Supervisors proclaim January as National Mentoring Month, hear recommendation of five-percent wage increase from Comp Board

by Jason Meyer

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors held its first meeting at a newly-established time, 9:30 a.m., Monday, January 11 in the Board Room of the Allamakee County Courthouse. Kathy Schwartzhoff, Mentoring Coordinator with Helping Services of Northeast Iowa, spoke before the Board in consideration of a proclamation naming January as National Mentoring Month in Allamakee County.
Schwartzhoff shared that in Allamakee County Helping Services currently connects with seven youth through the mentoring program, and there are eight more on the waiting list. She also outlined the program’s mission and goals, and shared statistical information showing that in the past year 100% of mentees agreed they were “able to say ‘no’ to using alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.”
Joining Schwartzhoff in her presentation from Helping Services were Colinne McCann, Youth Mentor through AmeriCorps, Laura Albert, Tobacco Prevention Specialist, Jennifer Kimber, Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist, Carson Eggland, Executive Director, Bob Rotach, Mentor and Steering Committee Member, and Danny Schlitter, Steering Committee Member. The Board approved and proclaimed January as National Mentoring Month in Allamakee County.
The County Compensation Board met Tuesday, January 5 to discuss payroll adjustments in the coming fiscal year for County employees. Attending the Supervisors meeting and speaking on behalf of the Compensation Board were Elaine Eadie and Bill Shafer. Taking a number of factors into consideration, including but not limited to county population, cost of living, Social Security trends for cost of living adjustments, services provided, and employee longevity, the County Compensation Board recommended a five-percent across the board raise for the coming fiscal year. The Supervisors thanked the Compensation Board for its work and recommendation, and will consider it during the upcoming budget sessions.
Following on the heels of the Compensation Board recommendation, Paul Greufe, Human Resources Consultant, noted that when averaging out the salaries of elected officials of the 10 counties above and below Allamakee in population rank, the County should consider a range of eight- to ten-percent increases, and to look at that over a period of years versus a single adjustment.
Greufe also presented the Board with information regarding federal standards for declaring employees either exempt or non-exempt. He noted that while an employee could be given the status of exempt by federal standards, the County could continue to elect to pay overtime or provide "comp" time, if warranted. The Board took no action on the information presented, but will take it under advisement during the upcoming budget sessions.

FUNDING REQUESTS
Lori Brockway, representing the Northeast Iowa Regional Housing Trust Fund (NEIRHTF), submitted an annual funding request for the program. Brockway noted that since the Fund’s inception in 2010, it has paid out $1,383,514.48 in Allamakee, Clayton, Howard and Winneshiek counties in residential rehabilitation programs for low income residents, aged homes, and those with affordability challenges. A total of $258,584.03 has been expended in Allamakee County alone, according to Brockway.
The program, funded primarily through federal programs, requires a nominal local match of funding. This year, as in years past, the request was for $10,000. The Supervisors thanked Brockway for her presentation, and for the work the NEIRHTF has done in Allamakee County to rehabilitate  the county’s housing.
Josh Dansdill, representing the Upper Iowa River Watershed Project (UIRW), submitted a funding request of $1,000 to the Board for continued monitoring of the water quality in northeast Iowa. The program has been operating continuously for 15 years, and with other funding sources no longer available the Project is seeking funds from the counties it serves and private sources. Data provided by the Project is used when seeking programs and grants to improve and maintain the water quality in northeast Iowa.
Jessica Rupp, from the Riverview Center, submitted to the Board a funding request of $2,500. The Riverview Center provides sexual assault advocacy, therapy, counseling and education in 14 counties in Iowa, including Allamakee since 2013, and two counties in Illinois.
The Board thanked each funding request presenter and took no action, but will take the requests under consideration during its upcoming budget sessions.

In other business, the Board:

• approved and placed on file the quarterly reports from the County Recorder, Sheriff, Planning & Zoning, and Environmental Health;
• appointed Allamakee County Emergency Management Coordinator Chris Dahlstrom as an alternate voter on behalf of the Supervisors for the Northeast Iowa Response Group;
• passed the annual Construction Evaluation Resolution (Master Matrix), allowing the County to review and make recommendations on Master Matrix applications;
• made the following appointments to County boards: Historic Preservation - Theresa Gallagher, Fran Schager, Jim Magner and Mary Palmborg, each a three-year term; Waste Management Board - Dennis Nebendahl and Bob Drahn, each a one-year term; Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC) - Larry Schellhammer and Jane Regan, each a three-year term; UERPC Transportation Policy Enhancement Committee - Jim Janett, Bruce Palmborg and Val Reinke, each a one-year term; and Zoning Board of Adjustment: Gwen Brainard, a five-year term.