Supervisors hear salary increase recommendations from Compensation Board

by Bob Beach

During its regular meeting Tuesday, January 14 the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met with Compensation Board members Bill Shafer and Elaine Eadie, who presented the Compensation Board's recommendations for salary increases for County elected officials. Shafer reported that the Compensation Board had met January 9 for approximately two hours and after what he called "a very good discussion" elected to recommend salary increases in dollar figures rather than by percentage, as the Board had done in previous years.
Shafer said that the Board's goal is to eventually bring Allamakee County elected officials' salaries into line with other counties with similar populations - Allamakee County currently ranks 56th in terms of population but salary ranges rank, on average, in the 80s. With that in mind, the Compensation Board unanimously recommended a $1,250 raise for each member of the Board of Supervisors, $2,250 each for the County Auditor, Treasurer, Recorder and Sheriff, and $3,250 for the County Attorney.
Supervisor Sherry Strub thanked the members of the Compensation Board for their efforts, saying that the general public doesn't realize how hard the Compensation Board works and the importance of that work. Supervisor Dennis Koenig agreed with Strub, noting that Compensation Board members "asked the right questions" during their deliberations. Chairman Larry Schellhammer also thanked the Board for its work and said that he hopes that the Board of Supervisors will be able to work with the Compensation Board's recommendations.
The Board also met with representatives from several area libraries, all of whom expressed their appreciation for the Board's continued support. Rick Meyer, Director of Robey Memorial Library in Waukon, said that the County's support for the recent expansion project was instrumental in receiving CAT grant funding for the project. He said that the expansion project is nearing completion and that he expects that the library will occupy the entire building by the middle of February. Cindy Berns, Postville Public Library Director, and Derva Burke, Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library Director, were also present to express their gratitude for the Board's continued support of area libraries.
Helping Services Mentoring Coordinators Kathy Schwartzhoff and Marilyn Zweibahmer presented the Board with a proclamation declaring January to be National Mentoring Month. Zweibahmer told the Board that the goals of mentoring are to help youth to create positive relationships with peers and adults, increase self esteem, increase or maintain problem solving abilities, increase or maintain the ability to resist using alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, increase and enhance attitudes towards school and be hopeful about their future. She said that there are currently 35 mentor/mentee matches active in Allamakee County and that there are 14 children waiting for mentors.
Schwartzhoff added that a recruitment drive for mentors since September has yielded 41 new mentors to date, with a goal of 50 new mentors by the end of January. The Board agreed to sign the proclamation declaring January to be National Mentoring Month in Allamakee County and encouraging all businesses, organizations and individuals to raise awareness about the benefits of mentoring and recruit mentors.
The Board also signed a resolution declaring its support for increasing the Road Use Tax Fund. Chairman Schellhammer expressed dismay at the apparent lack of political support for the measure, which would increase the fuel tax by ten cents, increase the fee for new vehicle registrations from five percent to six percent and allocate new funding for the TIME-21 Fund in order to address the severe shortage in state funding for Iowa's roadway system. The resolution notes that the state fuel tax has not been significantly increased since 1989, while maintenance and construction costs have more than doubled over the same time period.
In other business, the Board listened to funding requests from Helping Services of Northeast Iowa and Northeast Iowa Community Action, which the Board will consider during budget discussions over the coming weeks. The Board accepted and placed on file quarterly reports from the Sheriff, Auditor, Recorder and Environmental Health. The Board also approved the construction evaluation resolution for the Master Matrix and approved an additional five hours paid at $20.92 per hour for Kim Waters while she serves as interim Coordinator for Disabilities Services since the resignation of former CPC Coordinator Jan Heikes.