County recorder to retire Oct. 30
~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
The doubtful future of the Jefferson police department was again a topic discussed at the regular meeting of the Greene County board of supervisors on Aug. 31.
County sheriff Jack Williams spoke of a law enforcement committee meeting planned for Tuesday at the Law Enforcement Center to discuss adding personnel.
“Another Jefferson officer will likely resign this week, off to Guthrie County,” Williams said. “The sheriff’s office is going to be working overtime to cover. We need to hire one more (deputy).”
“If we’re responsible for the entire county (including the city of Jefferson) we don’t want temporary (positions),” said Williams.
“We need people who are committed and we’ll be committed to them,” said board chair John Muir.
County attorney Thomas Laehn said, “The city needs to let us know whether their plan is to rebuild the police department or let it collapse.”
Laehn said a 28E agreement between the city and county outlining which services the county could provide and invoice the city for would give the city time to rebuild. “We can’t make a decision on a 28E agreement until we know whether the city wants to rebuild the police force,” he said.
“We need to be respectful of the city’s position,” Muir said. “The city code will have to go unenforced (if the sheriff’s office covers the city.)”
Williams said it takes six months to a year to get an officer on the street, referring to training and experience with another officer as being necessary before a new officer can function alone.
The next step appears to be for the city to decide whether to pursue a 28E agreement with the county for the sheriff’s office to cover only emergencies in the city until the police department can be rebuilt, or to let the police department collapse and let the county hire additional deputies to cover needs in the city.
At a previous board meeting, Williams stated there were 1,500 emergency calls in Jefferson annually.
“We’re ready to do what we’re responsible to do,” said Muir.
In other business, recorder Marcia Tasler presented a letter of retirement to the board from her work of 43 years in Greene County. Her last day will be Oct. 30. Tasler recommended deputy recorder Deb McDonald to become the new recorder. The board thanked Tasler for her years of service to the county.
No action was taken on Tasler’s recommendation of McDonald as recorder.
Tasler has been elected as a Democrat during her tenure as recorder. Two years remain of her term.
Per the Code of Iowa, the county board of supervisors shall appoint someone to serve as recorder until the next election, unless a petition calling for a special election is filed. At least until the end of the year, the entire board of supervisors is Republican.
Muir also read a notice of retirement from deputy treasurer Denise Stofer effective Nov. 30. Stofer was also thanked for her service.
County engineer Wade Weiss reported five of the bells in the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower had been struck by lightning. Weiss said he is getting repair estimates. A crane and operator will be needed to reach the bells.
The board unanimously approved hiring Amanda Clouse as part-time law enforcement dispatcher starting Sept. 1 at $14 per hour and increasing to $15 per hour upon certification.
The board extended audio participation in board meetings through Zoom through the month of September due to the pandemic.
