Story County General Assistance requests full-time administrative assistant, several budget reestimations

General Assistance Director Erin Rewerts told the Story County Board of Supervisors at a Jan. 29 work session that the program needs a full-time administrative assistant to maintain front-desk coverage and complete critical data-entry tasks now handled by a 20-hour-per-week intern.

Rewerts said the administrative staff “are responsible for the phones, the door, 100% of the time,” and that when the intern or the only administrative assistant is absent the office lacks coverage. She proposed funding half of a new full-time administrative assistant through the General Assistance budget and half through Veterans Affairs.

The proposal matters because the program handles intake for multiple assistance programs, and Rewerts said losing administrative capacity makes it harder for service coordinators to complete their work and slows projects such as digitization efforts. Rewerts told supervisors that the current intern is scheduled to graduate in May and that finding another intern through work‑study programs has been difficult.

On revenue, Rewerts said a $9,000 work‑study reimbursement remains in the draft budget “in case the position doesn’t get approved” and the office needs to hire another intern. She described other small revenue sources such as occasional reimbursements for attorney fees and a reduced use of SSI interim assistance compared with prior years.

Rewerts and supervisors discussed several line items and short-term reestimations:

- Vehicle fuel and maintenance: The county vehicle assigned to the office was returned; Rewerts said staff can borrow vehicles from other county departments for training trips. Fuel charges are billed back to departments, and current spending on the line has been minimal.

- Management services (bus tickets and language services): Rewerts said demand for bus tickets and interpreter services has risen; she reported the office has already paid for “half a dozen bus tickets so far this year,” and the language line usage has increased. Supervisors agreed to raise next year’s budget for that line to $1,000 (adding $500 to the proposed amount) and to increase this year’s reestimation by $200.

- Funeral services: Rewerts said she paid out about $10,000 this month for funerals. She said the current line in the budget that covers reimbursements to funeral homes is $2,075 and that in recent fiscal years that amount covered roughly 18 fully funded cremations or burials; she expects this fiscal year may be higher.

- Rent and utilities: Rewerts reported a three‑year average of about $53,000 on rent payments and current spending through January of roughly $28,000. Utilities average about $3,600 over three years and are currently at about $2,600.

- Income guidelines and resource limits: Rewerts asked supervisors to approve a 2% increase in the General Assistance income guideline and to maintain the current resource limit (reported in the meeting as $150). She said she will provide additional data later to support adjustments and that any larger changes will be considered during the May reestimation process.

- Court‑appointed counsel: Supervisors corrected a typographical error in the reestimation; the line for court‑appointed counsel should read $3,000 in both columns.

Rewerts described the office’s reliance on an intern for data entry that supports service coordinators, and she said that another full‑time administrative position would allow staff to participate in county committees and carry out projects such as digitizing records. Zach, a county staff member mentioned in the discussion, had proposed digitization ideas Rewerts said she would like to pursue if the office had the manpower.

No formal vote was recorded during the work session on the staffing proposal; supervisors asked Rewerts to leave the work‑study reimbursement and other suggested adjustments in the draft budget for future consideration. Rewerts said reestimations and any necessary budget amendments would be revisited in May when year‑to‑date spending is clearer.

Any questions directed to Rewerts at the end of the presentation were followed by brief clarifications and corrective edits to the proposed figures; there were no formal motions or roll‑call votes during the segment.