Black Hawk County supervisors re-elect Tavis Hall as chair and approve routine administrative authorizations

The Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors re-elected Tavis Hall as chair for 2025 and approved a series of administrative resolutions at its organizational meeting. The board also named a chair pro tem and authorized several routine operational actions for the coming year.

Those actions included authorizing the county auditor's office to issue cigarette permits on behalf of the county for 2025; authorizing the county auditor to make recurring payments (water, lights, insurance, telephones, postage, court reporters, jury and witness fees, and other listed items); authorizing the county auditor to conduct claims and payroll transactions effective Jan. 1, 2025; designating two newspapers as official county newspapers for 2025; and directing the county engineer to close or embargo county roads as necessary during the 2025 construction season, subject to prior notification to the board.

Why it matters: These organizational actions set the county's administrative authorities and operational delegations for the year. Authorizations to the county auditor and county engineer are routine but necessary to allow normal county business — permit issuance, regular payments, and temporary road closures for construction — to proceed without delay.

Most important details: The board approved a resolution electing Tavis Hall as chair for 2025. The board also approved a resolution electing a chair pro tem. The board approved multiple administrative resolutions by voice vote or roll call to allow the county auditor and county engineer to carry out operational duties during 2025; the board designated two newspapers as official county newspapers for the year; and the board adopted a construction-evaluation resolution related to review of proposed confinement feeding operation structures submitted to the Department of Natural Resources under Iowa Code (see Actions below).

Votes at a glance (official actions recorded in meeting minutes): - Resolution: Elect Tavis Hall as chair for 2025. Motion made and seconded; resolution approved (roll call noted by the clerk as recorded in the meeting minutes). - Resolution: Elect chair pro tem for 2025. Motion made and seconded; resolution approved. - Resolution: Establish standing committees for 2025 year. Motion made and seconded; motion carried after discussion that final committee assignments may wait until newly seated member is on board. - Resolution: Approve appointments to boards and committees as representatives of the Board of Supervisors for 2025. Motion to table until the board's first February meeting was made, seconded and approved. - Resolution: Authorize county auditor's office to issue cigarette permits on behalf of Black Hawk County for calendar year 2025. Motion made, seconded and approved by voice vote. - Resolution: Authorize the county auditor to issue payments during 2025 for routine items (water, lights, insurance, telephones, postage, court reporters, jury and witness fees, employee criminal history checks, bank and bond payments/fees, and emergency expenses for specific departments). Motion made, seconded and approved (roll call recorded in minutes). - Resolution: Authorize county auditor Karen Schobelter to conduct claims and payroll transactions on behalf of the Black Hawk County Auditor's Office effective Jan. 1, 2025. Motion made, seconded and approved (roll call recorded in minutes). - Resolution: Designate official county newspapers for 2025 (two newspapers named in the meeting). Motion made, seconded and approved by roll call. - Motion: Direct county engineer Catherine Nicholas to close county roads as necessary during the 2025 construction season, subject to prior notification to the Board of Supervisors. Motion made, seconded and approved. - Motion: Direct county engineer Catherine Nicholas to embargo county roads as necessary for 2025, subject to prior notification to the board. Motion made, seconded and approved. - Motion: Direct the county engineer to sign progress vouchers for farm-to-market payments for 2025. Motion made, seconded and approved. - Resolution: Adopt the 2025 construction evaluation resolution for the purpose of submitting recommendations to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for approval or disapproval of construction permit applications pursuant to Iowa Code (meeting referenced "Iowa code ... 304" in discussion) regarding proposed confinement feed operation structures. Motion made, seconded and approved by roll call.

What the board said and next steps: Board members discussed timing around committee appointments and agreed to table some representative appointments until a February meeting so all members (including a not-yet-seated member) could participate in assignments. Direction to the county engineer and auditor gives staff the authority to perform routine duties subject to prior notification or existing procedures; any specific road closures or embargoes were described as to be taken with prior notice to the board.

Ending: The board concluded with scheduling and procedural items and adjourned after closing routine business.