The Cherokee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session on Tuesday, January 17, 2023 with Rick Mongan, Bryan Petersen, Duane Mummert, Cheryl Ellis and Dave Skou present. There were no representatives from the press. Paul Greufe, Riley Gibson, Derek Scott, Bonnie Wallace, Cindy Barry, Christine Wiese, David Weber, Wally Leonard, Tom Kohn, Sarah Tracy, Don Fiser, Sam Boothby, Laura Jones, Stu Hogg, Justin Pritts, Kenny Schlenger, Lisa Bringle, Kelly Puhrmann and Kyle Leeds were also in attendance. Unless otherwise indicated, all votes were offered as follows: Ayes – Ellis, Skou, Mummert, Petersen, Mongan; Nayes – none; Abstentions – none.
Chairman Mongan called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Motion by Petersen, seconded by Skou to approve the agenda. Motion carried.
Motion by Mummert, seconded by Petersen to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. Motion carried.
There were no comments from the public.
Sarah Tracy, County Engineer, presented a report of activities in the Secondary Roads Department for the 2022 year.
Tom Kohn, Veteran Affairs Director, provided a detailed summary of his activities during the 2022 year. Kohn stated that Cherokee County Veterans receive 5% more compensations/pensions than the state average and applications approved during the 2022 year equate to $509,072.50 of additional tax free benefits in Cherokee County. An Annual Veterans Appreciation Day will be held annually with the first location being in Marcus in June 2023.
Derek Scott, County Sheriff, presented a wage authorization for consideration.
Motion by Skou, seconded by Mummert to approve a $18.50 per hour wage authorization for Mary Roth, Full-Time Dispatcher, effective January 26, 2023. Motion carried.
Paul Greufe, HR Consultant, presented an updated Personnel Handbook and reviewed changes. Options for updating the county’s inclement weather policy were considered.
Motion by Ellis to adopt the updated the Cherokee County Personnel Handbook with an inclement weather policy stating “In the event of inclement weather, employees who choose not to report to work shall use earned compensatory time, vacation, or leave without pay for their absence. In the event that County facilities are closed or delayed as decided by the Chairperson of the Board of Supervisors, employees will receive their normal wages for any time missed due to the closure or delay. Given the duties and responsibilities of the Secondary Roads Department and the Sheriff’s Office, essential employees of these departments will not be affected by any closure or delay. Essential employees in Secondary Roads and the Sheriff’s Office that worked during a closure or delay will receive vacation leave time equivalent to the amount of time of the closure or delay in addition to their normal wages.” The motion failed for lack of a second.
Motion by Petersen, seconded by Mummert to approve an Inclement Weather policy stating “In the event of inclement weather, employees who choose not to report to work shall use earned compensatory time, vacation, or leave without pay for their absence. In the event that County facilities are closed or delayed as decided by the Chairperson of the Board of Supervisors, employees shall use earned compensatory time, vacation, or leave without pay during the delay or closure”. Motion carried.
Motion by Petersen, seconded by Skou to adopt the updated Cherokee County Personnel Handbook with the approved inclement weather clause included and effective January 17, 2023. Motion carried.
Riley Gibson, Turnkey Logistics, provided an update on the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline that is proposed to cross Cherokee County. Gibson addressed numerous questions and concerns from those in attendance.
Jessica Rohrs, Family Crisis Center, joined the meeting via telephone and reviewed statistics of services provided to Cherokee County residents and requested increased funding for the next fiscal year. The supervisors asked several questions and requested that Rohrs attend the next meeting in person to continue the conversation.
The supervisors provided committee reports, reviewed meeting schedules.
The supervisors reviewed 2023/2024 budget information and reviewed the Cherokee County Compensation Board’s recommendation for elected official salary increases. Consensus of the board was to advise elected officials to reduce the recommended salaries by forty percent when presenting their 2023/2024 budget proposals.
There being no further business, Chairman Mongan called for a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Motion by Petersen, seconded by Skou to adjourn the meeting at 11:45 a.m.
All board agendas and minutes are available online at www.cherokeecountyiowa.com
Attest: Kris Glienke, County Auditor
Rick Mongan, Chairman
Published in the Marcus News on February 2, 2023