County nearing budget limit for burial expenses

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Henry County is inching ever closer to its budgeted amount for indigent burial expenses, Henry County supervisors learned during their regular meeting on Thursday.

Counties are not required to fund such burial expenses, but Henry County has observed the practice for years. In recent years, the county has set aside $16,000 for burial expenses for indigents.

Sarah Berndt, county coordinator of disability services/general assistance director, said the sixth burial in fiscal 2016 recently was funded, leaving funds for just two more burials.

Berndt also gave a brief report on the Southeast Iowa Link (SEIL), the regional mental health group of which Henry County is a member. The group has updated and completed its management plan and forwarded it to the management team. Once the management team?s approval is received, the plan will be submitted to the state.

?I don?t think the state will have any problem with it,? she remarked.

SEIL also has drafted a plan whereby if a person receiving help from the group and moves to a county not in the SEIL region, SEIL will assume costs for treatment of the person for 30 days during a transition period.

Finally, she said some of the counties in the SEIL group are nearing 80 to 90 percent of their budget expenditures for the year, Berndt said. Henry County has a $1.9-million balance in its mental health account, according to county officials.

Despite the budget crunch being experienced by some counties, Berndt said the group ?is going in the direction it needs to be going financially.?

Mike Vens, of Gamrath-Doyle-Vens Insurance in Mt. Pleasant, the county?s insurance carrier in the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool (ICAP), informed the supervisors of a new ICAP grant program. Through the grant program, ICAP members may qualify for up to $1,000 for select loss control and/or risk management items.

?If you apply for the grant, you will get it,? Vens told the board. ?It?s a nice deal, and you have so many departments that could use the money. ICAP is making an investment back to members.?

To be eligible for the grant, members must purchase, or request funds to purchase, items that fulfill two conditions.

Conditions are that the item(s) must be tangible and directly relevant to risk management and/or loss control, with the primary purpose of the item(s) being to reduce liability and/or claims.

Secondly, there must not be potential or the ability for the purchased item(s) to be misused as a weapon or other means of harm.

Examples of qualifying items include playground fall material(s); exit signage; automated external defibrillators and more.

To apply, members must complete a form and submit documentation of the expense, including relevant invoice(s) or price quotes.

County supervisors meet again in regular session on Tuesday, March 29, at 9 a.m., in the county courthouse.