Latest news with #WapelloCountyBoardofSupervisors
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
County seeks to continue 28E for engineer
OTTUMWA — With budget season now over, the Wapello County Board of Supervisors will return to more regular business. The board is expected to renew a 28E agreement Tuesday with Appanoose County for shared use of engineer Brad Skinner, who will be paid 60% of a $172,411 salary by Wapello County starting July 1. The counties first entered into a 28E for the position last year after the resignation of Jeff Skalberg, and the county's subsequent inability to hire an engineer on its own. It's a difficult position to fill, leading to more counties entering into such an agreement across the state as graduating engineers tend to veer toward the private sector. Both counties will also be responsible for Skinner's benefits, including FICA, IPERS and workers' compensation. Part of Skinner's role also is to find a successor for Wapello County. Also during the meeting, the county will approve the five-year secondary roads program, which includes building a new road (172nd Avenue) as Canadian Pacific Kansas City railroad closed the crossing at 87th Street. There also are various bridge and culvert replacement projects on the docket in fiscal year 2026. The county also is expected to conclude the second reading of an EMS ordinance that will eventually create an advisory committee to assess the needs of the service in Wapello County. Also, there will be continued discussion about the county possibly taking over the utility costs on the Wabash pedestrian bridge, which the county owns. The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. in the third-floor courtroom/board room of the courthouse.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
County approves VA 28E agreement, more to come
OTTUMWA — The Wapello County Board of Supervisors approved a 28E agreement that will allow the county to share a Veterans Affairs director on an interim basis, but more agreements are likely to follow. During Tuesday's meeting at the courthouse, the county and Jefferson County made official a sharing agreement for Raymond Chambers, the Jefferson County Veterans Affairs Director. Under the agreement, Chambers will still be fully employed by his home county, but receive hourly pay from Wapello County for work solely on Friday. But, four more days will need to be filled Monday through Thursday, and that help will likely come from four separate counties. "The other counties will come in to try to get the office back in order," said veterans affairs commissioner Rick Hindsley. "Jefferson County will be here on Fridays to set up appointments with veterans and work on their claims. The other counties will be coming in to get the pile straightened out and getting the office organized." Nothing has been made official as of yet as 28E agreements must still be approved between Wapello County and boards in Cedar, Davis, Lee and Monroe counties. "This is just temporary until we get somebody to fill the position," board chair Darren Batterson said. "I know we've had several applicants." The veterans affairs commission has been scrambling to fill the role since it fired veterans services officer Rachel Dolley last month for what it called "incompetency and misconduct," claiming there were boxes of files on veterans stuff in a box under Dolley's desk. Three veterans spoke out in Dolley's defense at a recent supervisors' meeting, saying Dolley worked in a hostile work environment, but the board was not allowed to reverse the commission's decision. In other business: — The supervisors approved a resolution to make an intrafund loan of $1,701 to the county conservation campground development fund. The loan is part of a series of transfers the county has made toward the project, which received a $600,000 Destination Iowa grant. Essentially the county has loaned money to the campground fund because cash flow from the grant has been slow. The first transfer was made in October, with others in November and December. "Destination Iowa actually sent one of their refund checks, and it was $162,000 over. We'd deposited that, but had to refund it because they gave us too much," Batterson said. "They (the campground) had to spend another $10,000 for what they were registered for for the grant," Batterson said. "So they had to come up with some things to buy, but stuff they could buy at Menards is a no-go. They have to take bids on stuff instead of buying it themselves. "It's been kind of a tedious process because (Destination Iowa) has asked for different stuff than what they originally asked for, so we're having to constantly go back and change things," he said.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Yahoo
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.
