Bannock County veterans services coordinator seeks pay-grade increase and second service officer in budget request

Melissa Hartman, Bannock County Veterans Services coordinator, asked the Bannock County Board of Commissioners to raise the pay grade for her position and to add a second veterans service officer as part of the county budget discussion. Hartman said the requests reflect the office’s caseload, specialized work and the economic impact of veterans’ benefits in the county.

Hartman told commissioners that Bannock County has 5,465 veterans and that 2,066 are enrolled in Veterans Affairs health care. She said her office maintains 2,426 active clients and cited U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs expenditure figures for fiscal year 2023 showing annual county-level flows of federal benefits: about $38,000,000 in compensation and pension payments, nearly $3,000,000 in education benefits, approximately $130,000 in life insurance payouts to beneficiaries and $31,000,958 in VA-covered medical expenses that she said supported local medical care in Pocatello and the VA community care program.

Hartman outlined workload and duties to justify the personnel requests. She said she met with more than 1,100 clients in February 2024, filed more than 461 claims and handled more than 1,900 phone contacts in…