~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
County attorney Thomas Laehn and general assistance coordinator Michael Bierl presented a revised general assistance policy to the Greene County board of supervisors at the regular meeting on Nov. 20.
Laehn explained the awarding of general assistance to poor and needy persons in Greene County is then considered a property right and the 14th amendment to the Constitution requires a due process procedure for appeal if that award is withdrawn.
“We need to have a robust appeal process in place,” Laehn said. “Otherwise, the (general assistance policy) is constitutionally deficient.”
Laehn said the revised policy defines “the family unit” and cleans up the application form.
“The county is the last resort for assistance,” Laehn said. “(Applicants for general assistance) should apply to other agencies first, such as New Opportunities.”
Bierl described typical expenses that can be covered by assistance, such as rent, and maximum payments allowed. He showed the board budgets from the past three years.
Bierl and Laehn described inflation since the last update to the general assistance policy in 2019. The example used was a rent of $400 in 2019 for one person with $25 per additional person in the family up to a maximum of $500. They said in today’s currency, the rent would become $484 to a maximum of $605.
Laehn said the amount for funeral assistance was updated in 2019 and he suggested the board might want to consider updating assistance for utility and other expenses.
“We need to stay educated,” chair John Muir said. “We want Mike (Bierl) to give assistance wherever it’s needed. We don’t want abuse of the system, but Mike is conscientious and we’re comfortable with the way he makes decisions.”
“What provisions are there (in the assistance policy) if there is a different director sometime in the future?” Muir asked.
Laehn answered that the board of supervisors always has authority to override a director.
After reviewing changes to the current general assistance policy, the board unanimously approved (with supervisors Dawn Rudolph and Pete Bardole absent) a resolution repealing the current general assistance policy and adopting the revised policy.
The revision provides “for the assistance of poor persons lawfully in the county who are ineligible for, or are in immediate need and are awaiting approval and receipt of, assistance under programs provided by state or federal law, or whose actual needs cannot be fully met by the assistance furnished by those programs.”
The resolution also states the revision clarifies “terms and conditions under which poor and needy persons in Greene County may obtain assistance from the County and to ensure the policy fully comports with state and federal law.”
The board also discussed using Local Option Sales and Services Tax revenue to repay debt from financing part of the courthouse HVAC system. Auditor Billie Jo Hoskins said the current purpose statement for the use of LOSST money is for the money to be used for “100 percent rural property tax relief and any other lawful purpose of the county.”
Hoskins said changing the wording to “100 percent for any lawful purpose” would require a vote in the unincorporated areas of Greene County. She said calling for a special election to change the revenue purpose would need a 50 percent approval of the population in the county, which would require the board of supervisors and the city of Jefferson pass resolutions “before an election could be held.”
Kristin Cooper, bonding attorney for Greene County and representing Ahlers and Cooney law firm, spoke about the current purpose statement for the use of LOSST revenue as having a “sunset date.” She said the board could change the sunset date or eliminate it.
Muir and the board tabled discussion of the issues until next week because two board members were absent.
Real estate coordinator Pam Olerich gave a TIF Indebtedness Certification report to the board and county auditor and recommended to the board 100 percent of Tax Increment Funding available for FY2025 be used for TIF indebtedness. Olerich estimated $1.6M could be used to pay off debt from the Career Academy.
Olerich reported 41 turbines in two different TIF districts beginning in 2018 and having 20-year lifespans.
The board unanimously approved the report as presented.
In other financial news, auditor Hoskins reported $543,103.46 has been received from FEMA as the last payment for the reconstruction of the bridge over the Raccoon River south of Jefferson on the Raccoon River Valley Trail.
The board unanimously approved hiring Renee Bandurski as fulltime jailer for the Greene County sheriff’s office at a salary of $47,000 per year effective Dec. 4.
Environmental health coordinator Chuck Wenthold reported the Planning and Zoning Commission will meet Nov. 29 to recommend a zoning reclassification to the board of supervisors for New Cooperative’s new site near Churdan.
County engineer Wade Weiss reported on salt and sand work completed. He noted a new structure at Scranton is helpful. He said road patching will begin this week near Lanesboro, along with some bridge work in the county.
Attorney Laehn reported 95 pending cases. Laehn said most are not violent and are OWI and marijuana offenses. He said there are usually higher rates of offenses during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, and he noted pandemic stresses are still affecting people.
The board acted as a board of canvassers for the 2nd tier of the Nov. 7 election. These results are from voters who live in Boone County but are in the Greene County Community School District. Results can be found in the meeting minutes, posted under the Calendar/Agenda tab at GreeneCountyNewsOnline.
