Letters to the editor

This letter concerns the discussion and possible action regarding the open position of Director of Washington Co. Ambulance Services at the June 11 meeting of the Washington Co. Board of Supervisors.

It is important that Washington Co. taxpayers, the public and the person who will be hired to take over the position of Director of the Ambulance Service to know that the Wash. Co. Supervisors have *not* fulfilled their obligation to Jeremy Peck, the former Washington Co. Ambulance Director. The Supervisors have wasted a significant amount of taxpayer money to try to expose Jeremy for wrongdoing, and found *nothing*. The Supervisors have not disclosed this to the public.

In a settlement agreement written by the Supervisors’ attorney and reached on February 26, 2024, the Supervisors agreed to rescind Peck’s suspension and Peck agreed to resign on Feb. 29, 2024. At the March 5th Supervisor Meeting, nothing was stated that his suspension was rescinded. It was reported that the Supervisors unceremoniously removed Peck from the local government’s payroll.

The written agreement also states that Washington Co. shall issue a commendation and supply job references to Peck after his resignation. This will be done no later than two weeks after Peck’s resignation. It is now over 14 weeks after the agreement was signed and still the Supervisors have not issued a public commendation as required. In the Cambridge dictionary, a commendation is a formal statement of praise for someone who has done something admirable.

Even after a financial audit and hiring an investigator from Des Moines, Supervisors were unable to find anything that Jeremy had done wrong. Not only did they violate his rights, they listened to rumors and unfounded accusations and now have breached the settlement agreement. The citizens of this county deserve to hear from the board, that Peck did no wrong and restore his reputation.

The Supervisors have not been open about the total cost of multiple professionals hired from out of the county to try to derail Peck’s career: Human Resources, Auditors, Investigators, Attorneys, etc. This is *wrong*! The least they can do for Jeremy, who did everything in his power to make a top quality Ambulance Service for Washington Co., is clear his name by formally rescinding his suspension and publicly give him his commendation.

Dana Peck

Wellman