Supervisors approve sheriff office payment negotiations

By Rick Morain
Jefferson Herald

The Greene County board of supervisors March 28 reviewed and approved the one-year agreement negotiated between the county sheriff’s department and the AFSCME/Iowa Council 61/Local 3949 union. Negotiated wage increases will take effect July 1.

Full-time employee increases include 11 percent for deputies, eight percent for jail officers, and seven percent for telecommunication dispatchers. Part-time employees will receive seven percent increases.
Starting rates for part-time dispatchers and jailers remain unchanged at $15 per hour for certified personnel, $14 per hour for uncertified.

The union has also approved the negotiated agreement.

In other action, the board approved the transfer of the county’s 2003 ambulance to the city of Grand Junction. The 2003 ambulance was recently replaced with a 2022 Ford F-550 Type One ambulance.
The board approved a proposal totaling $1,553.07 for purchase and installation of a security camera from SCI Communications for use with the outside absentee ballot box.

Chuck Wenthold reported on a meeting held last week to discuss carbon dioxide pipeline inspection services. Representatives from Snyder & Associates and Bolton & Menk, along with county drainage clerk Michelle Fields, engineer Wade
Weiss, supervisor John Muir, and Wenthold attended. If hired, Snyder & Associates would be the primary inspector, while Bolton & Menk would be specific to the drainage district inspections.
Dan and Sue Tronchetti were present to discuss the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, whose plans include 12 miles of pipeline in Greene County, including through the Tronchettis’ property. Dan Tronchetti asked the board to watch a 35-minute video pertaining to the Navigator pipeline, which he said would also be relevant to the Summit proposal, and also to review the county’s role in the pipeline permitting process.
Tronchetti discussed some questions he has had about personal liability insurance coverage relative to the pipeline, as well as other issues. He also asked the board to review a Pocahontas County resolution to protect drainage and tiling in that county, as well as resolutions by other counties against the use of eminent domain to acquire land for the pipelines. County attorney Thomas Laehn agreed to review the resolution and other agreements.

Laehn recapped jury trials held in the county in 2021. Guilty verdicts were returned in all four trials held, and the sentencing hearing for the final trial was held last week. Ten criminal trial dates, the maximum available to the county, were scheduled during 2021, but except for the four cases actually tried, the other six cases were either settled or were continued to a later date.
County recorder Deb McDonald reported that an ATV/UTV bill remains alive in the Iowa Legislature.

At the end of the meeting, the board went into closed session to discuss litigation, a procedure allowed by the Iowa Code. After about 50 minutes the board returned to open session, and directed Laehn to offer to pay $75 per hour for a guardian ad litem in a pending juvenile action, while indicating that the county is not admitting any legal obligation to pay attorney fees in the action.