The Guthrie County Board of Supervisors approved selling two county-owned lots, 173 and 174, at Diamondhead Lake to David Brown as part of its meeting Thursday.

Brown is acquiring consecutive pieces of land for his family to build a home. A notice will be posted for a public hearing at a future meeting. 

General Assistance and Veteran’s Affairs’ Administrator Amy Davis discussed her fiscal year 2022 budget with the Supervisors. The budget is projected at around $1,300 lower than the current fiscal year. Davis said other counties have been discussing increasing commissioner salaries from $25 per month to $50 per meeting. Supervisor Cliff Garney suggested Davis put that on the Veteran’s Affairs Board meeting agenda.

Next, County Recorder Tristen Richard provided her department’s 2022 fiscal year budget. She said the county had seen roughly 1,000 more electronic-filings from Iowa Land Records, and the state in total saw over 100,000 documents. She also reported a slight reduction in hunting, fishing and marriage licenses in the current fiscal year.

Courthouse Custodian Ron Allen presented his department’s budget. The Supervisors asked Allen about garbage collection procedures for the new jail project when it finishes. The Board decided to discuss those policies further at a later meeting.

Public Health Director Jotham Arber presented the Transfer Station’s fiscal year 2022 budget along with Facilities Manager Brandon Thompson. Arber said the County saved $90,000 in the current fiscal year by not outsourcing loading procedures. Thompson added that the Supervisors should consider a three-year rotation for the trucks at the Transfer Station to make it more likely for that equipment to reach its five-year lifetime.

Finally, the Supervisors rejected a payroll change order for Sheriff’s Deputy Blake Michelsen by a 4-1 vote, with Everett Grasty voting yes. Grasty then proposed a compromise with the Sheriff’s Office for a two-percent raise, but the motion failed.  The Supervisors ultimately approved a one-percent raise for Michelsen with a 4-1 vote, with Jack Lloyd as the only no vote.