The Guthrie County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Tuesday.

The meeting began with an update from County Attorney Brenna Bird. She discussed the new program she’s implementing July 1st for convicts who have served jail time to pay for their jail and court fees. She also reviewed the hiring process for a new assistant county attorney, as Tim Benton is retiring at the end of June.

Next, the Board tabled action on an agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation for designating a permanent detour route in case of an interstate closure. County Engineer Josh Sebern asked that it be tabled as he is still in talks with the DOT over concerns of excessive traffic weight on county roads and bridges. The Board then approved a $.58 hourly decrease for secondary roads employee John Lyall, as he is no longer capable of doing spraying operations.

Sebern then recommended an hourly increase of $.58 for employee Steve Stringham as an incentive for taking on increased spraying responsibilities. Human Resources Director Pam Lane gave reasoning for the increase, “His duties are actually changing from what’s in the job description. The focus is going to be on spraying for several months now instead of cleaning the ditches, the other things that he was doing. So we’re asking him to take on this chemical job.”

Several Supervisors argued that since spraying was already in Stringham’s job description a salary increase should not be warranted. The Board voted to disapprove the payroll change.