Pottawattamie supervisors reject motion to reinstate county engineer's contract

The Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors voted down a motion to reinstate County Engineer John Rasmussen’s contract and to uphold his grievance after a roll-call vote that ended 3-2 against the measure.

Rasmussen, the county engineer, told the board he was removed without transition and warned the abrupt change cost the county competitive grant opportunities and setbacks to bridge and road projects. "When a new direction is taken without preparation, without communication and without a plan, there are consequences," he said. His attorney, Raymond Aranza, told the board, "It appears that John's contract with the county was terminated prematurely on May," and warned the county could face legal claims including breach of contract and possible retaliation claims under state and federal law.

The motion, made from the floor and seconded, asked the board to "reinstate this contract for a period of no less than three years and uphold the grievance," with details to be negotiated by the two attorneys and the county attorney. During roll call, Chairman Bill voted nay; Supervisor Shay and Supervisor Miller voted aye; Supervisor Jorgensen and Supervisor Wickman voted nay. The motion therefore failed.

Why it matters: Rasmussen said his department built a long-range strategy to reduce administrative costs and to pursue competitive grants that supplemented property-tax funding for roads and bridges. He said the department’s administrative costs have been about 2.5% of its budget, cited a $326,000 reduction in annual costs tied to prior reforms and said bond payments of about $640,000 will expire over the next 12 years. He told the board those efficiencies supported a more ambitious bridge-replacement program and allowed the department to secure roughly $3,000,000 annually in competitive grant revenue; he said the personnel change cost the county about $7,000,000 in potential competitive funds the next funding round.

Board action and next steps: The board did not adopt Rasmussen’s requested remedy. No formal direction to staff to reinstate the contract, place Rasmussen on administrative leave with pay, or otherwise modify the county’s personnel action was recorded in the meeting. Aranza asked the board to grant the grievance or at minimum place Rasmussen on paid administrative leave while a negotiated resolution was worked out; the board did not approve those requests.

Context and claims: Rasmussen described a multiyear program started in 2011 to reduce structurally deficient bridges and said the department pursued a 2020 facility plan and a 2022 reorganization aimed at increasing grant competitiveness. He said his team delivered the stated efficiencies and that the board’s decision to change direction came "by surprise" on May 27. Aranza said the factual record in the grievance, if unresolved, could lead to litigation that would require review of communications and text messages and could expose individual decision-makers to liability; he said, "We hope to put everything to rest. We hope you will grant his grievance."

Meeting mechanics: The grievance hearing proceeded in open session under a statutory framework the board cited (Iowa Code section 21.5). The board held a roll-call vote on the reinstatement motion; the vote failed and the meeting adjourned. The transcript shows no subsequent formal motion providing an alternate personnel remedy or directing staff to pursue settlement negotiations on the public record.

The board did not state on the record any change to its prior decision removing Rasmussen, nor did it provide a timetable for further public action on the grievance or any plan for transition of the county engineer’s duties.