submitted by Supervisor Vicki Rowland to county newspapers.
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September 27, 2005
By Vicki Rowland
Fayette County Supervisor
One of my goals as a candidate for this office was to increase communication. I
envisioned a news column where county issues could be explained. I proposed
the idea to Mike Kennedy and John Bunn, the other two supervisors, and we
agreed to make this an open forum for all county officials to share information.
Since I have a background in writing and editing, it was agreed at the September
department head meeting that I will get the ball rolling and proofread and edit
other’s information if necessary.
What does a County Supervisor Do?
When I was asked to run for the position of supervisor, I did not fully know the
answer to this question. In the past nine months I have learned a lot. And I
continue to learn.
A county supervisor deals with many different kinds of issues. I made a list of
topics we discussed on a recent work day and came up with twelve different
issues. They ranged in nature from being mandated to spend $330,000 on new
voting machines to saving Fayette County hundreds of dollars by finding a new
source for bandages for first aid kits.
We have perfectly good voting machines in Fayette County. Our auditor, Larry
Popenhagen, has been ahead of his time by implementing electronic equipment
in the Fayette County voting process. However, our machines do not meet the
new regulations to make them handicapped compliant. Congress recently
passed HAVA (Help America Vote Act), and to be certified for the next federal
election, we have to buy new machines. To take some of the sting out of the
mandate, the Federal Government (ie our tax dollars) is paying for about half of
the cost. Nevertheless, this will still cost Fayette County about $170,000.
Multiply this by the 99 counties of Iowa and the fifty states of the Union, and it is a
very pricey ticket, coming to over twenty five million for Iowa alone. Could this
money be better utilized?
We don’t believe that not favoring these new HAVA regulations means being
against handicapped accessibility. But we have not had complaints or concerns
raised in Fayette County about being able to vote. One sight impaired voter
recently expressed her opinion this way--”I’d rather have a job than a new voting
machine.” It’s something to think about.
But Congress passed a law down to us at the county level--and therein lies the
problem.
And what do supervisors have to do with band aids? In an effort to be OSHA
compliant, departments in Fayette County have been ordering refills of their first
aid kits from a supply company located near Des Moines. Their employee drives
to Fayette County and stocks the first aid kits.. Last month the various tickets
totaled over $680. We can do better.
We pulled copies of the invoices and began an investigation. We researched the
OSHA regulations, contacted our insurance carrier for insurance input, and the
Public Health Department. Medical professionals met with the Board of
Supervisors and are seeking a more effective solution in terms of cost and
compliance. Ironically when Joyce Friederich of Public Health checked one of the
recently stocked first aid kits--she found, among other wrongs, expired bandages!
The various challenges make for interesting days. We have to be creative and
search for a solution that is “in the best interests of Fayette County.” That is our
guiding principle.
Well, that is enough for this time. Please feel free to contact your county
supervisors with your questions, ideas and concerns. Our office telephone is
563-422-3538. Our mailing address is PO Box 267, West Union, IA 52175.
