Henry County supervisors hear reports from department heads

MT. PLEASANT - Henry County saw a record number of registered voters cast early ballots in the 2020 general election.

At a Henry County Board of Supervisors meeting, Auditor Shelly Barber, who was re-elected Tuesday, gave a report on voter turnout.

Barber said her office saw about 100 voters a day during the early voting period. On Nov. 2, the day before the general election, Barber's office saw 365 voters cast their ballots early. The auditor added the voter turnout for the 2020 General Election is the highest the county has ever had.

According to unofficial results from the office on Tuesday, 10,008 Henry County residents submitted ballots. This is an increase of more than 5,000 voters compared to the 9,500 of the 12,823 registered voters who voted in 2016.

As of Thursday morning, 139 mail-in ballots are still outstanding. The auditor said the county mailed out more than 800 mail-in more ballots than it did four years ago.

As ballots continue to come in, Barber said the county received three provisional ballots and four mail-in ballots that have arrived and expect more to come in the following days. The office will complete its canvass next Tuesday and will hold its post-election audit on Thursday morning.

During the meeting, the supervisors received a monthly update from department heads about their offices for the month of October.

Public Health

Supervisors Greg Moeller read an email from Henry County Public Health Director Shelley Van Dorin, who could not attend the meeting. In the email, Van Dorin said her staff continues to work seven-day weeks due to the amount of contact tracing for coronavirus exposures that needs to be done within the county.

'The two temporary additional staff have been a godsend,” she wrote in the email.

Van Dorin said the state will be switching to a new system for case investigation and contact tracing that went into effect on Thursday.

The public health director said the department will launch a new virtual waiting room for immunization clinics, which are busier with the flu season. The new waiting room will offer wait times online so families will be better able to plan their visits. The online waiting room will be available starting Nov. 17.

CARES Act

Sarah Berndt, the administrator for the county's Central Point of Coordination, said the Southeast Iowa Link mental health and disabilities services region received $1.5 million in CARES Act funds. As of yesterday, all of the funds were fully encumbered and primarily went to schools and mental health service providers in the region. Berndt said all four school districts in Henry County have submitted applications to receive funds.

Emergency Management

Emergency Management Coordinator Walt Jackson reported traffic through his office concerning the coronavirus pandemic has slowed considerably.

'It's not really pressing,” he said.

The coordinator continues to order masks from the state for local schools every 30 to 60 days.

Jackson reported his department is working closely with Public Health to ensure the county is ready when a vaccine for the virus becomes available. Jackson said the departments have drive-through locations 'set up, established and ready to go.” He said with needing a supply of dry ice available due to temperature needs of the vaccine, being ready can be a little bit of a challenge.

Sheriff's Office

Chief Deputy Tracy Brooks from the Henry County Sheriff's Office reported all of the office's divisions are fully staffed. Brooks said the office is coming up on a year anniversary since moving to its new jail facility on Grand Avenue and recently passed a virtual jail inspection.

Brooks said the county jail is currently housing inmates from Polk, Johnson, Des Moines and Wapello County. The jail averages in the high-20's to low-30's for out-of-county inmates. The jail is expected to receive another two dozen inmates from Polk County in the coming weeks.

Recorder's Office

Henry County Recorder Mindy Fitzgibbon said ATV, RV and RM renewals have been sent to residents via mail. The renewals are due at the end of December. Fitzgibbon reported her office was closed on Wednesday for training on a system for vital records through the Iowa Department of Public Health. The new system will go live on Jan. 1.

Fitzgibbon said her office continues to have a steady traffic of real estate documents. In October, the department filed 420 documents of which 194 were e-submissions. Since July, the department has filed 16,010 documents with 720 being filed electronically. The department has filed 300 more documents through this period of the year compared to 2019.

'E-submissions have really increased quite a bit since March,” Fitzgibbon said.

Treasurer's Office

Ana Lair, Henry County treasurer, reported only .62 percent of the previous years taxes remain unpaid. The office sent out 659 delinquent notices on Tuesday for any outstanding taxes from 2019, unredeemed tax sales as well as those who have unpaid taxes from September. Lair said she anticipates the county will collect a good majority of the unpaid taxes.

Lair said the motor vehicles collections are still running high at more than $500,000 a month and completed more than 600 titles and renewed more than 200 vehicles in the month of October. Lair said driver's license appointments through her office will continue to be by appointment only.

Veterans Affairs

Roger Pittsenbarger, head of Veterans Affairs, said the office has had 59 office visits and 56 phone calls. The office has been busier helping veterans with claims, aid and attendance benefits. Pittsenbarger added the office has been chosen by the local Hy-Vee as the beneficiary of the store's reusable bag program. The store will sell the bags for $2.50 and donate a dollar per bag sold to the department.