Supervisors approve salary increases for elected officials at reduced rate from Compensation Board recommendation

by Bob Beach

During a special session of the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors last Thursday, February 7, the Board considered the recommendations introduced at its previous Monday meeting by the Compensation Board, which recommended a five percent salary increase for the Board of Supervisors and a four percent salary increase for other elected county officials, and from the Courthouse Health Insurance Committee, which recommended an increase of $12 in the County’s contribution to employee health insurance.
The Board voted unanimously to decrease the Compensation Board’s recommended salary increases by 25 percent, approving a salary increase of 3.75% for the Board of Supervisors and an increase of three percent for other elected officials. Salary increases for other department heads and other non-union employees will be addressed in the Board’s proposed budget, which will be considered during its next scheduled meeting Tuesday, February 19, due to the President's Day holiday Monday, February 18.
The Board also voted unanimously to approve the Health Insurance Committee’s recommendation to increase the County’s contribution to employee health insurance by $12 to cover the increase in premiums for a single plan with a $1,000 deductible, bringing the total County contribution to $576 per employee per month. The Board also accepted the Committee’s recommendation to continue with Gundersen Lutheran Health Insurance as the County’s health insurance carrier with Beneke and Associates administering the plan and flex benefits.
The Board also met with Allamakee County Solid Waste Director Dave Mooney, who told the Board that he had been considering ways to cut costs in his department as the Board had requested. He said that his department could continue to provide the same services with one less full-time employee. By reducing the hours of one full-time employee to 25 hours maximum, all employees could receive a small raise and the savings in salary and benefits would still save the department $11,000 annually. The Board thanked Mooney for his efforts.
The Board also met with Head Custodian Mike Gallagher, who told the Board that he had placed an ad in the newspaper for a part-time custodian/maintenance position at the courthouse. He said he plans to raise the hourly pay of his current part-time employee to $10.25 an hour and to start the new hire at $10 per hour.
In other business, the Board accepted the low bid of $25,295.02 from Brennan Construction for a bridge deck replacement at Ash Acres south of Lansing. The Board also met with Northeast Iowa Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Executive Director Lora Friest, who updated the Board on RC&D’s mission and projects in the northeast Iowa area.