MOUND CITY – At the end of the Linn County Commission meeting on Monday, Sept. 11, a member of the audience said that he had a few questions for the commission.
Mike White, a rural Mound City resident who has become a regular attendee of commission meetings, first asked about the budget meeting last week and why, when wages were mentioned, no one asked any questions.
“David brings it up and there is very little discussion about it and then you guys approve it,” said White, referring to Linn County Clerk David Lamb. “It doesn’t feel right from my point of view that there is so little discussion about that.”
Employee salaries and the cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) were discussed at length during commission meetings on July 24 and again on Aug. 14.
Addressing commission Chair Danny McCullough, White’s next comment was that he was happy that Linn County Health Department Director Amanda Snyder attended Monday’s meeting.
At last week’s meeting, McCullough told the commissioners he had asked Snyder not to attend the meeting.
“Danny, there was a lot of people that were really upset with you about withholding the health clinic from coming over here and not addressing the commission and letting the taxpayers hear,” said White.
McCullough told White that it was his job as a chairman to control the meeting, and it wouldn’t have been controlled if Snyder had attended.
McCullough said he made the decision that he thought was best for the commission as a whole and for the county. He said Snyder does not need to come there every week.
There’s never been an issue with it. Just because there was an issue that was brought up doesn’t mean she should show up here. We haven’t made her come here prior to that, said McCullough.
“We never gave her any expectations from the beginning when we expected here to be here,” said McCullough.
McCullough told White that his job as chairman was to control the meeting and make sure that everything was kept “sane.”
The issue that centered around the health department the last two weeks was that Sheriff Kevin Friend had transferred a used vehicle from his department to the health department so they could pull their enclosed trailer to events. Snyder had sent an email to the commissioners asking if she could accept it.
At last week’s meeting, McCullough and Hightower agreed that she could but Johnson was against it.
McCullough thanked White, who had left the podium but was still talking, for coming and for his comments.
White ran against McCullough for the commission District No. 2 seat in 2020 but was defeated in the Republican primary.
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