07/12/2025
Benefits question an issue for county employees
By BARBARA PROFFITT
Linn County News
[email protected]
A poll sent to Linn County employees mid-week asking which benefit they would prefer to lose has created a spark of animosity among those who received it. One person anonymously shared it to a Mound City-oriented page as a screen shot along with their comments highlighting just how they felt about the ultimatum it seemed to give.
The screenshot shared on Facebook shows a question which states, "In an effort to attempt to stay revenue neutral, commissioners have asked that all employees please select which benefit you would be most willing to part with?" It then offers three choices of their HSA, their preferred insurance vendor of Blue Cross Blue Shield, or foregoing a raise for the 2026 year. The poll appears in the screenshot shared on Facebook to have been sent by County Clerk Danielle Souza.
According to one employee, the poll was put out via Strawpoll.com for a 24-hour period and employees were given the impression it was pick one by majority choice or it would be chosen for them.
Since then, several other county employees have taken to social media to post comments which echo one sentiment - a lack of concern for county employees.
The anonymous poster who added the screenshot also noted that many employees are not earning competitive wages for what they do and noted that several employees are already reaching out to other employers, insinuating that the county could see a mass exodus of employees.
Commissioners met on Friday afternoon with Souza and County Counselor Jacklyn Paletta, as well as, budget consultant Scot Loyd of the Scot Loyd Group who was hired to aid Souza in the budget preparation this year for a budget workshop. During that workshop, the commissioners reviewed basic numbers in comparison to budgets from 2024 and 2025; however, no final decisions were made on any of the budgets at that time.
Revenue neutral is when a taxing jurisdiction budgets the exact same amount of property tax revenue, in dollars, for the upcoming budget year as they did for the current year. For example, if a taxing entity uses $1 million of property tax revenue in 2025, revenue neutral means they plan to only use $1 million in 2026. If a taxing jurisdiction such as Linn County plans to use more property tax revenue in the next budget year compared to the current year, even $1 more, they would exceed revenue neutral and would need to hold a public hearing.
The effort to maintain a revenue neutral budget is something former County Clerk David Lamb had warned in years past that the county would not be able to meet year after year. Lamb had also stated it would be impossible to do with the income being generated by the contracts for farm-in inmates that the Linn County Jail currently holds with the U.S. Marshals Service and Wyandotte County. That income, once billed and received by the county, is deposited into the general fund. In 2024, jail contracts and billing generated $1.6 million in revenue. Sheriff James Akes equated that to roughly 7.2 mills.
During Friday's workshop, the consultant noted that Linn County is one of six counties he is working with in which the county clerk is brand new and has had no training for government budgeting.
"This is not something they teach in college," he told commissioners.
At the end of the workshop, commissioners opened the floor to public comment and Undersheriff Bobby Johnson began by acknowledging that the commission has a tough job ahead of them.
"I know what it's like to be in a profession where it's damned if you do and damned if you don't," he continued, "and right now you're right there, and I'm sure you're feeling it from every direction."
Undersheriff Johnson went on to note that while he is not the elected official at the County Sheriff's office, he does currently have approximately 50 people working under him at the LCSO and the county jail and noted that those 50 people are scared to death that they're not going to have as good a health insurance plan, their HSA (health spending account) or a benefit they rightfully deserve.
He asked commissioners to come over on Monday afternoon and sit down with them to go through their budget. He warned the commissioners that after hearing from county employees, in his department and in others, that there will be people who will leave.
He then added in conclusion, "If we lose folks, we go backward, because we spend a lot of time and money training people."
Commissioner Alison Hamilton then noted that they had sought input from the employees, not in an effort to target benefits, but to ensure that the decisions they make "reflected the insight of those who serve the county every day, not just department heads."
