IOWA CITY

Rod Sullivan, a longtime Johnson County Supervisor who will end his time on the board at the end of this year, questioned the salaries and actual working time of supervisors in a board meeting last week.

“I think it’s really important to show your work, if you will,” Sullivan said during an Aug. 19 work session. “I think it’s important to show the public that what it is that you did and how you spent that time.”

In salaries alone, Johnson County supervisors are paid about $102,000 annually, or more than half a million dollars for all five, plus county employee benefits that include vacation, medical insurance and retirement payments.

Sullivan’s proposal stated a belief that supervisors may be actually working fewer than 20 hours a week, but what counts as time worked and what doesn’t is an unclear area (such as a public event). Supervisor Lisa Green-Douglass said she has done her own time studies, and time worked has consistently come out to 88% of full time.

The issue attracted public comment prior to the work session, including statements by three supervisor candidates.

“The issue of the supervisor salaries comes up over and over and over again, wherever I go,” said District 3 candidate Sue Dvorsky, the Democratic candidate in a district that includes rural southwest Johnson County. “It is not a partisan issue. It’s not even a personal issue.”

“This is not about your brother-in-law buying a car and coming to Thanksgiving and you think your sister is in trouble,” Dvorsky said. “That’s not what this is. These are tax dollars. And I think that is incredibly important that we actually talk about this.”

Jennie Wunderlich, the District 3 Republican candidate from rural Kalona, pointed out that Scott County supervisors earn less than $50,000, while supervisors in larger Polk County make about $149,000.

Phil Hemingway, a District 2 Republican candidate who is running against Board Chair Jon Green of Lone Tree, said salaries have gone up more than 43% in recent years.

Board pay comes before the Johnson County Compensation Committee each year, and supervisor salaries and other elected official salaries are determined by the supervisors themselves. This year, while other elected officials received pay increases, the supervisors decided not to take a pay increase.

Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz, while agreeing with an initiative to look at supervisor work time and pay, also challenged Sullivan.

“I just find it interesting that this proposal is coming forth right now,” said Fixmer-Oraiz, who defeated Sullivan in a Democratic primary election in June. “That’s all I’m going to say about it because there’s been ample opportunity for this to come forward during your tenure.”

Green said he has been working with county officials on a set of by-laws for Board supervisors.

Lulu Johnson Statue

A ceremony to celebrate the installation of a Dr. Lulu Merle Johnson statue outside of the Johnson County Administration building on South Dubuque Street will begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

The statue, which was created by Steve Maxon of Max-Cast in Kalona, is part of a plaza designed for the project.

Dr. Lulu Merle Johnson, who was the first African-American woman to earn a PhD at the University of Iowa, is the new eponym for Johnson County.

Saturday’s event is free and open to the public.

Board Action

The Board approved 10 Quality of Life grant agreements totaling $127,900, including $30,000 for AgriCulture and $18,100 for the Iowa Children’s Museum.

The Board set 5:30 p.m. Sept. 10 as the date for the monthly evening formal session for zoning and platting applications, and public hearings.

The Board approved an amendment to the county’s Human Rights Ordinance to add a definition of sex stereotyping.

The Board approved six additional part-time Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs).

Next Meeting

The next formal session is scheduled for 9 a.m. August 27.