The use of Zoom videotelephony software for meetings of the Greene County supervisors’ meetings has been a topic of discussion more in recent weeks than when it was started in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Zoom was first put into use when the courthouse was closed to the public, and that use was continued to provide more openness and transparency to the public.
The use of Zoom came up for discussion after a hacker interrupted the June 30 meeting. Security was added by requiring those who wished to login to Zoom for the meeting to first register with the county auditor.
Zoom was discussed again at the Aug. 4 meeting when county attorney Thomas Laehn reported that while researching the newest laws pertaining to drainage he found the Iowa Code pertaining to open meetings has changed.
He said a policy adopted by the supervisors in March 2024 specified that a supervisor attending a meeting via Zoom or telephone could not vote. “The law at that time was very hostile to electronic meetings”, requiring supervisors to meet in person “unless there was some sort of apocalyptic event,” he said.
He advised the board then that a supervisor not attending the meeting in person should not vote on any motions.
Laehn said the law has been changed, allowing hybrid meetings, with some attending in person and one or more other participants there electronically. He speculated the law was changed in accordance with Gov Kim Reynolds’ efforts to streamline government and make it more efficient.
He said he’ll have a draft of a revised policy for the Aug. 11 meeting.
The supervisors heard a presentation by Joel Rohne of the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) and Andrew McGill, IT director at Webster County, about ISAC’s Pay-IT-Forward program. Rohne and well-qualified IT directors from member counties review a county’s information technology and then give recommendations and guidance on improving the IT environment. The supervisors approved having the assessment done at a cost of $4,000, which will come from the IT budget.
County IT director Michelle Fields said her biggest concern is the server, which is nearing the end of its expected usefulness.
“It’s (technology) something you have to keep up on… We’ve got to be proactive, not reactive,” supervisor Dawn Rudolph said.
County engineer Wade Weiss reported that main line paving is completed on 9-1/2 miles of County Road E-18. Other work remains to be done. He also said the Iowa DOT’s project on Hwy 30 west of Ogden is now scheduled for completion in early September, not mid-August. He said the project has seen weather delays and that a motorist drove on wet concrete, requiring a re-do of 1,500 feet of roadway.
