Jefferson County supervisors negotiate with county engineer applicant

FAIRFIELD — Jefferson County Engineer Scott Cline will retire at the end of this month, and the county Board of Supervisors is having a difficult time finding a replacement.

The supervisors discussed Cline’s position during their meeting Monday morning and heard a report from Supervisor Dee Sandquist about the status of negotiations with a man who has applied for the job. Sandquist said the applicant has asked for an annual salary of $125,000 and six weeks of vacation to care for his ailing parents.

Cline currently makes $100,461.

The three supervisors were open to giving the applicant that amount of vacation, but Supervisor Susie Drish wanted the contract to stipulate that he would have to wait a certain amount of time before using a substantial share of it. She said she didn’t want to hire somebody and for them to take a month off right away.

Drish also was uncomfortable with the $125,000 figure Sandquist said the applicant wanted. She suggested starting the applicant at $115,000 a year and then increase the salary after six months or a year.

Supervisor Daryn Hamilton suggested splitting the difference and starting the applicant at $120,000 per year, then raising it to $125,000 if he performed well in his first six months.

Sandquist said the applicant would likely reject an offer of $115,000, and Hamilton agreed that was too low. Drish said the county should be mindful of how it’s treating all its employees, which is why she was hesitant to give a large salary to this position.

Sandquist said she worried that if the county’s offer was too low, the county wouldn’t be able to find an engineer. She said as baby boomer engineers have retired, they are not being replaced at the same rate, so engineers are in short supply. Other counties in Iowa such as Jasper County have struggled to fill their county engineering positions, too.

The board agreed to reconvene the following day for further discussion of the matter after conducting more negotiations with the applicant.

American Rescue Plan

In other news, the supervisors once again discussed the prospect of receiving $3.5 million from the federal government’s American Rescue Plan. At the supervisors’ May 24 meeting, the board learned that Jefferson County Auditor Scott Reneker objected to one of the requirements in the application about providing his personal information including a photo ID. Reneker said after the meeting that his office didn’t need to be involved in the application and that the Board of Supervisors could apply for the money.

By Monday’s meeting, there was still some confusion among the supervisors about the application. Jefferson County Elections Clerk Abbie Dekleine said an application had been started, which was filed on behalf of the whole county as opposed to just the auditor’s office. The supervisors discussed Washington County, which has already applied for and received money through the program.

Drish said she wanted to know how Washington County was able to get its money so quickly and what was holding up Jefferson County.

“I don’t want the county to lose $3.5 million,” Drish said. “This has gone on too long.”