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Votes at a glance: Jefferson County supervisors adopt ambulance offset ordinance, approve hires and several budget moves
Summary
At its July 7 meeting in Fairfield the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance allowing the ambulance service to use the state setoff program to collect unpaid bills, approved personnel hires and several funding motions including a $17,500 HVAC replacement funded from the building line item.
The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors on July 7 adopted an ordinance authorizing the county ambulance service to set fees, pursue collections and participate in Iowa Department of Revenue setoff compliance to recover unpaid patient bills.
The board also approved a set of routine and personnel actions: the appointment of Edwin F. Kelly as assistant deputy county attorney, the hiring of Britney Thomas as a correctional officer at a starting salary of $47,245.65, and payment for replacement mini-split HVAC units at an estimated cost of $17,500 to be charged to the county building line item with general-fund backfill if needed.
Highlights of votes at the meeting
- Ambulance offset ordinance (adopted): The board opened and closed a public hearing and then approved an ordinance that allows Jefferson County Ambulance Service to bill patients, set a schedule of fees, engage in debt-collection activities and participate in the Iowa Department of Revenue setoff program for unpaid debts.
- Appointment of Edwin F. Kelly (approved): The board approved Kelly to the joint position between the county attorney’s office and the assessor’s office. Kelly cited decades of legal experience and a prospective early-August start date.
- HVAC payment for courthouse courtrooms (approved): Supervisors approved paying $17,500 to replace two mini-split units (ceiling-mounted heads due to building constraints) from the building line item; the board discussed ARPA accounting and general-fund backfill options before voting.
- Personnel hires and pay steps (approved): The board approved a longevity/certification change for county staff (reported pay rates included $27.51 and $32.75 hourly examples for two positions) and a resolution hiring Britney Thomas as a correctional officer at $47,245.65.
- Claims and reports (approved): The board moved and approved claims totaling $214,000.60.
What passed and how the board recorded it
Most votes were taken by voice; recorded roll-call was not provided in the public transcript. Where specific amounts or start dates were discussed (for example, the starting salary for the correctional officer or the HVAC quote), those figures appeared in motions or the meeting packet and were included in the board’s approvals.
Next steps
Several items approved at the meeting (the ambulance ordinance and personnel appointments) will be reflected in county records; staff said they will follow through on scheduling HVAC work and return any necessary documentation to the board. The ambulance ordinance also includes an appeals process for billed parties and allows the ambulance service to route payments through existing county deposit processes.
