MADISON COUNTY, Iowa – Transparency concerns were on the mind for some at the Madison County Board of Supervisors Meeting Tuesday morning.

“This does go in the opposite direction of transparency,” said resident and former county employee Michelle Brant during Tuesday’s public comment section.

The board voted on a resolution to outsource its IT department. The department helps the county government with technology needs in many areas, including handling public information requests. The move leaves the IT specialist out of a job and comes weeks after the board decided to get rid of its own clerk and pass her duties to a part-time employee within the Auditor’s Office.

Brant was that clerk and said that she was at the March 3 work session when the discussion about dissolving her position took place. She was reportedly taken by surprise by the news and then preempted the board’s official action by resigning a couple of days later.

You can listen to the March 3 work session audio below (the 5:18 mark is where the discussion begins regarding the Board Clerk position):

Brant provided a copy of her resignation letter (below) to WHO-13.

In her position as Board clerk for the BOS and Auditor’s Office, Brant also fulfilled some public records requests and ensured many of the transparency processes were followed properly.

Roughly two months after her departure, she is apparently still keeping tabs on BOS operations and decided to speak up during Tuesday’s meeting about alleged transparency shortfalls. Some of those shortfalls allegedly include meeting agendas not being issued when requested by members of the public, a failure to clarify documented information that was changed regarding governmental proceedings, and a lack of information regarding what issues public speakers address in official meeting minute records.

“What I’m saying with all these small changes, although they are ministerial, they do matter as a cumulative change of which direction we’re going,” she said. “I know I would appreciate these kind of changes being communicated with the public.”

The BOS did not address the transparency concerns during the meeting. Supervisors generally do not respond to complaints made during public comments.

Supervisor Heather Stancil, the chair of the BOS, stated that fully outsourcing IT to Solutions, Inc., a managed services program that already handles some of the county’s needs, would save the county money, and aligns with her campaign promise of lowering taxes and her goal of shrinking government. Supervisor Jessica Hobbs said she liked the idea of outsourcing the responsibilities to a larger company that could provide more round-the-clock support for county IT issues.

However, Supervisor Diane Fitch was largely against the move, stating she was not in favor of sending taxpayer jobs out of the county, and that she had major concerns about outsourcing to Solutions, Inc., as the company was repeatedly blamed for some of the Treasurer’s past issues with wrong or late deposits. WHO-13 has received several emails that were sent to local government officials that appear to support this claim. Recipients of the email have been redacted by WHO-13, per the sender’s request. In response to Supervisor Fitch’s comments, Supervisor Stancil stated it was a different entity involved.

Ultimately, the board passed the resolution to outsource the IT department in a 2-To-1 vote. You can view the newly approved multi-page contract between Madison County and Solutions, Inc., for IT management services in the agenda packet.

It is unclear how federally mandated public records will be fulfilled when requested moving forward.

The concerns come as multiple state-level investigations surrounding the county government are ongoing. Due to a large amount of public concern, WHO-13 has been monitoring board meetings for months and reporting on issues as they arise.