Scranton fire chief Doug Duff told the county supervisors that spending $3,500 for an assessment of the various fire departments in the county would be a waste of money, and the supervisors listened. A snapshot of turf wars in the county developed in the discussion.
On the agenda for the supervisors’ regular meeting Dec. 17 was Jefferson mayor Craig Berry and a proposal for a “Greene County fire department assessment.” Berry told the supervisors he had contacted Region XII about doing an assessment and learned the cost would be $3,500. He asked the county to pay for it, since it would be a countywide project.
“It’s not trying to shut down anybody. It’s just an assessment of what we have for equipment,” Berry said. The last assessment was done 10 years ago. When supervisor Dawn Rudolph asked what the benefits were of that assessment, Berry’s answer was “I have no idea. It was before I was mayor.”
According to Duff, the fire chiefs all know what the other departments have, and that spending the money would be a “way waste of money.”
Berry asked Duff if he could have a copy of the departments’ equipment lists. “For what?” Duff asked.
“Just to see where you’re at,” Berry answered.
“What concern of that is yours?” was Duff’s response.
Board chair John Muir cut in. “I think before we’re going to commit any funds to do this, we need to have discussion with the fire departments and the mayors,” and Dawn Rudolph finished his sentence, “to be sure they’re all on board.”
Berry said he understood the mayors were all on board, and he assumed that meant the fire departments had been contacted.
Muir asked if the information about equipment is “top secret.” Duff said it’s in each department’s annual fire report that goes to the mayor.
“That’s fine,” Berry said. “I’m not pointing out any department. I don’t want Jefferson to take over any department. Everybody’s got their own area, which is fine. I just thought it’d be nice for every department to know what each one has.”
“They do,” Duff replied.
Muir suggested the information could be put into a single document. Berry asked if it could be published in a yearly report. Duff didn’t give up. “It’s public knowledge. That’s why you don’t have to spend $3,500 for it.”
Berry offered to track down a copy of the last assessment Region XII did and have copies of it distributed. The supervisors tabled Region XII’s proposal.
There was also candid discussion during the open forum when James Wasson, post commander of the local VFW post, along with quartermaster Kenneth Arbuckle and junior vice commander Craig Presley, asked why the county’s veterans affairs position hasn’t been filled.
Wasson said that since Greene County was the first Home Base Iowa county, it’s important to demonstrate the ability to help veterans. He said when veterans come to him with questions, he sends them to Carroll or Boone counties. “They’re glad to help, but they’re over-stretched the way it is,” Wasson said.
The position has been open since the end of August; applications for the job were due by the first of October.
Muir repeated what has been said at several meetings, that the veterans affairs commission is tasked with selecting someone for the position, and the supervisors’ role is to approve that recommendation. “We’re in that area where we’re thinking we may have to take that over, but we’re in a fragile area where we don’t want to overstep our bounds,” Muir said.
The three-person commission currently has only two persons on it, and that’s held up the process. Muir asked if the VFW members could suggest someone to fill the vacant commission seat.
Wasson said he has talked with several veterans concerned about the vacancy.
Muir thanked Wasson for “pushing us a little bit. We shouldn’t have needed it.”
The discussion was easier when Becky Wolf, RN, Greene County public health director, made her budget request for FY20.
Wolf requested $300,000 in county funds for FY20 (begins July 1, 2019). The request is based on actual costs for FY18, annualized costs for FY19 (the current year), and projected costs for FY20. The request is unchanged from the current year.
Public health funding has been contentious since the presentation of the FY18 request. At that time, Greene County Medical Center CEO Carl Behne reported the medical center had been significantly subsidizing public health. He proposed that within three years the county provide enough funding to make public health self-sufficient. The supervisors balked, as the proposal was for $275,000 in FY18, $437,000 in FY19, and $614,000 in FY20. The county had allocated $150,000 in prior years.
The supervisors compromised at $200,000 for FY18 and spent the next year looking at switching to a county-based public health department rather than the current hospital-based department.
At the same time, the public health department looked at ways to reduce costs.
“The worst thing that came out of ’18 is was you spent a lot of time not being able to do what public health is supposed to do… I’m glad it worked out good,” Muir said. “Working together back and forth, I really appreciated that.”
Wolf agreed that it has worked out in the end.
Doug Hawn provided the Greene County Fair Association’s annual report and budget request for FY20. He reported the 2018 ag auction, held in September, was the last one planned. The five annual auctions raised just shy of $500,000 for capital projects. The only large project left is a horse barn.
The county fair in July will add grandstand entertainment Thursday evening and a monster truck event.
The Fair Association increased its budget request from $24,000 to $26,000. Hawn said $26,000 is the mean of county funding for the 105 county fairs in Iowa.
The supervisor do not act on budget requests as they’re made; the requests are considered in the budgeting process.
The county supervisors approved a resolution to hire JPD officer Caleb Jans as a fulltime deputy. The resolution was tabled a week ago pending a final amount owed to the city of Jefferson to buy-out Jans’ contract. Sheriff Jack Williams had first said it would be $6,000. Last Monday he said it would be about $9,000. The final amount is $10,954 to pay the city a pro-rated amount for Jans’ time at the Law Enforcement Academy.
Jans has signed a four-year contract with the county. If he leaves before the contract ends, he will reimburse the county 25 percent of the buy-out amount for each year he shorts the contract.
The buy-out will come from the sheriff’s budget.
