Supervisors approve continuation of Relief Director position

by Bob Beach

During public comment time at the regular meeting of the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors Monday, June 11, Pastor Grant VanderVelden of First Presbyterian Church encouraged the Board to keep the Relief Office under County control, rather than hiring an outside agency to handle relief services. VanderVelden said that his church, like many others in the area, receives numerous requests for assistance from those in need and that those requests are referred to the County Relief Office, to which the church makes charitable contributions.
VanderVelden said that the manager of the Relief Office needs to be someone who understands the needs of the people and the resources of the County, who knows the people of Allamakee County and who will be responsible to the Board. He added that the Relief Office Director has many responsibilities that require many skills and that the pay for the position should reflect that. “It would be embarrassing if the manager of the Relief Office qualified for the services offered there,” he said.
Later in the meeting, the Board met with current Relief Director Linda Kruse, who will be retiring in December. “The ball is in your court. It’s your decision to make,” she said to the Board in regard to the relief services decision. “I would appreciate the office staying open under a new director.”
Chairman Larry Schellhammer said he would like to see the County hire someone to fill the position and that he is flexible on the issue of a starting salary. Supervisor Sherry Strub suggested changing the Relief Director position to part-time, 27.5 hours per week at $12 hour with no benefits ($17,160 per year).
Supervisor Lennie Burke said that he appreciated Strub’s idea to save some money, but said that the Relief Director would be called upon to handle crisis situations that wouldn’t necessarily occur between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Kruse pointed out that unless County benefits were offered, it would be difficult to hire someone responsible enough for the position. “I worked 56 hours per week in December this past year,” she said. “Who would do that for $12 an hour?”
After some further discussion, the Board authorized Kruse to advertise for a full-time replacement, with benefits, with a salary commensurate with experience and qualifications.
The Board also met with CPC Director Jan Heikes, who told the Board that while the State Legislature has left it up to counties whether or not to participate in the regionalization of the state’s mental health and developmental disabilities services, it has become clear that it will be nearly impossible for counties to “go it alone.”
Supervisor Burke pointed out that the state is $30-40 million short in funding for the regionalization plan, and that the plan does not address the primary problem, which is the shortage of beds for mental health crisis patients. “The problem is no one is connected with this and we’re all in denial about it,” he said. “We haven’t fixed anything.”
Heikes said that the shortage of crisis beds is one of the issues that will be addressed by the regions, once they are established. She said that a meeting will be held Thursday, June 21 in West Union where counties are expected to express their intent with regard to participation in the regionalization plan.
In other business, Allamakee Substance Abuse Prevention Director Jean Bossom reported that the County received a $10,000 grant from the Iowa Department of Public Health. The Board approved a proposal from Hacker and Nelson of Decorah for auditing services for fiscal years 2012-2014 starting at $24,250 for the first year with a three percent annual increase for the following two fiscal years.
The Board approved hiring Jill Martins of Monona as a full-time case manager with an annual salary of $31,000 starting June 18. The Board also approved a contract and bond with Iowa Bridge and Culvert for the replacement of the bridge over Bear Creek on Bear Creek Drive and canvassed the results of the Primary elections held Tuesday, June 5.