The Greene County board of supervisors on Oct. 6 held its longest meeting in several months, a marathon session of nearly three hours. That included an hour and 15 minutes in closed session (as permitted by Iowa Cose Sections 21.5(1)(k) and 22.7(50). to review an assessment of the county’s technology by a team from the Iowa State Association of Counties.
After going back into open session the board discussed applicants for the position of IT director. Interviews will be held next week.
Before the closed session, Ryan Bervin of Assured Partners presented benefit renewal information for the county’s health insurance plan. The county’s self-insurance plan has been overfunded, resulting in a $2.6 million reserve fund to cover insurance claims. “It’s not fair to employees to keep building that reserve because they’re working with us to make the (self-insurance) plan work,” Muir said.
Berven suggested increasing the specific stop loss deductible (the cap on the amount an employer pays before sending a claim to Wellmark) from $80,000 to $90,000, and reducing the premiums employees pay by 2.5 or 5 percent. The board took no action.
After the closed session, the board approved payment of $41,113.05 to Tanner Wilks for work done on Union Pacific Railroad property in DD171 in Jackson Township, east of Scranton. The county will work through legal channels to recoup the payment from Union Pacific.
The board approved resolutions hiring Heylee Berry and Kaitlynn Hess as fulltime jailers. Each will have a starting annual wage of $48,000 with a $1,000 increase when they achieve certification.
The board again tabled a professional services agreement with ISG for jail design services.
During the Reports portion of the meeting Chuck Wenthold reported work on the courthouse HVAC system will begin Oct. 20. The contractor will move equipment into the courthouse prior to the date. Wenthold reported previously the project will begin in the attic.
Sheriff Jack Williams reported 350 yards of concrete were poured at the new jail at the same time the AC and heating units were delivered, creating “a little bit of a traffic jam.” He said.
