March 18, 2024

Supervisors approve part-time Veterans Affairs clerk

A part-time temporary Veterans Affairs clerk position was approved at the Jasper County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday.

The details of the position are not yet known but could potentially start at 20 hours per week with pay at $15 per hour for help with office work. Chris Chartier, Jasper County Veterans Affairs Director, initially suggested the position be budgeted for two years.

“What I would be much more comfortable with is creating a one year, temporary part-time position and then during this year if we can demonstrate that we are getting our bang for our buck and our veterans are getting served better, then I would certainly look to change it to a permanent part-time, but I would like to see some results,” Supervisor Dennis Stevenson said.

Chartier said that he would make that change work, and would like to get to get caught up in his department.

“I just want to get to work. I have a lot to do, I have been pushing for this for four months and now I’m four months behind on the efforts that you are assessing that I am going to make things better with. Give it to me temporarily and I will make it work,” Chartier said.

Supervisor Denny Carpenter brought up the quarterly reports that Chartier submitted and how the activity numbers have stayed flat and said he understood the concern the board has had about approving this position.

“I think this is how we can get it going and you can prove to us that it is very necessary and that it is something that we need to continue,” Stevenson said.

In other business, the 2015-2016 fiscal year budget was approved by the board after a public hearing was held with no comments received. A future public hearing for an amendment to the 2014-2015 fiscal year budget was set for 9:30 a.m. March 17.

Treasurer Doug Bishop gave a report on the National Association of Counties (NACO) conference he attended Feb. 21-23 in Washington, D.C. He spoke about the push on NACO’s part to keep mental health individuals out of jails and that he had discussed with the sheriff’s office ideas he received from the conference. Another piece of information he found useful was the economic development efforts that will help track job creation, veterans and similar parts of the county government. Finally, he talked about cyber security and how the county is on top of the game and already doing many suggestions the conference offered.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com