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Board adopts new county policies, raises township per‑diem and updates sheriff/dispatch benefit alignment
Summary
Supervisors approved a set of policy changes May 20 including a new food and beverage expenditures policy, an update aligning sheriff management benefits with the sworn sergeant contract, and an increase in township trustee and clerk per‑diem from $11 to $20 effective July 1, 2025.
The Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors on May 20 approved multiple policy updates and administrative pay changes recommended by the county policy review committee.
The board adopted a new food and beverage expenditures policy that allows departments to budget for modest refreshments for county‑sponsored training, on‑site meetings with the public, community partners and vendors, and certain audit or grant activities. The policy prohibits alcoholic beverages, excludes social parties and requires a department head to document the public purpose, meeting agenda, attendees and estimated cost with any reimbursement claim. "This is intended to apply for the purpose of being a public purpose expenditure," said Amanda Bessemer, the county HR director, explaining the policy’s scope and required documentation.
Supervisors also approved a revision to the management staff benefits policy to align benefits for sheriff’s management and consolidated communications shift supervisors with the new sworn‑sergeant collective bargaining agreement (Unit 9), effective July 1. HR presented the change as a technical update so internal promotions into supervisory ranks do not experience benefits discrepancies.
On township compensation, the board adopted a new policy that defined what qualifies as a per‑diem and limited trustee meeting per‑diems to four per year unless additional meetings are approved by the board; it also added a monthly per‑diem option for township clerks to compensate routine bookkeeping tasks. The supervisors then approved a separate resolution raising township trustees’ and clerks’ per‑diem from $11 to $20, effective July 1, 2025. Tim Jamieson of the auditor’s office told the board the rate had not changed since 1999 and that moving to $20 per meeting was equivalent to roughly a 2.5% annual increase over 26 years.
All three policy items passed by roll call vote. County staff said the policy review committee will continue to meet monthly and bring recommended updates and charters to the board as part of a scheduled review process.
