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Wapello County supervisors review tentative wage increase, consider staffing and service cuts to balance budget
Summary
At a Feb. 24 work session, the Wapello County Board of Supervisors discussed a tentatively approved wage increase and several cost‑saving measures — including leaving an Auditor Office vacancy unfilled, reducing Visitor Center hours/inventory, and pursuing a 28E shared zoning position limited to 28 hours weekly.
WAPELLO COUNTY — The Wapello County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 24 reviewed a range of options to balance the county budget after staff reported a tentatively approved wage increase and related payroll changes.
Sheriff Don Phillips reviewed changes to payroll, FICA and IPERS tied to the wage increase and said the county reclassified "Caldwell" to a rural designation for payroll purposes. The meeting record describes the wage adjustment as "tentatively approved" but does not state the dollar amount.
The board discussed that other counties are using layoffs to reduce costs, but the meeting record does not show the supervisors directing layoffs in Wapello County. Instead, supervisors and staff focused on smaller measures to lower expenses, including a review of Visitor Center hours versus hours worked by employees, scaling back consignment merchandise, and selling a county vehicle.
The supervisors discussed a potential part‑time zoning position shared with a city under a 28E agreement; the record states the shared employee would remain at 28 hours per week and would not receive county benefits. The city with which the county would sign the 28E is not named in the meeting record.
The Auditor's Office indicated it will not fill a current vacancy as a short‑term budget‑balancing step and intends to revisit the vacancy when the county's finances recover. The record states the office will budget to refill the position in the future but does not identify a timeline or the vacancy's pay grade.
The session opened at 12:42 p.m. and closed with a motion to adjourn at 4:39 p.m.; Chair Darren Batterson moved both procedural motions noted in the record and Vice Chair Carrie Teninity seconded. The record states "all ayes." Supervisor Bryan Ziegler was recorded as absent for the session.
Next steps in the record include finalizing any 28E agreement for the zoning position and bringing budget changes back for further consideration; the meeting minutes say staff will monitor and revisit the Auditor vacancy when budget conditions allow.
