County Compensation Board Recommends A Salary Increase For Elected Officials
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Compensation Board met yesterday afternoon at the county courthouse to hear comments from the county’s elected officials, and to offer a suggestion for compensation of salary to the Board of Supervisors as they begin the budget process. Each of the elected officials told the Compensation Board about the number of employees that are
within their departments, and how the workload has been increasing year after year. The elected officials compared their position with similar positions with other similar sized counties, and informed the compensation board where Plymouth County ranks in terms of salaries among the 99 counties of Iowa. County Auditor Stacey Feldman was absent from the meeting due to
illness, but she had submitted her salary increase requests through a letter to the compensation board. Feldman asked for a 2.75 percent increase in pay. County Recorder Jolynn Goodchild requested a 3.0 percent increase, as did County Treasurer, Shelly Sitzmann. Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo informed the board that in order to maintain a good staff of deputies, the county
needs to consider to maintain a good salary. Van Otterloo suggested an increase of pay amounting to 3.5 percent. County Attorney, Darin Raymond also shared with the board the increase of workload for his staff, and asked for a 4.0 percent salary increase. Supervisors Don Kass and Gary Hortman
also appeared before the compensation board. Kass informed the compensation board that with his dealings with other county officials, he mentioned that Plymouth County is “one of the best run counties in the state of Iowa”, and it is mainly due to the hard work and dedication of the county’s elected officials. Kass and Horton asked the compensation board to consider offering the Supervisors a lower percentage of salary increase compared to the other elected officials. Prior to deciding on the specific percentage of salary increase, the compensation board approved the longevity pay scale. Those elected officials with between 5 and 10 years of service would be given a bonus pay of $120. Elected officials with between 11 and 15 years of service would
receive $240. 16-20 year elected officials would get a bonus incentive pay of $360. $480 would be given to those officials with 21 to 25 years of service, and those with 26 or more years would receive $600 in longevity bonus pay. As for the percentage increase, the compensation board made a
motion to approve a 3.25 percent increase for the elected officials, and a 2.25 percent increase in pay for the county board of supervisors. The motion was approved by the board. In other action, Larry Petersen was re-elected to serve as the Compensation Board’s chairman. Members of the Plymouth County Compensation Board include: Larry Petersen, Bruce Brock, Ralph Klemme, Pam Floy, Rick Kneip, and Chad Thompson.
County Treasurer Says A Bill Of Sale Will Be Needed For Transaction of Vehicles Between Private Parties
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Treasurer, Shelly Sitzmann, has announced that effective January 1st, 2020, all transfer of titles involving motor vehicles to private parties will also require a bill of sale. A bill of sale, or purchase agreement is already required for vehicles purchased from a dealership. The Iowa State County Treasurer’s Association in conjunction with the Iowa Department of Revenue aim to substantiate vehicle purchase prices, which have a direct impact on the fees that are remitted to the
State’s Road Use Tax fund. Many counties already require a bill of sale between private parties and are allowed to do so pursuant to section 321.13 of the Iowa Code. Plymouth County will join other counties and require a bill of sale effective January 1st. The bill of sale should include the seller’s name, make of the vehicle, year of the vehicle, Vehicle Identification Number or VIN, buyer’s name, date of sale, purchase price, and signature of seller. Plymouth County does not require the form to be
notarized. A bill of sale form is available at the Plymouth County
Treasurer’s office, on the Plymouth County website, or on the Iowa Treasurer’s website.
Wiese Joins Floyd Valley Healthcare
(Le Mars) — Floyd Valley Healthcare announces the addition of Kelly Wiese, RD, LD, CDE to the Floyd Valley Healthcare staff. Kelly began her duties as dietitian on December 2nd. In addition to helping with patient their nutritional needs and education, she will also be working as a Diabetes Education team member.
Kelly received her Bachelor of Science in Dietetics degree from Minnesota State University. She comes to Floyd Valley with six years of experience, most recently at Cherokee Regional Medical Center. In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching movies, biking and traveling.
Dustin Wright, CEO, states, “We are excited to welcome Kelly to Floyd Valley Healthcare. We are pleased to be able to offer our patients full-time access to an experienced dietician. In addition, Kelly is a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) which fits in nicely with our Diabetes Self-Management program. That program is now fully staffed with two CDEs bringing both the nutrition and nursing disciplines together.”
Soybean Association President Has His Doubts If USMCA Will Be Passed This Year
(Des Moines) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced a vote will be coming soon for the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, and the president of the Iowa Soybeans Association says he was a little surprised when the announcement was made this week that a deal had been reached on the U-S-Mexico-Canada-Agreement. Tim Bardole farms near Rippey and says it is good news — but past history dictates the celebration shouldn’t start just yet.
Bardole says all farmers really want with trade agreements is open and free trade.
Bardole is hopeful that the basics of the U-S-M-C-A will lead to an eventual resolution of the trade dispute with China. There were some reports Thursday that a deal with China is close to getting done.
Ernst Comments On US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, And The Impeachment Trial
(Washington) — Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says there could be a push for the leader of the Senate to bring up a vote on the U-S-Mexico-Canada Agreement before the end of the year — but she says the timing doesn’t look good.
Ernst is a Republican from Red Oak and says Democratic leaders in the House are to blame for delaying action on the trade deal until now.
Ernst says the impeachment trial will take up time along with budget issues. She says she hasn’t seen anything that has swayed her opinion on impeachment.
Ernst says the witnesses called by House Democrats all talked about things they heard secondhand or third hand and wasn’t really based on factual evidence.
Ernst says the people she hears from in Iowa only have one concern about the impeachment trial.
Ernst made her comments during her weekly conference call with reporters.
