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Valley County veteran service officer requests pay increase and relief from workers’ comp requirement
Summary
The county's veteran service officer asked commissioners to raise her monthly contract from $800 to $1,000 to help cover payroll taxes and business expenses and requested that the county waive a workers’ compensation requirement that she says is unnecessary for a single-member LLC.
Jamie, Valley County’s veteran service officer, asked the board during a budget workshop for an increase in her monthly contract from $800 to $1,000 and requested that the county remove a workers’ compensation insurance requirement for her county contract because she operates as a single-member LLC with no employees.
Jamie described increased volunteer and outreach activity — including a recent "stand down" where 30 veterans received food and cold-weather clothing — and said she spends substantial unpaid time helping veterans with claims, scheduling with the state service officer and doing research necessary for complex claims. She said payroll-tax obligations and an apparent county requirement for workers’ compensation policies are creating financial strain.
Commissioners and staff discussed the insurance requirement; a county official said similar prior contracts had been processed without the workers’ compensation requirement and staff agreed to follow up with the county attorney to confirm whether the workers’ compensation clause can be removed for a single-member contractor. Commissioners also confirmed a $1,000 training line item exists in the budget and agreed travel and hotel costs for required training would likely fit within that allocation.
Jamie asked commissioners to consider a monthly increase to cover payroll taxes and time; commissioners indicated they would review the request and work with staff and legal to determine whether to modify insurance requirements and to consider the requested rate increase in the upcoming budget work.
