Supervisors discuss Fair Labor Standards Act overtime change, possibility of Allamakee County Disaster Fund

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, October 3 to discuss a variety of topics including the manure management plans for five organizations, setting a letting date for a culvert replacement on Oak Hill Road and discussion of a future Allamakee County Disaster Fund. There were no members of the public in attendance during the Public Comments portion of the meeting.

During the Public Comments time, Allamakee County Conservation Director James Janett briefly discussed the ATV/UTV ride that took place in Allamakee County over the weekend. Janett described the event as being a success with the only negative comment from participants being that some of the gravel roads were dusty.

The Certificate of Adjustment for Decoteau Wells, LLC was approved. This measure corrected a lot size and valuation that was incorrect. The plat approval for Gary L. and Karen L. Galema had no action taken at this time, as the Supervisors are waiting on additional information before voting on this measure. The Manure Management Plan updates for W&M Ag LLC, Paul Link-Link #3, Chestnut LLC-Dalby, Charles Deering-Hwy. 52 and DeSu Holstein were all accepted and placed on file.

Allamakee County Coordinator of Disability Services Kim Waters provided an update about the County Social Services (CSS) meeting that took place recently, advising that the Transition Specialist position was tabled at the CSS meeting as salary is still being discussed with the candidate. Waters discussed that hiring an Integrated Support Management Specialist was also addressed at the CSS meeting. This position covers 11 counties and assists with payments and entering of Notices of Decision (NOD).

Waters also discussed the County's Cell Phone Policy. Currently, CSS employees receive a $35 region stipend for using their personal cell phone for work purposes. The other option would be to issue Android work phones on the County's cell phone plan. With being HIPAA compliant, any cell phone used for work purposes that is lost, is then completely wiped clean of data and all content. Schellhammer recommended separating personal and County cell phone use, with Supervisors Dan Byrnes and Dennis Koenig in agreement.

Allamakee County Auditor Denise Beyer discussed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime changes, explaining that employees who are now exempt from overtime will become non-exempt December 1 due to changes in the FLSA. With this change in law, employees earning less than $913 per week ($47,476 annually) will become non-exempt and will earn overtime pay.

Beyer discussed a couple of positions within County staffing that may meet and exceed this threshold with overtime. In these cases, raising the employee's pay to a salaried level above the threshold may be advisable, rather than paying above that in overtime pay. Byrnes suggested that a tracking system needs to be put in place to determine the best option based on hours worked. The issue was tabled and will be addressed at a later time when developing budgets.

Beyer also provided an update on the lease extension for the old Sidwell books. Palmer Abstract, Inc. has paid the County ten dollars per month in the previous agreement for the use of the Old Sidwell Drafts of Ownership. Palmer Abstract had agreed to store these records as part of the previous agreement and benefited from their use in researching Allamakee County land records. To prevent a conflict of interest, Allamakee County Attorney Jill Kistler had Assistant County Attorney Richard White look into this issue and provide a recommendation. White's recommendation is to extend the lease agreement for ten years at no charge, suggesting that Palmer Abstract, Inc. is providing a valued service to the County by storing these records in a safe location. The Supervisors approved the lease agreement.

Beyer also provided an update on the Board appointment policy. In her research and discussions with other Counties, Beyer was advised that the Citizen Advisory Board was the board in question that was referred to in the current form of the policy. Beyer recommended not including this board on the Board Appointment Policy, which was agreed with by the Supervisors. The Citizen Advisory Board is not a currently active Board in Allamakee, but rather, active regionally over multiple counties due to Mental Health being divided into regions. Beyer will finalize the Board Appointment Policy, which will then be presented to the Supervisors.

Board of Supervisors representation at the November 3 Northeast Iowa Response Group Meeting was discussed by Allamakee County Emergency Management Coordinator Corey Snitker, who will be unavailable due to a mandatory meeting for certification taking place that same day in Des Moines. A Supervisor will be in attendance in his place at the Northeast Iowa Response Group Meeting.

Snitker also discussed the possibility of an Allamakee County Disaster Fund for small and immediate needs following a disaster. Snitker mentioned that dumpsters for garbage and flood clean-up were requested shortly after the recent flood events. With a County Disaster Declaration, this type of fund would be used for these needs. Conservation Director Janett advised that prior to Snitker's time with Emergency Management, additional funds were carried over yearly in the budget to handle immediate needs and expenses like this. The Supervisors agreed to discuss this need during budget preparation; no action was taken at this time.

Snitker also addressed the debris field in the Big Slough area of the Mississippi River which is the result of the flooding from late August. The debris field consists of trees, man-made items and dead animals swept away in August flooding of the Upper Iowa River. Snitker discussed the recent meeting with several entities including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Friends of Pool 9. Funding options for the clean-up project have been discussed, including FEMA and private funding through grants.

Beyer discussed the disbursement of Aetna rebate check funds. The County received $9,624.42 as a refund from Aetna. The County uses a combination of health insurance coverage through Aetna and a self-insured coverage fund. The Supervisors approved adding these funds to the self-insured account.

Allamakee County Engineer Brian Ridenour discussed the need to temporarily close Columbus Road by the Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center, advising that the road does not need to be closed this week as originally planned, but will need to be next week. Ridenour will have this added to next week's agenda.

Ridenour also discussed setting a letting date for the culvert replacement on Oak Hill Road. This culvert was completely washed out with the recent flooding. October 17 was approved by the Supervisors as a letting date. The Supervisors and Ridenour discussed visiting and inspecting flood damage across the County. Thursday, October 6 was agreed upon as the date to make these visits with Ridenour.

Under Department Head Updates, Ridenour discussed the Six-County Meeting where there was some discussion of policy guidance being needed regarding the crossing of State highways by ATVs. Snitker discussed the Presidential Disaster Declaration for August that will benefit public entities, noting that Waterville, Lansing, Secondary Roads, County Conservation and the Upper Iowa River District have qualified for assistance. Snitker said the September flooding will likely also qualify for assistance with a determination in November by FEMA.