County to enter 28E for VA director
OTTUMWA — The Wapello County Board of Supervisors during Tuesday's meeting is expected to approve a 28E agreement with Jefferson County to share a veterans affairs director.
The counties will be sharing Jefferson County VA Director Raymond Chambers, who will continue to receive his salary and benefits from Jefferson County, but will take in an hourly wage and IPERS, but no other benefits, from Wapello County.
The agreement did not indicate what rate Chambers would be paid by Wapello County, but the agreement comes after the veterans affairs commission fired Rachel Dolley as its veterans services officer last month for "incompetency and misconduct," which was laid out in a resolution and approved by the supervisors.
Dolley was fired despite three veterans coming to her defense and saying she was overworked and that there was a toxic work environment at the VA office. When discussing the firing to the supervisors, VA board chair Rick Hindsley did not offer many details, but said there were "boxes of files for 2024 under her desk, which is a gross violation of HIPPA."
"Numerous other VSOs offered to help her, and she turned them down," he said. "We've never said she didn't help some veterans. And the ones she's helped, she's done a good job from what we understand. But there's a lot more she didn't help that she could have, and that's where the problem is."
The supervisors in Jefferson County have already approved the agreement, so it is simply waiting for the Wapello County to do the same. The duration of the agreement is either 90 days, or until Wapello County fills that position.
The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. in the third-floor courtroom/board room of the courthouse.
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