POLK COUNTY, Iowa — Two leaders in Iowa's largest county appear to be at odds over the enforcement of the county's COVID-19 vaccination policy, leading one to release a statement in his defense.
A Polk County Board of Supervisor's representative confirmed with Local 5 that Polk County Administrator John Norris and Sheriff Kevin Schneider discussed the policy following a recent meeting.
The contents of this discussion are not included in meeting minutes, due to the fact it happened following the meeting.
The policy, which was approved on Sept. 14, required all employees who did not show proof of vaccination by Sept. 30, to take weekly COVID-19 tests and engage in "educational requirements related COVID-19 vaccinations".
The signed policy can be viewed in the document below:
Local 5 News reached out to both Norris and Schneider, who were unavailable for interviews. However, Sheriff Schneider released a full statement that sheds some light on this discussion.
"I have worked tirelessly to encourage my staff to get the vaccine, and make it available for them," said Schneider. "As soon as the vaccination was available I worked with other elected leaders to advance the time frame for the Sheriff’s Office and other public safety staff in the community to be vaccinated. That said, I do not take a position that employees who choose not to be vaccinated, whatever their individual concerns may be, should lead to discipline or termination."
Schneider goes on to say an allegation was made his office is resisting the county's policy.
"To allege that I am resisting this policy, or in any way against vaccination, is completely false. I have not sat on my hands in opposition to the county’s testing mandate. To the contrary, we have dedicated significant staff hours to formulating a workable plan, and are the only county office or department who has been tasked with running our own testing program."
Schneider goes on to call the county's policy a "logistical nightmare" and says a major hurdle to developing a policy was the filing of a formal union grievance. The sheriff believes the grievance policy should be resolved before a policy is rolled out.
According to the statement, Schneider alleges a threat was made to his budget.
"Threatening retaliation against the Sheriff’s Office public safety budget, due to delays (most of which are out of our control) in implementing this policy is unacceptable," said Schneider. "This will only prevent the Sheriff’s Office from meeting our mission and public safety expectations. To take retaliatory action against our public safety budget, or to deny the public safety enhancements we request, only damages and weakens the public safety service our citizens have come to expect and rely on. I am not going to entertain threats and bullying from staffers who seek to hold the public safety budget hostage. I am beyond disappointed in this irresponsible rhetoric and behavior."
Local 5 News has also reached out to the Polk County Board of Supervisors but has not yet heard back at this time.
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