(KMAland) – Page County officials have supported changes that would allow a non-veteran to assume oversight of the county’s veterans department.
At its regular meeting Thursday night, the Page County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution allowing the county’s Veterans Commission to hire a non-veteran as an administrator to oversee the department, instead of an executive director under Iowa Code. The move came after current executive director Janet Olsen announced she would retire at the end of August. While the commission had originally planned to hire current administrator Denise Bryant for the position because of her education and certifications, County Attorney Carl Sonksen says that would require the board to change the title of the person overseeing the department.
“My understanding is that they wanted to fill the position with someone who is not qualified because the current position is set up as ‘Veterans Only,'” Sonksen said. “But (supervisors) can change that because it’s subject to annual approval by the Board of Supervisors. So they can basically give (the commission) approval to change the position to an administrator, and if there are no other applicants, everything’s fine.”
The board approved a resolution in 2017 to establish the title of executive director. However, Sonksen says that even with the title change, the position will still be subject to “veteran preference” and must be advertised several days before the application deadline.
“Application forms must be fully completed and include an inquiry about the applicant’s military service,” Sonksen explained. “In addition, all vacancies in the political subdivisions of the state must be filled either through a competitive process or by posting the deadline for applications for the position. Notice must be given at least 10 days before the deadline and in the same manner as notice of meetings or notice provided under (Code Section) 21.4.”
Sonksen says “veteran preference” typically only comes into play when two applicants have the same qualifications and only one is a veteran. In addition to posting it on the door of the veterans office, they can also advertise the position on the county’s website, according to Jacob Holmes, chairman of the board of supervisors.
“You can send that position to the Audit Office and make sure we have a deadline (August 20),” Holmes said. “Because they’re going to enter it tomorrow later today.”
Sonksen says he also had a new job description for the administrator position reviewed by human resources to use in the application. The county plans to accept applications for the position through Aug. 20. In other business, the board approved the appointment of Sheri Hunter to the Board of Adjustments and heard an update from Jeff Curtis of the Samuels Group on construction and the re-bid process for the county’s new police center.