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ISAC outlines programs, IT and member services during Polk County visit
Summary
ISAC executive director Andrea Woodard and staff briefed Polk County supervisors on ISAC programs — legal assistance, IT assessments and services, benefits pools, an ERP initiative and member outreach — and offered materials and follow‑up to help counties cope with post‑session budget pressures.
Andrea Woodard, executive director of the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC), told Polk County supervisors that ISAC exists to “promote effective and responsible county government for the people of Iowa” and described the association’s role in supporting all 99 counties.
Woodard opened the ISAC presentation by outlining the organization’s membership and governance structure and the goals of ISAC’s 99‑county tour. "All 99 counties are dues‑paying members of ISAC," she said, and stressed that the association’s 16 affiliate organizations and a 22‑member board shape ISAC policy and services.
The ISAC team then summarized the programs they offer to counties. Beth Manley, ISAC general counsel, described ISAC’s legal support, including advisory assistance to county attorneys, presentations on legal topics, participation in statewide litigation through a litigation committee and a HIPAA consultation program of which Polk County is a member. Manley said ISAC provides legal research and referrals but "will always defer to your county attorney when it comes to interpreting actual code language."
Brad Holton, ISAC director of finance and programs, reviewed ISAC financial services and shared systems: an Iowa precinct atlas/e‑pollbook and absentee module, the Community Services Network electronic record system used by community services and veterans assistance, and a county attorneys case‑management project overseen by Jessica Troba. Holton also described ISAC’s self‑funded group benefits programs — a health pool and a dental pool that include multiple participating counties.
Andrew Dhan, ISAC director of information technology, outlined IT initiatives: a county technology assessment program that has evaluated roughly 60 counties, a technology service bureau that offers short‑term staffing and project support, the Iowa Cyber Intelligence Network (ICIN) that distributes public cyber intelligence and provides a secure portal for restricted threat information, and work on a county enterprise resource planning (ERP) effort to modernize tax, payroll and HR systems and encourage greater vendor competition.
Rachel Bennett, director of member relations, described member engagement, trainings and the "Behind the 99" public‑education campaign designed to help counties explain local government services to residents. She also outlined the Certified Iowa County Supervisors Program, a two‑year certification track for supervisors and re‑certification process.
Staff answered questions about webinar continuing legal education (CLE) credit and ISAC email distribution and offered to provide attendees editable outreach materials, contact information for subject specialists and follow‑up resources. ISAC staff encouraged counties to use member services and said they will share promising practices identified on the tour.
The presentation closed with an offer to provide packets and online resources and a schedule note that ISAC staff will continue the county tour and follow up on requests for shared‑service examples.
