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Des Moines County Compensation Board member Dan Cahill hands out materials as sheriff Kevin Glendening reads Cahill’s proposal at the county supervisors’ weekly meeting Tuesday Jan. 31 2023. Cahill asked the supervisors to approve salary raises ranging from 10% for county officials to 20% for the sheriff. The board approved the request after approving a 30% cut in Cahill’s proposal. (Bob Saar/The Hawk Eye)
Des Moines County Compensation Board member Dan Cahill hands out materials at the county supervisors’ weekly meeting Tuesday. Cahill asked the supervisors to approve salary raises ranging from 10% for county officials to 20% for the sheriff. The board approved the request after agreeing to a 30% cut in Cahill’s proposal.(Bob Saar/The Hawk Eye)
Des Moines County Compensation Board member Dan Cahill hands out materials as sheriff Kevin Glendening reads Cahill’s proposal at the county supervisors’ weekly meeting Tuesday Jan. 31 2023. Cahill asked the supervisors to approve salary raises ranging from 10% for county officials to 20% for the sheriff. The board approved the request after approving a 30% cut in Cahill’s proposal. (Bob Saar/The Hawk Eye)
Des Moines County Compensation Board member Dan Cahill hands out materials at the county supervisors’ weekly meeting Tuesday. Cahill asked the supervisors to approve salary raises ranging from 10% for county officials to 20% for the sheriff. The board approved the request after agreeing to a 30% cut in Cahill’s proposal.(Bob Saar/The Hawk Eye)
The Des Moines County Board of Supervisors heard several proposals at their regular meeting Tuesday at the Des Moines County Courthouse.
After electing supervisor Jim Cary to a one-year term on the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission’s board of directors, supervisors Shane McCampbell, Thomas Broeker and Cary listened to a lengthy proposal by Des Moines County compensation board member Dan Cahill.
Salary hikesCahill’s group asked for raises to county salaries to bring DMC paychecks in line with nine other Iowa counties of similar population. Cahill’s seven-page proposal presented a thorough argument for raising salaries; for example, the county attorney’s salary would increase by 8.39% from $122,011 to the 10-county average of $133,187, an $11,175 hike.
The other nine counties are Warren, Clinton, Cerro Gordo, Muscatine, Marshall, Jasper, Webster, Sioux, Wapello and Marion, with Muscatine the highest at $149,618 and Wapello the lowest at $97,516.
The compensation board recommended a 20% salary increase for the sheriff, 10% for county officials and 3% for the supervisors.
Cahill’s presentation was passionate and on-target and well supported with data from sources including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and a salary comparison prepared by compensation board member Charles Walsh, whose data supported the compensation board’s recommended 30.5% salary increase for the sheriff.
“Iowa has a great law,” Cahill said. “They don’t let elected officials set their own salary.” He gave the example of a California town where city council members were reportedly making $250,000 per year by their own vote. According to the website Transparent California, supervisors in San Bernardino County were paid a minimum of $250,000 in 2021.
“In Iowa, that can’t happen,” Cahill said, explaining that an Iowa statute says each county will have a compensation commission to advise appropriate salaries for elected officials.
“The law also provides that we just make recommendations; it’s up to the board of supervisors to approve,” Cahill said.
At Cary’s suggestion, the supervisors approved Cahill’s request with a 30% cut in his proposal. In 2022 the supervisors approved a 3.85% raise for all elected county officials: auditor, attorney, recorder, sheriff, treasurer and the three supervisors.
All three supervisors spoke in support of Glendening and thanked Cahill for his long service to the county.
“Am I happy with that?” Cahill said later, when asked about the seventy percent approval. “I would rather it be a hundred percent. But I expected it might be fifty percent.”
Medicaid changes comingCommunity Services director Ken Hyndman handed out a six-page overview of Medicaid in Iowa explaining upcoming changes to Medicaid recipients.
Iowa Medicaid is a program paying covered medical and health care costs of people who qualify — in Iowa, the maximum income level for a family of four is $36,908; for an individual it’s $18,075. The Medicaid program is funded by federal and state government and is managed by the Iowa Department of Human Services.
“There are 91 million people in the United States who will be going through Medicaid renewals,” Hyndman said, explaining that in 2020, Medicaid renewals were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Now everybody has to go back through the renewal process.”
In December, president Joe Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, delinking the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement from the COVID-19 public health emergency, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The bill established April 1, 2023 as the date for resuming Medicaid terminations and set standards to help mitigate coverage losses as the requirement ends. With this advance notice, states must now act to ensure that eligible individuals stay covered.
Called the largest Medicaid event since the Affordable Care Act, the continuous enrollment provision ends on March 31, 2023, and enhanced federal Medicaid matching funds will be phased down through December 2023.
Medicaid health benefits in Iowa are presently administered by two managed-care organizations: Amerigroup Iowa, a subsidiary of Indiana-based Elevance Health, Inc., and Iowa Total Care, a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Centene. Amerigroup’s contract ends this year; 2023; ITC’s contract runs until 2025.
Beginning in July, Iowa Medicaid members can choose the newly added Molina Health of Iowa.
The three MCOs will offer health care coverage to approximately 850,000 Medicaid beneficiaries in Iowa.
What is an MCO?A managed health care organization, or MCO, is a health care company sometimes referred to as a “health plan.” It is a group of doctors, hospitals and other providers who work together to meet health care needs.
After a member has been with a MCO or dental plan for 12 months, they have the opportunity to change their MCO or dental plan for any reason during their annual open choice period.
Hyndman said an estimated 15 million Americans will lose their Medicaid coverage during this renewal process.
“It’s been awhile since people have had to renew their Medicaid; they’ve been auto-renewing it,” Hyndman said. “The message I’d like to get out is, if you’ve moved in the past few years, be sure Iowa Medicaid and the Department of Health and Human Services have your new address so you get all your renewal information and the people who truly are eligible have a chance to get renewed.”
For more information about Medicaid in Iowa visit hhs.iowa.gov.
Senior and Disabled property tax creditTreasurer Janelle Nalley-Londquist said the Iowa property tax credit claim forms, better known as the elderly credit form, have been mailed out to previous recipients and must be filed by June 1.
Iowa’s Senior and Disabled property tax credit offers elderly or disabled Iowans a tax credit ranging between $3,750 and $7,500. Applicants must be totally disabled or be 65 years and older with a total household income of less than $25,328.
The Board of Supervisors meets Tuesdays at 9 a.m. The meeting will live-stream at dmcounty.com/youtube or the live stream available on the county website News Flash feature at dmcounty.com/CivicAlerts.
The public is invited to submit comments to the Board of Supervisors at board@dmcounty.com or by calling 319-753-8203 extension 4.
A recording of Tuesday’s meeting is available on the DMC Web site dmcounty.com.
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