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Veterans Service Officer cites new state recognition of some Guard members and highlights retroactive benefits work
Summary
County Veterans Service Officer Greg Quinn highlighted donations for Memorial Day flags, a state change recognizing some National Guard/reservists as state veterans (which will raise local workload), the role of automation at the VA, and the office's success securing retroactive payments for veterans.
Greg Quinn, Dunn County's County Veterans Service Officer, presented the department's annual highlights and local activities to the Health and Human Services Board. Quinn thanked local donors (Peace Lutheran Church and the Tanner Lake Snowmobile Club) for gas cards used to assist veterans and noted heavy volunteer effort to place flags in more than 80 county cemeteries with 40-plus volunteers in recent Memorial Day preparations.
Quinn described a state-level policy change that will allow some National Guard members and reservists who were not federally activated under a federal order to receive the designation of state veteran. "What the state has done is now recognize their service and will title them as a state veteran," Quinn said, noting the change carries little to no budgetary cost but will create additional operational needs for his office to verify honorable service and provide benefits assistance. He told the board this could increase workload locally and that additional staff or budget adjustments may be justified in future budget cycles.
On federal benefits, Quinn said the VA's increased use of automation and AI has reduced raw processing times in some offices but cautioned that automation can shift problems to appeals when quality control lapses. He described how careful review of effective dates and coding led to a recent large retroactive payment for a veteran (he cited an $86,000 example as an instance of corrected effective-date processing). Quinn asked the supervisors to track how much retroactive benefit money the office secures and recommended displaying that figure when presenting to the full county board because it demonstrates the office's economic impact.
Quinn closed with operational notes: he reported no immediate budget concerns, a pending grant adjustment (CVSO grant increase to $16,600 per recent statutory changes), and the need to improve grant-reporting integration in the county system. Board members encouraged Quinn to prepare comparative retroactive-payment figures and to track staffing needs as benefits recognition changes are implemented.
