Ousted Benton County health board sues supervisors

All five ousted members of the Benton County Board of Health, who were let go without warning in October, are suing the county and its Board of Supervisors for violating Iowa law by going into improper closed sessions leading up to the terminations.

The board’s former members — Margaret Mangold, Braxton Morrison, Kaitlin Emrich, Lisa Staab and Wendy Michels — contend the county supervisors — Tracy Seeman, Rick Primmer and Gary Bierschenk — didn’t have any public meetings where they discussed terminating the health board or disbanding the panel, which would be required under Iowa Code Chapter 21, according to the petition.

Leading up to the terminations, the supervisors had at least three closed sessions — on May 2, Sept. 26 and Oct. 3 — and discussed matters outside what is allowed by state law in closed sessions, the petition contends. Iowa law specifies 12 reasons a public board can close a meeting to the public, including discussion of pending litigation or evaluating an individual’s competency.

“The Benton County Board of Supervisors has violated Iowa Code Chapter 21 — open meetings law — by making decisions that have been discussed, debated and decided without public input, knowledge or consent,” the petition states.

The health board, whose members are appointed by the supervisors, oversees public health services in the county. For 29 years, those services were provided under an agreement with Virginia Gay Hospital in Vinton.

But last spring, the hospital ended that agreement effective in June, partly citing “the state combining the departments of Health and Human Services with the Department of Health and moving to population-based services,” a message to the public from the hospital stated.

According to the petition, the board terminations were connected to a county-based medical system the board proposed as an alternative — and that the supervisors had approved. That system came with a higher price tag, but the supervisors blamed the health board for the expense, the lawsuit asserts.

As the contract was ending, the health board started looking at multiple options, including subcontracting with other counties. The board ultimately decided to proceed with a county-based system, but looked at two possible structures for it. On April 26, the board chose to recommend providing environmental health and public health services under one administrator — not two.

On May 1, both options were presented to the supervisors. Health board members explained that having two administrators would cost more money. At the end of the meeting, the supervisors announced they planned to go into closed session the next day so they could discuss the issue without the health board being present.

Supervisors said they wanted to have two administrators, the petition states. The health board believed they would approve only that more expensive option, and eventually, the health board adopted the structure. An executive director was hired for the county-based system starting July 1, and a budget request was made to the supervisors — who didn’t request any cuts or amendments, the petition stated.

On Sept. 26, the supervisors met with the Benton County human resources director and Barb Greenlee, a joint board of health and supervisors employee, according to the petition. Minutes to the meeting suggest the supervisors improperly went into closed session, the petition contends.

On Oct. 3, certified letters were sent to members of the health board, stating their appointments were immediately terminated without providing an explanation.

On Oct. 6, former board member Mangold sent an email to the supervisors, asking for an explanation. That same day, new letters were sent, stating the supervisors decided not to continue with the health board members’ appointments.

On Oct. 24, the supervisors, after meeting in a closed session, stated the primary reason for the terminations was to reverse the 130 percent budget increase that was approved by the Board of Health.

Mangold, the same day, sent an email to Benton County Attorney Ray Lough, asking about her rights to a hearing. According to the petition, he replied with a vague note referring her to Iowa Code Section 331.321, which states a person appointed to a board can be removed without a written order.

The terminated board members asked the court to void the terminations and prevent the supervisors from implementing any restructuring plan, including disbanding the health board, that wasn’t approved during a public meeting. The ousted members also want their attorney fees and costs in bringing the petition to be reimbursed by the county and to assess any fines to the supervisors.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Andrew Chappell denied the request for an injunction. The petition should be served on the supervisors in compliance with civil procedure, he ruled, and allow them to respond before a hearing could be set.

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