Supervisors approve salary increase for Veterans Affairs staff; County to receive $668,754 from new fuel tax

by Bob Beach

During the regular meeting of the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors Monday, March 2 the Board met with Veterans Affairs Committee members Jean Brink and Don Peters, who requested salary increases for Allamakee County Veterans Affairs Director Heather Homewood and her assistant, Amy Kauten. Brink said that Homewood is currently the second-lowest paid department head within the County staff even though she has held the position for nearly nine years. She also pointed out that Homewood's salary is much lower than other Veterans Affairs Directors throughout the state.
Peters said that when Homewood first started as Veterans Affairs Director, Allamakee County veterans were receiving annual benefits of approximately one million dollars, while county veterans are now receiving approximately six million dollars. He requested an increase in Homewood's annual salary to $35,000 and an increase in Kauten's salary to $29,000.
Supervisor Dan Byrnes said he has heard nothing but good things about the Veterans Affairs office in Allamakee County and made a motion to increase both Homewood's and Kauten's salaries by 11 percent, bringing Homewood's salary to $35,000 and Kauten's salary to $26,707.
Seconding Byrnes' motion, Supervisor Dennis Koenig said, "We've got veterans that need lots of care and the VA here does a great job. When you look at the people who take care of us, we need to do better." Byrnes' motion passed unanimously.
The Board also met with Allamakee County Engineer Brian Ridenour, who presented the Board with the contract and bond with AAA Striping of St. Michael, MN for $68,197.13 for repainting of centerlines and other pavement marking on County roads. Maynard Johnson asked why white fog lines are not being painted on all County roads. Ridenour responded that to do so would more than double the cost of the project and that fog lines are not warranted based on Iowa Department of Transportation standards. The Board approved the contract as presented.
The Board then opened a public hearing regarding the vacation of excess road right of way on County Road A26 (Iowa River Drive). Ridenour explained that the excess right of way was part of the 1954 alignment of the road and is no longer required by the County. After closing the public hearing, the Board passed a resolution to vacate the unused right of way.
In other matters, Ridenour told the Board that the recently passed increase in the fuel tax would result in an additional $668,754 for the County and approximately $132,000 for the cities within the County, distributed based on population. He said that the County's share of the increased funds would be used on the maintenance of existing roads, not for new construction projects.
Allamakee County Sheriff Clark Mellick informed the Board that his Chief Deputy, Bob Thorsten, has stepped down as Chief Deputy, though he will remain a Deputy Sheriff for the County. Mellick said that he intends to appoint Stuart Bloxham as his new Chief Deputy.