Supervisors discuss gender balance requirements for board appointments

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in its regular weekly session Monday morning, December 3, addressing a pair of issues that have been mainstays of discussion over the past several weeks. Allamakee County Attorney Jill Kistler was in attendance to offer insight from her research into gender balance and advertising requirements for appointments the Supervisors are required to make to various boards within County operations.
Kistler advised that boards "established by code" are mandated to have gender balance, and that appointing agencies are required make a "good faith effort" to meet that gender balance requirement when making those appointments. In question is what a "good faith effort" entails, especially in regard to making such board vacancies known to the public to draw applicants.
Kistler further advised that gender balance requirements only apply if there are qualified applicants whose appointment would satisfy that gender balance. Otherwise, appointments that wouldn't necessarily meet those gender balance requirements could be made following a "good faith effort" to meet those requirements, that "good faith effort" seemingly to be considered as posting/advertising those board openings for a 90-day period. Kistler said posting notices of the openings on the County's website or in public places should satisfy such "good faith efforts", although the Board recommended advertising several current and upcoming vacancies on various boards in the newspaper as well.
The entire matter evolved from appointment of Doug Mullen to the County's Planning & Zoning Commission earlier this year. In light of gender balance requirements, Mullen submitted a letter of resignation from the Commission if his appointment was found to be in violation of those requirements.
The discussion further snowballed into questions about which boards had gender balance requirements, and for which boards the Supervisors were responsible for ensuring gender balance requirements are met. The Board directed Kistler to research those items further to clarify/avoid any future misunderstanding.

The other agenda item spanning several previous Board meetings involved compensation for Becky Hawes, who will be assuming the position of Allamakee County Relief Director upon the retirement of long-time director Linda Kruse, effective December 21. Hawes has been an assistant in the Relief Office since her hiring in July of this year, and after some research into previous situations where assistants advanced into department head positions, it was approved that Hawes' current salary of $27,300 as an assistant be increased to $31,500 when she assumes the director position December 21.
Allamakee County Engineer Brian Ridenour, Allamakee County Waste Management Director Dave Mooney, and Bev Larson-Needham from the Allamakee County Auditor's office addressed the Supervisors as members of the County's employee health insurance committee in consideration of upcoming decisions that will need to be made in regard to that County employee benefit. After being presented with premium and other statistical information, the Board made and approved a motion to advertise for insurance brokers in regard to employee health insurance.
Approval was also granted by the Board to a pair of Manure Management Plan updates for Grove 5 (Adam Grove) and Chas & Chas. A final agenda item involving discussion of mental health redesign issues with Allamakee County Central Point of Coordination Administrator Jan Heikes was removed from the agenda when Heikes advised that she was ill and unable to attend the meeting.