The Cass County Board of Supervisors today (Wednesday) voted unanimously to include on the ballot for the November General Election, a Public Measure that would, if approved by the voters, allow for the appointment of township officers (namely the Township Clerk and Trustees) by the Supervisors, rather than by election. A Victoria Township official asked the Board to consider placing the Measure on the ballot. Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman said Iowa Code allows the Supervisors to place the Public Measure on the ballot. The last time it came up for a vote in some of the townships, was two-years ago.

Currently, only four townships have their officers chosen by election. They include Benton, Edna, Union and Victoria. If, during the election, any of those individual townships fail to approve the measure, the procedure for electing their officers would remain unchanged. The Measure must be approved by a majority of voters in each township. 12 townships within the county have their officers selected by appointment, through the Board. A template for the Resolution approved by the Supervisors was put together by ISAC (The Iowa State Association of Counties).

The Supervisors also voted to award a tuckpointing contract for the courthouse and jail, to Karr Tuckpointing, LLC, in Vinton. Karr’s bid for tuckpointing the courthouse was $70,972, with the correctional facility an additional $13,171, for a total of $83,268. The contract will not include a sealing treatment, until more research can be conducted by the board, on the need for the substance. The use of water repellent/sealer was bid separately by both Karr and Schoonover Tuckpointing. The contract will also stipulate that work will not begin on the project until the Spring of 2013.