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Veterans services outlines outreach, claims volume and steady general assistance; asks noted for software/training
Summary
Director Randy Ransom told supervisors Veterans Services filed more than 1,122 claims since mid‑2023 and credited the office with bringing millions in benefits to the county; he described outreach programs, a request to adopt statewide software when available and recommended a 5% staff wage increase recommended by the state office.
Randy Ransom, who identified himself as director of Dubuque County Veterans Services and General Assistance, told the board the office helps veterans file federal benefit claims, operate a food pantry and run outreach events.
Randy said staff filed more than 1,122 benefit claims since June 2023 and had roughly 147 claims pending with the Veterans Benefits Administration as of Jan. 8. He described a veterans appreciation event that hosted about 395 veterans and noted regular monthly outreach at local venues. "We bring roughly over $3,000,000 per month into the county to get benefits," Randy said, describing the aggregate economic effect of benefit awards and claims assistance.
He also described state‑level changes: the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs is considering adopting a standardized county software system that would allow counties to use a common digital intake and transmission process; Randy said the state is encouraging increased CEU training for county staff. Randy noted the state office recommended considering a 5% wage increase for county veterans staff; he said his office had no capital requests this year but would consider software impacts if the state rollout moves forward.
On general assistance, Randy summarized that the county must provide statutorily mandated rental, utility and funeral assistance to Dubuque County residents; he reported 37 rent cases totaling about $16,010 and roughly $3,500 for utilities in the reporting period, and said no budget increase was being requested for general assistance at this time.
Supervisors thanked Randy for the detailed report and acknowledged the staff’s outreach and claims work; no formal votes were recorded on the veterans or general assistance budgets during the session.
