Supervisors approve three-year union contracts with Sheriff and Secondary Roads Departments

by Bob Beach

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met Monday, April 13 with attorney Rick Zahasky, who represented the County in contract negotiations with the unions representing Sheriff's Department and Secondary Roads employees. Zahasky presented the Board with contracts with both unions, saying that both agreed to three-year contracts with a three-percent pay increase each year. He added that the only aspect of the contract open to further negotiations for the next three years will be health insurance, but only in the event of some drastic change in the cost of coverage. The Board approved and signed the contracts.
The Board also met with Allamakee County Engineer Brian Ridenour, who reviewed the budget for Secondary Roads for fiscal year 2016 and the County's five-year road construction program. The $7.4 million budget for FY16 includes shoulder paving between Red Oak Road and Lafayette Ridge Drive as part of the Mississippi River Trail (MRT) project, along with several bridge repair and bridge replacement projects throughout the county.
Ridenour also presented the Board with a resolution to vacate Road #529 in Yellow River State Forest as discussed during a public hearing last week. The Board passed the resolution and the vacated portion of the roadway will revert to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Yellow River State Forest.
Allamakee County Auditor Denise Beyer informed the Board that the County's health insurance carrier had expressed some concerns about adding employees from other entities to the County's health insurance plan. To avoid any complications in that regard, the Board voted to rescind its action from March 9 to allow employees of Allamakee County Economic Development to join the County's health insurance group and to withdraw its offer made at its April 6 meeting to act as the employer of record for HAWC.
In other business, the Board set Monday, May 4 at 10 a.m. as the date and time to open bids for the annual resurfacing of County gravel roads.