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Board approves month-to-month Orion agreement, event permit and membership; tables mileage-rate decision
Summary
Supervisors authorized a month-to-month interlocal agreement with Orion while the county transitions to a new vendor, approved the VFW car show permit and a $5,000 Hungry Canyons membership, and tabled a decision on adopting the IRS mid‑year mileage-rate change pending further departmental review.
The Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors approved several routine items and directed staff to gather more information on a proposed mid‑year adjustment to the county mileage reimbursement.
Sam Artfield, captain in the sheriff’s communications office, briefed the board on an interlocal agreement with Orion for the county’s wireless-area network. Artfield said the current agreement is approaching expiration and recommended notifying Orion that the county does not intend a long-term extension. "We are not looking to enter into a long term agreement, but would like to enter into a month to month agreement while we make our transition over to Essex," Artfield said. The board moved to authorize the chair to sign the interlocal month-to-month arrangement while the county completes its transition; the motion passed by voice vote.
Rebecca Adair of Veteran Services asked the board to authorize use of county grounds for the VFW annual car show on Aug. 22; the county board of supervisors had already approved the event and this action allowed follow-up authorization. The request — with an adjusted staff time of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. noted by staff — was approved by voice vote.
The board approved a $5,000 membership payment for Hungry Canyons Alliance from gaming funds for fiscal year 26‑27. A supervisor described Hungry Canyons as a long-standing group of county road engineers and supervisors focused on conservation and watershed practices; the board approved the membership by motion and voice vote.
Dixie Wilson, an accounting technician in the auditor’s office, presented assessor-office recommendations on exemption applications: homestead (184 recommended allowed, 3 disallowed), military (14 recommended allowed, 2 disallowed), disabled‑veteran homestead (10 recommended allowed, 3 disallowed) and family farm (2 recommended allowed, 0 disallowed). Wilson explained several disallowed applications failed to meet Iowa Code requirements or lacked supporting documentation; the board approved staff’s recommendations and staff said they will send letters and assist applicants with reapplication where possible.
On the federal mileage rate, staff reported the IRS announced an increase to the standard mileage rate that would be retroactive to July 1. Staff noted the county can choose whether to align with the IRS effective date or set its own; one staff member said, "It's being raised to 76¢ on my option." Several supervisors asked for more analysis of department-level impacts, possible backdating and the logistics of implementing the change. Because some departments were out of the office and additional departmental input was requested, the board voted to table the mileage-rate decision to the next meeting so staff can gather more information.
Human resources staff reported progress on the county wellness-provider procurement and said vendor demos will be scheduled for the team; implementation timelines of 6–8 weeks were discussed depending on platform choice. Board members asked staff to provide better advance notice of demo times and to return with results of the demonstrations.
The meeting concluded with brief board updates and a motion to adjourn.
