The monthly department head meeting at the Henry County Courthouse was held on Thursday morning. If you owe property taxes still, be expecting a letter from the Treasurer, and if you’re looking for a COVID shot, Henry County Public Health is out for now, so they are directing people to HyVee.
Emergency Management Director, Walt Jackson, spoke about the tornado that ripped through Southeast Iowa and thanked the Sheriff and road departments. He mentioned that we suffered heavy structural damage from the storm. A Henry County Sheriff car ran into a deer that same night, and the car was determined to be totaled. However, the same squad car was on its way to decommission anyway, so the storm and deer just combined to make it happen a little easier.
Early voting will begin on May 15th for the upcoming primaries on June 4th, according to the Henry County Auditor. That will take place in the conference room at the courthouse.
Just before adjournment, concerned citizens asked the Henry County Supervisors about a noticeable absentee from the department head meeting. Joe Buffington, Planning and Zoning Director, was missing from the meeting, although it was explained that he was at an appointment. Citizens pressed on, urging the Supervisors to meet with Buffington once a month from now on. The supervisors seemed to agree that this was a fair request. Joe Buffington is on the agenda for next Thursday, May 9th, to give a monthly update.
Another citizen in the crowd brought up employee timesheets in the county. Recently, a Human Resources Representative was asked to investigate allegations of the falsification of time records. After doing a thorough investigation, it was determined that out of 9 employees across two departments who were meant to work 7.5 hours on a day in question, 2 of those clocked less than 5 hours, one use accrued leave, three worked between 7.12 hours and 7.33, and two employees did not report to work at all. One employee worked 8.38 hours on that day. It seems further investigation is in the works.