Spirited debate paves way for 10% county wage hike

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Sheriff's administration to get 45% bump beginning July 1, if budget approved

BY CHUCK VANDENBERG
PCC EDITOR

LEE COUNTY - A spirited debate over whether to fully fund the Lee County Compensation Board's recommended pay increases for county elected officials has paved the way for a 10% across the board pay hike for all county employees.

The Lee County Board of Supervisors met Monday in a special fifth meeting of the month to discuss pay increases included in the proposed budgets of department heads and County Budget Director Cindy Renstrom.

Right out of the gate, Supervisor Ron Fedler made a motion to cut a recommendation from the Comp board to a 22.5% increase for Lee County Sheriff Stacy Weber and a 5% across the board increase for all other elected officials.

FEDLER

"I think that's being pretty fair. I know some places have done more, but I know others are doing less," Fedler said.

Supervisor Garry Seyb asked if he could make a simultaneous motion, but Lee County Auditor Denise Fraise said the motion required a second and action before another motion could be allowed.

The motion was ultimately seconded by Matt Pflug but failed 2-3 with Pflug and Fedler voting in favor of the motion and Seyb, Rick Larkin, and Rich Harlow voting against it.

A discrepancy in the motion was pointed out when Fedler said his motion was for elected officials only, but the posted agenda for the meeting indicated discussion and possible action on employee wages.

Lee County Attorney Ross Braden clarified that elected officials are employees and the agenda item for action was for action on all employee wages. He also clarified that the mandate to increase the wages was placed on the county's compensation board, and not on the board of supervisors.

The board can reduce the recommendation, but they have to reduce it by the same factor across all elected officials.

About 10 people spoke in support of the proposed increases that the Comp. Board recommended. However, the Comp. Board can only recommend increases for the county's elected officials. With the agenda item listed as it was, the only action that could be taken was for all county employees.

Janet Hissem of Montrose, a member of the Comp. Board said she was disappointed with the board because her first interaction as a member this year met with friction from the board.

"Before we even had a chance to discuss our agenda, it was explained to us that you probably weren't going to listen and you probably were not going to do what we recommended," Hissem said.

"I felt that that was pretty much a slap in the face to our intelligence."

Hissem said it is unprecedented for Gov. Reynolds to sign a law that raises the pay of the sheriff, but said it makes Lee County equal with the rest of the state.

"It gets us caught up to a place we should have been all along," she said. "This is unprecedented for a 45% increase in wages, but it wouldn't be 45% if he was already equal in the state of Iowa to the other populations to us."

Pflug said there was no way he would support a $45,000 raise for any one person in the county.

"I've talked in my district to more than 60 people and have had two people in favor of it. First of all, no way anybody deserves a $45,000 raise. I'm sorry, I will not vote for that, I don't care who it is," Pflug said.

Pflug said he has always supported the sheriff's department, but cannot support that kind of increase.

"The people that I talk to, and it's not just Democrats, this is Republicans, this is independents, they are not in favor it and I serve the 5th district as well as Lee County - they are not in favor of it."

Pete Settles, a county employee, said he is worried about his taxes going up, but everything is going up. Settles is a member of the negotiation committee and said all they are asking for as employees is to be on the same page as other people in the state as far as wages.

Mary Jo Reisberg of Keokuk read a prepared statement saying that the situation was handed to the county by the legislature.

"I don't know if our state senator or state representative discussed the effect of this bill with the board in advance of their yes vote," she said.

"I don't know if they asked about the impacts on the county budget or how the county would pay for the increase."

Reisberg said she fully supported the sheriff's department.

"The board has been handed an almost-impossible decision... I don't envy you in this position."

Supervisor Garry Seyb said the law, as written, will impact the budget next year as well, and if the county doesn't get in line with the pay increases intended under the state's Back the Blue law in the coming budget year, they'll have to deal with it the following year if changes are implemented at the state level.

Seyb said the levy for the last four years has averaged 10.43 and the levy being proposed is $10.37.

Pflug said a recalculation of the budget number this year shows that it didn't go down as Seyb had eluded. Renstrom said a correction from the state on the current year's budget changed the current levy, so there is no reduction proposed.

Renstrom clarified that the wages are not the reason for why the levy will stay close to the current year level. She said adding the ambulance service is what is driving the tax levy.

"It's not moving because of the raises we're looking to give. The current year budget we added the ambulance service on," Renstrom said. "We had revenue for general basic, but we had no revenue to cover general supplemental which the benefits come out of. We should have raised the levy in the current year to cover the $725,000 that we increased the supplemental for adding the ambulance."

Hannah Baker, a correctional officer at the Lee County Jail, said in her five years with the department, they have had to replace more than 20 employees because of wages.

After about 90 minutes of discussion, Fedler called for the vote, which failed 2-3. Garry Seyb then motioned to accept and publish Renstrom's proposal that includes a 45% increase for the Sheriff, and 10% across-the-board raises for all employees.

That motion passed 3-2 along the same lines.

The vote now puts Renstrom's budget proposal up for a public hearing next week including the wage increases. The budget will include a rate of growth over the state allowable 2%. When the vote on the budget comes up for approval, the board will have to vote to approve it with a supermajority of four supervisors.

State code requires a supermajority to supercede the allowable growth figure.

Renstrom said the addition to the supplemental budget will total just over $1 million and, without approving the supplemental increase, which was calculated to about 11%, the county will be facing the $725,000 shortfall in the budget.

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