~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
Greene County auditor Jane Heun is poised to collect reimbursement from the state of money spent by the county in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The board of supervisors at its Oct. 12 meeting unanimously approved a resolution requesting reimbursement from the Iowa Covid-19 government relief fund covering public health emergencies.
Heun said the county could be eligible for funds to cover expenses for public safety, ambulance, and law enforcement due to the pandemic up to $112,682.13. She estimated pandemic-related expense for the county at about $80,000.
Heun said the resolution approved by the board was necessary as a first step in the reimbursement process.
In other business, the board unanimously approved an agreement with SpyGlass to “analyze the county’s primary telecommunications service accounts, to seek cost recovery, service elimination, and make cost reduction recommendations.”
Information technology director Michelle Fields said there would be no cost to the county for the audit of telecommunications records and it is possible the county could save money by having the service done.
According to the SpyGlass website, SpyGlass keeps a portion of any recovered money from an audit, but the county would not be charged up front for the service.
The board authorized Fields to send letters of authorization to the county’s telecommunications vendors permitting them to give SpyGlass access to telecommunications records.
GCNO asked the board about privacy issues regarding people who had made calls to county entities.
Muir said county attorney Thomas Laehn had reviewed the agreement and Muir did not think there would be privacy issues.
The board also unanimously approved a resolution transferring $54,636 from the general fund, $603,732 from the rural fund, and $162,500 from the LOSST (local option sales and service tax) fund to the secondary roads fund. This transfer had previously been set into the FY2021 budget.
Engineer Wade Weiss reported upcoming tiling projects for secondary roads.
Weiss spoke about Covid-19 vaccine enrollment meetings ahead which other county officials will also attend. These meetings are to prepare the county if vaccines become available in the future.
The board heard from Jefferson mayor Matt Gordon that the city is now conducting interviews for police department positions. “We’re moving in the right direction,” Gordon said.
Board chair John Muir said the county sheriff’s office has had to cover only one shift for the Jefferson police department since the 28E agreement went into effect in late September.
The 28E agreement between the board of supervisors, city of Jefferson, and the sheriff’s office was written to assist the city with law enforcement coverage as it re-builds the police department after losing several officers to other positions.
Chris Henning told the board about a successful event on Oct. 10 at Tipton Prairie, a protected conservation area that has never been plowed. Henning said Dan Towers, county conservation director, spoke to 21 attendees who came from as far away as Des Moines.
Tipton Prairie, which is owned by the county, is located on County Road E-57 (305th St) about two miles east of Cooper. The prairie walk was sponsored by Raccoon River Watershed Association.
