Lee County is putting out the help wanted sign.
The Board of Supervisors agreed to add up to three part-time security officers for the courthouses in Keokuk and Fort Madison.
Sheriff Jim Sholl said he has been informed by District Court Judge Mary Ann Brown that the officers would be needed for about 27 hours/week between the two buildings.
He said while two officers could handle such a workload, the third will make it easier to schedule vacations, sick leave, and other time away from the job.
Supervisor Matt Pflug said this is a no-brainer when it comes to improving security in the courthouses.
Sholl told Pflug the start dates for the part-timers would depend on how much experience they bring to the position. Sholl said that is why he will look for former law enforcement officers or security personnel.
The supervisors also gave County Attorney Mike Short permission to hire a paralegal to handle the county's collection program.
The county has been paying Assistant County Attorney Bruce McDonald more than $3,000/month to do the work out of his private law firm. That is nearly the projected cost of the new employee.
Short said the collection program targets people who are at least six months behind on paying victim restitution or associated court expenses.
"At that point, we file a notice of intent to collect and the state assigns it to us to collect," said Short.
He said the person is then contacted about setting up a plan to pay off the debt.
"A large number of these folks contact us because they want their (vehicle) registration (and) they want their drivers license back," said Short. "And we are the avenue to do that."
Short said the program has been extremely successful -- it's collected more than $100,000 each year for at least the last two years.
Short has a candidate in mind for the full-time position, someone who has been involved with the program already.
The county board's final personnel move this week was to authorize the training of three people from the county's ambulance service to be medical investigators.
Lee County Medical Examiner Eugenio Torres said they would be able to respond to the scene of a death in case he is not available.
"It will lessen my workload, " said Torres. "I am getting older and it is harder to get out of bed (at all hours of the night)."
A body cannot be moved at the scene of a death, be it natural causes or suspicious, without permission from a medical examiner or a medical investigator.
Torres said the primary difference is that a medical investigator cannot do an autopsy.
He said Lee is the only county in southeast Iowa without medical investigators, so this move could help the county when it comes time to find his replacement.
Torres has said he plans to retire in a couple of years.
