Winneshiek County Adds Clerk to Treasurer's Office, Returning Staff to Full Capacity

DECORAH, Iowa — Winneshiek County officials approved the hiring of a new clerk Monday. Local business owner Eric Sovern will join the office under County Treasurer Tim Smock, who told the Board of Supervisors that the addition would bring the treasurer's office back to its previous staffing level after a vacancy left by the retirement of the former county treasurer, Brenda Kreitzer. During the meeting, member of the public, Dr. Rebecca Swella Smedsrud questioned the need for the additional hire, suggesting that the courthouse did not appear to be overwhelmed by public demand during her own visit. "I was just in to pay my taxes on a Thursday in March. And guess what? There was one person here and giving help," she said. "I had to wait about thirty seconds. And then I walked in, and there was a person sitting at a desk, and two people standing here. So is it that busy that you need six people?" Smedsrud also asked Smock how many people the office typically interacts with in a day and whether that volume is being tracked. Smock said he had prepared documentation to support the staffing request. "I actually presented that full report to the [Board of Supervisors]," he said, though he acknowledged that not everyone may have seen it. " Smock defended the hire by citing comparative data. "Even with the hire, we still have the highest population-to-staff ratio of any treasurer's office in Iowa, around our size," he noted. The conversation expanded to a broader discussion about how services are provided, particularly the use of an appointment system. Supervisors questioned whether requiring appointments might be deterring walk-in service, while Smock maintained the current process has worked well overall. "They work really well, personally, because people are able to be prepared when they walk in," he said. "Now granted, when [we have] appointments, we take them. If somebody walks in the office, I bet at least two out of three we're able to just serve in the office right then." One suggestion raised during the meeting was to make appointments optional and present them as a customer-friendly alternative rather than a requirement. "It might seem better to the public if it was… appointments optional, 'for your convenience' or something," Supervisor Steve Kelsay suggested. Smock warned that it might increase usage by residents of other counties, which could burden local resources. "My only hold-up on that is that once it starts opening up, I can get a lot of people from other counties," he said. "I'm not opposed to it. I'm open to talking about it." The board also discussed the legality and practicality of charging a state-authorized convenience fee to out-of-county residents who use the office's services. "There's a $10 convenience fee for using another county that was established by the state — it's in our code," Kelsay said. "Is that correct?" "It's optional, but it's available," Smock replied. No supervisors voiced opposition to Sovern's hiring during the discussion and moved forward with unanimous approval.