The Guthrie County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Tuesday.
The meeting began with department updates from Conservation Director Joe Hanner and Transfer Station Director Jotham Arber. Hanner informed the Board that he made official at the recent Conservation Board meeting that he will be retiring effective December 20, 2019. He says it will be up to the Conservation Board to find a replacement. Next, the Board discussed ballot proposition language for the March 3rd special election for the law enforcement center addition with their Bond Counsel Bob Josten. They discussed whether to include wording about the parking lot improvements included with the project, to which County Attorney Brenna Bird recommended the ballot measure include. Supervisor Cliff Carney recommended that the Board approve the ballot language no later than December 1st. Rod Rumelhart of Rumelhart Financial Services and Becky Benton of State Street Insurance then gave proposals to be the agent of record with Employers Mutual Casualty Company (EMC). The County currently is covered by Iowa Communities Assurance Pool (ICAP), represented by Benton. The Board approved having Rumelhart be the agent and to receive a quote from EMC. They also approved signing a letter to give ICAP notice that they are reviewing other coverage options.
Afterwards, they approved going with a rollover health insurance account for county employees, and Human Resources Director Pam Lane brought to the Board’s attention concerns over the Iowa Municipal Workers Compensation Association (IMWCA) fiscal year 2019 audit in terms of the sheriff’s office’s reserve deputy hours. Sheriff Marty Arganbright provided Lane with a document naming all eight of the reserve officers and the 96 hours they each spent training, assisting, or attending meetings for that year. The reserves are required to do at least eight hours a month, and Bird stated that they are essentially considered volunteers. Some of the reserves are also part-time deputies, and Arganbright stated that this discussion item has brought confusion to all involved, “Pam should have contacted me before putting this on the agenda, she doesn’t understand what reserve deputies are versus part-time deputies. The reserve deputies, and you know who have been here long enough, I’ve had for 10 years, by code they get a dollar a year.”
Bird confirmed that by Iowa Code reserves are to be paid at least one dollar a year in order for them to receive workers compensation. County Auditor Marci McClellan sought to clarify the statements made by Lane and Arganbright, “The problem we’re running into is based on the documentation they’re being provided is, he gives a 96 hour letter. I produce payroll records that show they’ve been paid $20 an hour. So for, I’m gonna ball park it, say 10 hours, so that 10 hours comes off the 96 so it’s not only showing that that reserve is 86 hours at $10 an hour and then 10 hours at $20 an hour.”
Arganbright said that he’s never had an issue before regarding the paperwork he’s submitted for workers compensation. Bird suggested that Arganbright write a letter to be submitted to the IMWCA’s third party auditor to clarify that the reserve and part-time deputies’ hours don’t overlap, to which Arganbright agreed.