According to payroll information obtained by The Messenger through a Freedom of Information Act request, between Dec. 2, 2022, and July 28, 2023, former Deputy Tom Steck received 18 paychecks totaling $50,848.16 before taxes and deductions.

During that time, Webster County also paid $6,447.60 in health insurance premiums and $4,388.81 in IPERS retirement contributions.

Additionally, the county covered $3,864.01 in Medicare and Social Security deductions.

In total, the county spent $65,548.58 across those 18 paychecks.

The total does not include the dates of Nov. 9-13 because those were part of a pay period that included time actually worked, nor does it include anything from July 24-27 because that pay period has not been paid out yet.

During the time Steck was on administrative leave, the Webster County Board of Supervisors approved the annual “step” increase in his salary from $32.71 to $33.83 per hour, effective May 12, despite his status on leave. The board determined that due to language of the existing collective bargaining agreement the county has with the sheriff’s deputies union, failing to provide that step increase would violate the collective bargaining agreement.

Steck was placed on administrative leave on Nov. 9, 2022, pending an investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation into allegations of criminal activity and misconduct. That investigation was finalized earlier this summer and according to an email from Webster County Sheriff Luke Fleener, the WCSO received a summary report of the DCI investigation in June. According to the report, the sheriff wrote, there will be no criminal charges filed against Steck and “almost all” of the allegations occurred when Steck was employed with the Fort Dodge Police Department. Prior to Steck’s hire at the WCSO in May 2021, he was a detective with the FDPD.

On Tuesday, Fleener told The Messenger that after receiving the summary report on June 17, he and Chief Deputy Derek Christie began an internal investigation to review the department’s policies and procedures and speak to legal advisors at the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool, which handles insurance for Iowa public entities. This was done in accordance with protocol established by Iowa Code 80F, also known as the “officer’s bill of rights,” the sheriff said.

In a July 27 email to WCSO staff, Fleener wrote that he and Christie began an administrative investigation into Steck’s possible policy violations on July 19 and that under the 80F law, they had 10 days to give Steck a conclusion to the investigation.

Steck resigned from the WCSO on July 27, a day before the 10-day deadline.

Fleener also wrote in the email to staff that he and Christie first learned of what the allegations against Steck were and who else was involved when he received the summary report from the DCI. However, former WCSO Detective Amy Stringer, who may sue the sheriff and others involved for retaliation, alleges that Webster County Attorney Darren Driscoll had previously informed the sheriff of the allegations against Steck that had been reported to the DCI and that the complainants were four women. Stringer wrote that because very few women work in the sheriff’s office, it was “not very difficult” to figure out who complained.

Stringer, who resigned from the WCSO in April after months of what she alleges was retaliation for reporting Steck to the DCI, alleges that Steck had been involved in sexual harassment within the local law enforcement agencies and other illegal activities. In June, she filed an official complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, naming Fleener, Christie, Steck, the Webster County Sheriff’s Office and the county as respondents.

Once a complaint has been on file with the Civil Rights Commission for 60 days, the complainant has the option of removing their complaint from the commission and its investigatory process in order to commence a lawsuit in state District Court. Stringer’s attorney, Roxanne Conlin, of Des Moines, indicated to The Messenger in June that they intend to file the suit in District Court.