, Conservation Board, Electrical Board of Appeals, General Assistance Board, Linn County Community Services Advisory Board, Linn County Veterans Commission Board, Mechanical Board of Appeals, Plumbing Board of Appeals, Services for People with Disabilities Board, Youth Services Advisory Board and Zoning Commission.
To better serve the people of Linn County, the individual members of the Board of Supervisors serve as liaison to specific city councils within their districts, organizations and Linn County departments. For a complete list of all committee and liaison assignments for the Board of Supervisors, click here.
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