BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
WASHINGTON COUNTY, IOWA
REGULAR MEETING OF TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2023
At 9:00 am Chair Bob Yoder called the meeting to order in regular session, Courthouse Chambers. Items on the agenda included: FY25 compensation for elected officials; FY25 compensation for non-elected officials; Domestic Violence Intervention Report and FY25 funding request; discussion/possible action re: the addition of Washington County Ambulance Services 3rd shift; Washington County FY25 budget directive; designation of “The SE Iowa Union” as a source of publication for Washington County proceedings in 2024; personnel change request-Public Health; proposed contract with Tri-City Electric for Courthouse wiring project. Supervisors Jack Seward Jr., Marcus Fedler, Richard Young, and Stan Stoops were also present.
All motions were passed unanimously by those Supervisors in attendance unless noted otherwise.
The Board voted to approve the agenda as published.
The Board took up discussion re: FY25 salary recommendations for elected officials as approved by the Washington County Compensation Board (WCCB) which met on December 5, 2023. The WCCB recommended a 4% increase for all elected officials and continuation of a $3,500.00 annual stipend for the Chair of the Board of Supervisors. The Board voted to reduce the 4% increase in compensation for all elected officials as recommended by the Washington County Compensation Board to 3.5% for FY25.
The Board voted to make no change to the $3,500.00 annual stipend paid to the Board Chair.
The Board next took up discussion re: FY25 compensation for non-elected officials. The Board voted to approve a 4% increase for non-elected employees.
Interim Washington County Ambulance Services (WCAS) Director Katrina Altenhofen and WCAS Billing Coder Jamie Brame presented information to the Board re: the addition of a 3rd shift and emphasized that more planning would need to take place before plans could be finalized. Altenhofen stated that for various reasons, including input from current WCAS employees, it was likely that new employees, at an estimated cost of $381,419.36 for salaries and benefits, would be needed to meet staffing requirements of a 3rd shift. Such new staffing would likely include at least two full-time Emergency Medical Technicians and two Paramedics. According to Altenhofen the addition of a 3rd shift would improve readiness and emergency response time. Also, industry experts recommend one ambulance shift for every one thousand calls for service per year and Altenhofen noted that presently WCAS receives approximately 3,000 calls each year. Altenhofen confirmed Seward’s assessment that the addition of a 3rd shift would greatly decrease the overtime compensation that is currently paid when employees are summoned to fill a 3rd shift. The Board voted to direct the Washington County Ambulance Services Interim Director to implement a plan to add a 3rd shift.
Alta Medea, who serves as Director of Community Engagement for the Domestic Violence Intervention Program (DVIP), shared with the Board that the purpose of DVIP is to ensure immediate and lasting safety, empowerment, dignity, and hope for individuals impacted by domestic violence. According to Medea so far in Washington County during FY24 DVIP has served 112 individuals, and provided 1,201 hours of services to 874 victims/survivors of domestic violence. In FY23 DVIP served 112 Washington County residents which was a 3.7% increase from FY22. Media stated that DVIP is presently facing a significant challenge with maintaining its current level of services despite a 37% reduction in funding which is funded by the federal government and allocated by the state government. Medea requested $2,000.00 in funding support for FY25. The Board took no formal action.
The Board voted, with regard to the FY25 Washington County Budget, to direct each department head to add the total amount of their department’s salary and benefit cost increases to the total of their current operational budget with the resulting sum reduced by 5% as a department budget target for FY25.
The Board voted to designate “The Southeast Iowa Union” as an official publication for Washington County proceedings in 2024.
The Board voted to acknowledge, and authorize the Chair to sign, a personnel change request from Public Health for Megan Waterhouse final day of employment occurred December 6, 2023.
The Board took up discussion re: a quote from Tri-City Electric Company for a wiring project at the Courthouse to complement the plans already in place for a new telephone system. The Board voted to approve a quote from Tri-City Electric Company, Davenport, Iowa in an amount not to exceed $55,300.00 for a future wiring project related to a telephone system improvement project. The vote on the motion: Aye-Young, Yoder, Stoops, Seward; Nay-Fedler.
At 10:38 am the Board voted to adjourn.
ATTEST: s/DANIEL L. WIDMER, Washington County Auditor
Published in The News, Thursday, January 25, 2024 L-141
