~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
“There has been a massive reallocation of power from the Iowa Legislature to the Governor,” Greene County attorney Thomas Laehn told the board of supervisors at the regular meeting on March 20. “My office is no longer accountable to the people of Greene County. I’m accountable to the attorney general of Iowa.”
Iowa governor Kim Reynolds has supported legislation to reorganize state government. This legislation was recently passed by the Iowa legislature and will be signed into law.
Laehn said one result of the reorganization is the state attorney general can intervene in county cases and pick and choose cases to close.
“This centralizes power in Des Moines and politicizes criminal justice,” Laehn said. “It’s an opportunity for corruption.”
“I’m not going to change anything I do, but (this office) might not be sustainable. It makes (the job of county attorney) far less desirable,” he said.
Laehn was asked if the attorney general could now overrule a county grand jury.
“Yes,” he said. “The attorney general can dismiss cases.”
Laehn reported State Sen. Jesse Green and Representative Carter Nordman had supported the bill. The two legislators represent Greene County in the Iowa Legislature.
“This makes us totally subservient to government, to the detriment of the people of Greene County,” Laehn said.
Board chair John Muir told Laehn, “We’re happy with how business has been handled (by your office).”
Laehn reported his office has 78 pending criminal cases with a trial scheduled for Apr. 4 and two more scheduled for May.
In other business, Chuck Wenthold, environmental department, reported the board of adjustment met last week and heard Alliant Energy’s request for a conditional use permit to replace its facility in Grand Junction with one at a new location northeast of Grand Junction.
Wenthold also told the board the Iowa Utilities Board held a technical meeting last week concerning the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions CO2 pipeline. Wenthold said five dates for public comment hearings were set in five different locations.
“Affected landowners will speak first at the public comment hearings, and then the general public will be heard,” Wenthold explained.
Wenthold said an evidentiary hearing will then take place from Oct. 23 through Dec. 21.
“Every parcel (of affected land) will be looked at,” Wenthold said.
Engineer Wade Weiss discussed road repair needing to be done to prepare for RAGBRAI bicyclists traveling through Greene County in late July.
The board discussed RAGBRAI through Greene County in 2018 and costs incurred for road safety.
Weiss told the board the Secondary Roads Five-Year Program for construction and the roads budget for FY2024 will be presented to them at the meeting on Mar. 27.
The board unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the county’s participation in the settlements obtained from five additional pharmaceutical companies in the ongoing national opioid settlements action.
The resolution authorizes Muir to sign any needed documents and states any funds received by the county will be placed in a separate account.
Attorney Laehn and others involved have stated the funds can only be used in narrowly-defined ways.
Laehn said joining an already established drug court in another county could be a possibility. He also said Becky Wolf, director of public health, could have some ideas for using the settlement money.
The board unanimously approved the hiring of Brandon Gustoff as fulltime dispatcher for the Greene County sheriff’s office at a salary of $37,264. Gustoff will start Apr. 1. He is currently a part-time dispatcher.
The board also unanimously approved hiring Kristal Morales as a fulltime jailer for the sheriff’s office at a yearly salary of $37,500, effective Apr. 1. Morales will receive an increase of $1,000 per year after certification is completed.
The board discussed an agreement with Snyder & Associates for professional services involving the county’s carbon pipeline project. This was identified as Summit Carbon Solutions Carbon Express Pipeline County Inspector Services.
The board unanimously agreed to approve the agreement which had been reviewed by attorney Laehn.
Supervisor Dawn Rudolph told board members she will be looking at a senior citizen complex at Churdan with an eye toward economic development and funding sources.
