The Greene County supervisors got a bit of good news at their Jan. 2, the first meeting of the new year.
After a closer look, courthouse custodian Tony Janssen determined the water on the basement floor the supervisors heard about last week hadn’t come up from a broken pipe, but from cracked return line on the boiler. Although the supervisors were told last week that what they were looking at wasn’t a big problem, the not-big problem is even smaller and the fix will be easier.
Part-time employees in the Greene County sheriff’s office got some good news, too. Effective Jan. 1 their hourly wage is increasing from $14 to $19 per hour for uncertified staff and from $15 to $20 per hour for certified staff. Sheriff Jack Williams said he hopes to attract more part-time employees with the added pay. There are currently only three part-time employees, and when one is gone Williams said he has had to work as dispatcher.
Williams said there is money in the sheriff’s budget to cover the wage increases.
In other sheriff’s office business, the supervisors approved hiring Matthew Meyer as a fulltime deputy effective Jan. 22. His starting wage will be $75,000 annually. Williams said Meyer is coming with law enforcement experience, his most recent job being with the Fort Dodge police department.
The supervisors picked up where they left off last week listening to various requests for county funds.
Carole Custer presented a request for $20,000 from the Bell Tower Community Foundation for use at the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower. She reported 7,100 people visited the bell tower in 2023, a record for attendance. Visitors came from 49 states, 22 foreign countries and five continents. Custer called the attendance figures “a wonderful demonstration of what can happen when all cylinders are firing.”
Admission to the tower for persons older than 18 was increased this year from $3 to $5. Youth admissions were covered by the Victor Zike Trust and the Rosalene (Kay) Zike Trust.
She reported plans to extend the bell tower season next year, being open daily from May through October rather than being open only weekends in October. In 2023 there were bell tower tour guides “on call” weekdays in October, and they were called in many times, Custer said.
Plans for 2024 include updating billboards and other promotional materials to include the longer season; creating an archive of photos of the bell tower; and partnering with other local businesses or organizations for statewide television advertising. She also asked the supervisors to consider how the Jefferson Fanfare, debuted during the 2023 Bell Tower Festival but then not played due to concerns from county attorney Thomas Laehn, can be put to use.
She also announced that after decades at the helm of the foundation, she is retiring as president. Don Van Gilder will step up to the president position and Peg Raney will be vice president. New board members for the coming year include Lindy Lehman, Nancy Teusch and Michelle Fields.
Board chair John Muir complimented the colored lights on the courthouse, saying, “The lights are pretty. They really set it (the tower) off nicely.”
Shirley Haupert also reported record “attendance” at the Action Resource Center food pantry as she requested county funding for the first time. According to Haupert, the food pantry served 4,112 persons in 2023, up from 2,575 in 2022. The number of families served per week increased to 35-plus, up from 25 families per week one year ago.
Although the food pantry receives donations of food, the larger portion of the food distributed is purchased from the Food Bank of Iowa or other sources. The cost of food has increased from $24,246 in 2022 to more than $40,000 in 2023.
The food pantry receives about $57,000 in donations each year. That amount covers not only groceries, but insurance, pest control, snow removal and utilities.
Haupert said she expects to see increased need and increased costs in 2024. She asked for $10,000 in county funding to purchase food.
Teresa Lansman of the Family Development Center and and Chad Jensen, CEO of New Opportunities, asked for a total of $19,891 in funds – $5,304 for the Family Development Center, $6,979 for substance abuse treatment programs, and $7,608 for substance abuse prevention programs. That’s the same amount as the current year.
Lansman reported that the number of families being served via the state home heating assistance program, back-to-school supplies, holiday food baskets and/or Christmas gifts has increased, and that she’s seeing more homeless people.
Jensen said New Opportunities will be available to assist the county in developing programs using the county’s share of the state opioid settlement money.
The supervisors took no actions on the requests, as they’ll be considered during the budget process.
The supervisors approved the annual organizational resolution. County holidays for 2024 will be Presidents Day, Monday, Feb. 19; Memorial Day, Monday, May 27; Independence Day, Thursday, July 4; Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2; Veterans Day, Monday, Nov. 11; Thanksgiving, Thursday and Friday, Nov. 28-29; Christmas, Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 25-26; and New Year’s Day, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025.
County supervisor board and committee assignments are unchanged from 2023, as are most other county appointments. The complete resolution is available in the board minutes under the Calendar/Agenda tab on GreeneCountyNewsOnline.
