Cottonwood County Attorney Nick Anderson and his staff will be taking on duties for Jackson County, beginning in 2022.
A long-simmering disagreement over the duties of the Jackson County Attorney regarding child support work for Des Moines Valley Health and Human Services was resolved by Cottonwood County Commissioners Tuesday.
The board approved a contract with DVHHS to allow Anderson and Cottonwood County staff to work on child support work for Jackson County through DVHHS.
The contract would charge $120 per hour for attorney time and $25 per hour for secretarial time.
Anderson stated he would be willing to take on the additional duties, but asked the board to bring his secretarial staff to 2.5 FTE. Anderson stated he anticipates one of the current secretaries to retire in March, but potentially come back on a half-time basis.
The lack of willingness by Jackson County to address the issue raised the temperature among the board.
“I’m upset that our attorney and employees are having to do things for Jackson County,” Commissioner Donna Gravley stated.
Board Chair Tom Appel agreed, but added, “It’s the right thing to do, regardless of county lines.”
The board ultimately approved the contract request, as well as a request by Anderson to add a full-time employee. That position will be posted after the first of the year.
More on this week’s meeting appears in the Dec. 29 print edition of the Citizen.
