Government : Benton County Board of Supervisors Minutes 12/16/25

December 16, 2025

The Benton County Board of Supervisors met in regular session with Supervisors Seeman, Tippett and Volz present. Chairman Seeman called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. at the Benton County Service Center. Members of the public are invited to join in during open session or watch the livestream at https://www.youtube.com/bentoncountyiowa. Full Resolutions will be available in the Auditor’s office and at: www.bentoncountyia.gov

Volz moved/Tippett seconded: To approve the Agenda. Tippett, Seeman and Volz voting aye. Motion carried.

Tippett moved/Volz seconded: To approve the minutes from Tuesday, December 9, 2025. Tippett, Seeman and Volz voting aye. Motion carried.

Hayley Rippel, Benton County Auditor reported on the unemployment pool through Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) is dissolving. The county received half of their reserve fund back from ISAC and needs to set up a proprietary fund to deposit this into. There was also discussion on the percentage to budget for, we have historically budgeted .3% although Iowa Workforce Development is recommending .1%. Instead of the county paying ISAC quarterly, we will now pay those claims directly to Iowa Workforce Development. The Board can discuss further the percentage they are comfortable with. This is another thing that needs to be decided so that the other department heads can budget accordingly.

Tippett moved/Volz second: To approve Resolution #25-101, Creating an Unemployment Fund -8502 for all internal funds relating to unemployment transactions effective January, 2025.

Tippett, Seeman and Volz voting aye. Motion carried.

Volz moved/Tippett seconded: To acknowledge resignation of Les Wood, Reserve Deputy at the Sheriff’s Office. Tippett, Seeman and Volz voting aye. Motion carried.

Supervisor Tippett attended Board of Health Meeting along with Auditor Rippel, they are finalizing their FY 27 Budget. They too are waiting on health insurance amounts along with wage increased to fully finalize. Tippett also reported on his recent Central Iowa Juvenile Detention Meeting in Eldora. They are re-doing their 28E agreements, and the non-members will be able to pass a resolution requesting to be a member county again. They did just officially appoint their new director as well.

The other two board members didn’t have any meetings to report on.

Auditor Rippel wanted to pass along some of the feedback going back and forth amongst department heads. In lieu of getting a letter from the Supervisors regarding the discussion last week about freezing the wages. They felt like they deserved an in person meeting. Rippel suggested getting something set up after the first of the year. The Board agreed and recommended a Monday morning would probably work the best and told Rippel to get something scheduled. Assistant County Attorney Derek Marsh reported he finish drafting the letter for the unions asking them to consider a wage freeze as well.

Volz moved/Tippett seconded: To approve farm exemption application for Malinda Riley in a part of the SE ¼ NE ¼ of Section 27-82-9. Tippett, Seeman and Volz voting aye. Motion carried.

Jane Drapeaux, Hawkeye Area Community Action Partners (HACAP) was present to introduce her successor as she is retiring. Matt Majeskin will be replacing Jane after her retirement. The gave a handout that showed a recap of the 2025 Services provided to Benton County. The FY 27 request is a 3% increase from last year. In total they are asking for $81,138.00. This will be split as such: $10,300 goes to the Belle Plaine Senior Dining, $22,339 for Belle Plaine Housing Program and $48,499 will go towards Vinton/North Benton Senior services. HACAP has served over 1,000 households. Services included repairs, food assistance, mortgage and rent assistance, and utility and energy assistance.

Volz moved/Tippett seconded: To approve Resolution #25-102, Hiring Charles Betterton as Maintainer Operator at Bruce Center, Secondary Roads with a starting wage of $28.68 (labor grade IVA) effective December 15, 2025. Tippett, Seeman and Volz voting aye. Motion carried.

Tippett moved/Volz seconded: To approve Resolution #25-103, Bridge Embargo Removal 0.5 PO-0520 0.5 mile west of the NE corner of section 18-86N-9W (Polk Township) on 52nd Street. Tippett, Seeman and Volz voting aye. Motion carried.

Engineer Myron Parizek provided an update on the snow removal over the past two weekends. The Board has heard a lot of compliments of the good job the crew is doing.

Seeman moved/Volz seconded: To adjourn meeting at 9:57 a.m. Volz, Seeman and Tippett voting aye. Motion carried.