The Washington County Board of Supervisors amended the agenda for their September 6th meeting to approve the County Attorney’s proposal to use an outside consultant to evaluate a possible HR issue. The amendment was proposed by Jack Seward, who met with Washington County Attorney John Gish on Friday, September 2nd.

Gish spoke at the meeting about this possible issue. “On Friday (Sept 2nd), there was a possible issue concerning HR that was brought to my attention after the agenda was finalized; this issue I felt needed to be addressed immediately and couldn’t wait until next week.  Jack and I spoke on Friday (Sept 2nd), and we agreed that it was best to get someone to come in and present their findings and opinions to the board.”

The consultant being brought in is Jack Reed, a consultant for and the owner of Iowa Negotiation & Consulting Services (INCS) of Ottumwa. Reed has previously worked with other Iowa counties to address HR issues. Washington County Attorney John Gish declined to provide further comment about the issue that is being evaluated.