Supervisors schedule appointing new County Treasurer at August 19 meeting, hear candidate and election overview regarding that office vacancy; Approval also given to low bid for courthouse network cable, security camera upgrade

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, August 5 to address a full agenda of matters including the consideration of setting a date and time for appointing a County Treasurer, discussion and consideration of bids for the CAT6 network cable and security camera upgrade work for the County Courthouse, and the consideration of new tandem truck chassis quotes.

The meeting was called to order by Board of Supervisors Chairperson Dan Byrnes with Supervisors Mark Reiser and Dennis Keatley present. There was no Public Comment during the time allotted for that agenda item.

The meeting moved into the notice of efiling Manure Management Plans (MMP)/Updates for: Wayne and Shelly Weber Farm, Gruber Ridge LLC, Millerway, Long View Ridge, Enyart Dairy, McCormick Site #4 and GLH Pork. Byrnes clarified that this matter is included on the meeting agenda to inform the public that new MMPs or plan updates have been submitted to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and are available for viewing on the DNR website.

Byrnes advised that the public is welcome to contact the County Auditor’s office if there are any questions or if assistance is needed in finding MMPs online. No action was necessary relating to this informational matter.

The Supervisors next addressed setting a date and time for appointing a County Treasurer. At the July 29 Supervisors meeting, Allamakee County Treasurer Jennifer O’Neill read aloud her letter of resignation noting that the she has accepted a position with Harris Local Government/“Solutions” Inc. as Senior Application Support for Treasurers starting August 12 with August 11 being her last day of employment as Allamakee County Treasurer.

At the August 5 Supervisors meeting, County Auditor Denise Beyer advised that a public notice relating to the appointment of County Treasurer must be published at least four days or no more than 20 days before the date of appointment. To allow sufficient time for the publication of the Notice of Intent to Appoint, Beyer recommended setting the time and date for this appointment as 9:40 a.m. Monday, August 19.

Beyer advised that the individual appointed would serve as County Treasurer through the Tuesday, November 5 general election, at which time the individual would be on the ballot as a candidate, and if elected would serve the remainder of the term ending in 2026. Beyer advised that if another candidate were to win, that individual would take office within 10 days of the election canvass after the general election.

Beyer also provided an overview of the steps candidates would need to take as an independent or party affiliated candidate for this partisan post with the June 4 primary election already completed and the upcoming November 5 general election just three months away. She noted steps necessary for a special election with a petition containing 580 signatures at a minimum, at least 10 percent of the number of votes from the previous general election, being necessary.

Beyer further noted issues restricting a special election this close to the general election with the four weeks before and four weeks after the general election being blocked out. Following discussion, the Supervisors approved Beyer’s recommendation to set the appointment of a new County Treasurer for 9:40 a.m. Monday, August 19.

To read the full article, pick up the Wednesday, August 7, 2024 print edition of The Standard or subscribe to our e-edition or print edition by clicking here.