(Red Oak) The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors tabled a resolution at Tuesday morning’s meeting to possibly dissolve the county compensation board.
In 2023, the Iowa legislature passed a bill giving the county boards of supervisors the ability to dissolve county compensation boards. The change was pitched as giving the county supervisor greater flexibility and local control, and as aligning salaries more directly with budget/taxpayer considerations rather than having a separate board make recommendations.
Supervisor Alex Burton questioned why they were considering eliminating the compensation board?
Burton mentioned he did not see the compensation board’s report one year ago. Supervisor Bryant Amos says that was part of the problem.
Amos stated that, bottom line, the compensation board’s recommendation always comes back to the board of supervisors for their decision. Amos says the board of supervisors rarely uses their recommendation.
If a compensation board is dissolved (or not established), the county board of supervisors itself determines the compensation schedule for the elected county officers.
The Board of Supervisors tabled the decision. Alex Burton and Mark Petersen will contact the compensation board and hear their thoughts. The supervisor will act on the resolution to keep or dissolve the compensation board at the future meeting.
