By Jim Magdefrau
VINTON – The Benton County Board of Supervisors received the resignation of Sue Wilber, human resources, at their meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, at the service center in Vinton.
Benton County Attorney Ray Lough discussed the human resources department before the resignation was accepted. He said that back in the spring he was contacted by an attorney that Wilber had retained, asking for preservation of documents. He said this procedure is usually the beginning of a lawsuit. He referred this to the county’s insurer, the Heartland Group.
At some point, Wilber’s attorney had contacted Heartland about separation. Heartland did an evaluation and decided that discussions would be appropriate, so they engaged in negotiations on behalf of the county. An agreement was reached last week. The board was informed of this last Thursday.
Lough said that essentially the severance agreement has a lump sum payment and other obligations that are a part of her contract. Lough discussed the lump sum payment with Heartland, feeling that the county didn’t want to pay it. Heartland then agreed, as the county’s agent, that they would pay this on the county’s behalf.
Lough and Heartland talked about how this will affect premiums. As part of being in a pool, the county gets rebates based on their claims. The county has an excellent track record for safety and liability claims, Lough said. Because Benton County was doing so well in those other areas, it won’t affect Benton County like they thought it would. He asked that the board accept this. “And we’ll move forward,” Lough concluded.
Doug Cook asked from the audience what the terms were. Lough said the agreement is in the auditor’s office. He also asked about legal matters regarding the previous human resources director, and a lawsuit filed by Auditor Hayley Rippel. Lough said he can’t comment on these, and he is in contact with Heartland on these.
Wilber’s resignation was accepted on a motion by Tracy Seeman and seconded by Gary Bierschenk.
Lough said he met with Wilber last Friday before she left. He pointed out that Heartland has 10 counties, and Benton is the only county with an on-staff HR director. Two counties use outsourcing. The other seven do their own. Lough looked at outsourcing as an option. He gave notes to the board so they can study them.
Lough is debating doing an RFP (request for proposals) or outsourcing services, or hiring another director. He said the county should at least explore the options that are out there. He added they have to move rather quickly on this.
Lough is back on the agenda on Aug. 27.
Other business
The board approved a special Class C Retail Alcohol License for Karen Family Tree Farm Inc.
The board approved a resolution on handbook clarifications regarding vacations. Departments heads signed off on this.
The board approved a utility permit for Alliant Energy in Cedar Township. Wires are going from overhead to underground along 50th Street. This is in Sections 3, 4 and 5.
A resolution was approved to assign secondary roads employee to working grade foreman position. Approved was Shane Clark as the grade crew foreman.
Tim Sage of Salem Cemetery Association requested approval for a fee increase to care for soldiers’ graves. He recommended increasing the current $5 fee due to increasing costs. The cemetery is in Eldorado Township. This led to a discussion on who pays for this — the township, county or veterans affairs. Chairman Richard Primmer asked Seeman to look into it and make a recommendation.
The board went into closed session on matters in litigation.
Open records and notes
When back in open session, Scott Hansen met with the board. He was Emergency Management Agency Coordinator and retired this year. He said that he put in an open records request in June with the auditor’s office. He sought hand-written notes from then Human Resources Director Sue Wilber taken at the board of supervisors’ meetings. He also asked digital notes. He then received a note from Lough, who stated these notes are not confidential. He reached out to the Iowa Public Information Board and the auditor’s office. He heard nothing from Wilber.
Since Wilber’s resignation, he wondered if his request for notes should be fulfilled. “The answer is ‘I don’t know,’” said Lough. He pointed out that while notes might be public information, they might also have confidential stuff in them that require editing or redacting. Lough said he doesn’t have the notes. Lough will try to pursue the notes.
Jim Magdefrau 