Supervisors take note of Comp. Board’s recommendation

   The Dec. 27 Jones County Supervisors meeting was fairly short. Most of the discussion centered around the county’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget (July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024).

   The board placed on file the recommendation from the Jones County Compensation Board for elected officials’ salaries for the next fiscal year.

   The Compensation Board met on Dec. 21 to review and make a recommendation to the board of supervisors.

   Those serving on the Comp. Board include: Mike Deutmeyer, representing the Sheriff; Jason Kurt and Cindy Bagge, representing the board of supervisors; John Harms, representing the Auditor; Deb Bowman, representing the County Attorney; Nels Petersen, representing the Treasurer; and Abram Tubbs, representing the Recorder.

   Prior to their meeting, County Auditor Whitney Hein provided the Comp. Board with information regarding the FY 2022 comparable salaries, as well as the consumer price index. Copies of the Iowa Code relating to the duties of the Comp. Board were also provided.

   All six elected officials (attorney, auditor, recorder, sheriff, treasurer, and all five members of the board of supervisors) met individually with the Comp. Board as well.

   The first motion was made by Deutmeyer to recommend the following salary increases to the board of supervisors:

   • Attorney, 8 percent increase, from a salary of $118,343.06 to $127,810.50

   • Sheriff, 15 percent increase, from a salary of $121,442.74 to $139,659.15

   • Auditor, 8 percent increase, from a salary of $76,522.16 to $82,643.93

   • Treasurer, 8 percent increase, from a salary of $75,095.54 to $81,103.18

   • Recorder, 8 percent increase, from a salary of $72,436.41 to $78,231.32

   • Supervisors, 8 percent increase, from a salary of $32,572.27 to $35,178.05

   Deutmeyer’s motion died due to lack of a second.

   Bowman made the second motion, seconded by Petersen, to recommend the following salary increases to the board of supervisors:

   • Attorney, 8 percent increase, from a salary of $118,343.06 to $127,810.50

   • Sheriff, 8 percent increase, from a salary of $121,442.74 to $131,158.16

   • Auditor, 6 percent increase, from a salary of $76,522.16 to $81,113.49

   • Treasurer, 6 percent increase, from a salary of $75,095.54 to $79,601.27

   • Recorder, 6 percent increase, from a salary of $72,436.41 to $76,782.59

   • Supervisors, 6 percent increase, from a salary of $32,572.27 to $34,526.61

   The motion passed 4-3. Comp. Board members Bowman, Petersen, Bagge, and Kurt were all “ayes.” Members Harms, Tubbs, and Deutmeyer were all “nays.”

   The board and Hein visited about putting together a schedule to review the county’s budget and meet with department heads.

   Hein said all departmental budgets are due to her by Jan. 6. She plans to have the board’s budget binders updated and handed out by Jan. 17. She asked the supervisors if they want to meet with each county department following their Tuesday board meeting or schedule the reviews for Wednesdays.

   “There’s a lot to absorb,” she warned. “You’ll need to hear everyone’s spiel before you make a decision.”

   Hein felt the board could meet with each department within a two-week timeframe in late-January and early-February.

   “In February, we’ll dive in and make a decision (on the budget),” Hein added.

   The board felt they could schedule department head meetings in the afternoon on Tuesdays, following a break from their regular meeting in the morning.

   County Attorney Kristofer Lyons asked if the board could offer any guidance to department heads concerning the Comp. Board’s recommendation. He said it’d be helpful when preparing his budget, noting that the deputies’ salaries within the various offices are tied to the elected officials’ salaries.

   Supervisor Jon Zirkelbach asked to have discussion on the Comp. Board’s recommendation added to the Jan. 3 agenda.

   Supervisor Joe Oswald said it’d be difficult to ask department heads to budget for a 0 percent increase in their budget, given the salary increases.

   “Zero percent is going to be really hard,” said Treasurer Amy Picray.

   For example, she said the cost of envelopes alone has nearly doubled.

   Lyons has had to attend court in Johnson County, and said that will impact his travel budget.

   Hein spoke with other counties, and noted she’s worried about the business tax credit (commercial and industrial).

   “For some counties, there’s going to be a significant decrease, up to a 20 percent decrease in taxable value,” she said.