Okays tentative agreement with union, sets public hearing on FY27 budget, agrees to limited state audit
The Jefferson city council meeting Feb. 10 was a refreshing example of local government at work. The majority of the meeting was taken up with a public hearing on a request by retired Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Dan Pauley to amend a city ordinance to allow hunting within the city limits.
Pauley owns 70 acres on the southwest corner of town, across the river from Daubendiek Park. Twenty acres of the parcel are inside the city limits. Pauley would like to enroll the entire parcel in the Iowa Habitat and Access Program (IHAP), opening it up to hunting by the public.
His request was first presented to the council at its Jan. 27 meeting. City administrator Scott Peterson said Pauley had talked with his neighbors and that response to his idea was “positive.”
That proved not to be true, as five of Pauley’s neighbors voiced objections. Neighbor Zavette Hilgenberg, who with her husband Brian Hilgenberg owns 14 acres adjacent to Pauley’s property said that many walkers, runners and bicyclists use the road share and that hunting would significantly increase the chance of accidents. She said she has wanted to keep a horse on pasture ground but hunting so close by would endanger the horse. She added that nearby hunting could reduce the use of nearby Daubendiek Park, ultimately reducing revenue for the city.
In rebuttal, Pauley said a property owner in the city of Missouri Valley has a property owner enrolled in the IHAP and there have been no problems. He said included in his parcel is four acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which provides habitat for pheasants. There are also coyote and raccoons on the property. He said there would be only shotgun hunting, no rifle hunting, and that 200 yards is the safe distance for a shotgun.
Brian Hilgenberg said his biggest concern is the center-fire rifles used for coyote hunting. He said the property is flat and open, and he fears bullets ricocheting off frozen ground. He said a lot of coyote hunting is done at night by hunters using night-vision goggles and high-powered guns, and that there’d be no control of who was hunting.
Neighbor Keith Conroy has cattle on 10 acres of adjoining property. He questioned who would police hunters on the area and said, “I’m just not comfortable with it (hunting) being right up to and in the city limits.”
Paul Klodd lives to the west of Hilgenbergs. He said he walks along the road there three times a week and never sees pheasants. “You need to go down there and see what you’re opening up,” he suggested to the council.
“If the public did the right thing and behaved well… we wouldn’t have needed Dan (as a conservation officer). We wouldn’t need police. You know as well as I the public doesn’t read signs. If they get back in there, they’re going to do as they darn well please,’ Klodd said.
Kyle Kinne owns property due west of Pauley. He said his biggest concern is people using high powered rifles at night. He noted Pauley had not talked with him and he first learned of it reading GreeneCountyNewsOnline coverage of the Jan. 27 council meeting. “It’s a whole different ballgame from hunting property yourself to letting the public on it,” Kinne said.
Civility was the rule. There were no raised voices and no threats. Pauley was given adequate opportunity to refute his neighbors” comments.
The public hearing lasted 40 minutes. The council did not direct the city attorney to begin drafting an amended ordinance, which would have been the next step to comply with Pauley’s request.
The council approved a tentative agreement with AFSCME Local 3949, the union representing most city employees. The 3-year contract calls for a 3.5 percent across-the-board wage increase in the first year, with wages-only to be opened in the second and third years. The number of vacation hours carried over increases from 24 to 36 per year, and time will be set for the city to notify the union of potential health insurance changes.
The council set a special meeting for March 31 at 5:30 pm to hold a special hearing on the maximum property tax for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026. The total tax levy is proposed to be the same as the current year, $14.88 per $1,000 of taxable valuation. The city will derive increased revenue from increases in property valuations.
The council approved an engagement with the state auditor’s office to address allegations and concerns relating to a former employee who was terminated after it was learned she had not deposited money for water deposits into a city account. State auditor staff will examine city records and transactions for propriety. Samples will be checked, not all transactions. “They’re coming here whether we would chose to engage them or not. Best practice is that we do engage them,” Peterson said.
Cost will be based on the amount of hours spent on the audit.
Greene County Development Corporation director Greg Piklapp gave his quarterly report. He reported the new website was previewed for the GCDC board and will go live in late February. He continues to work with the Iowa Department of Transportation on the traffic study done of the 2 miles east and west of the intersection of Highways 30 and 4. The first report from the DOT was not favorable toward proposed development; Piklapp said that would not be the last word on the subject.
Jefferson police chief Mark Clouse gave his annual report. The department is now fully staffed at eight sworn officers. The department maintains five vehicles for daily operations. Duty officers drive 2023 and 2024 Ford Utility Interceptor patrol vehicles. The night supervisors drive a 2020 Dodge Charger and the chief of police drives an unmarked 2020 Dodge Charger. The captain drives an unmarked 2019 ford F150 pickup truck.
Clouse said the department answered more than 3,300 calls for service in 2025, which he called “about average.” Officers executed more than 2,100 traffic stops, with numerous stops resulting in arrests for operating while intoxicated and narcotics being confiscated. More than 800 citations were issued. Officers performed more than 350 arrests.
Greene County 911 provided $32,500 in funds left over from the communication tower project at Seven Hills Park to purchase five new in-car radios. E911 funds also provided the department with nine new portable radios with a cost savings of $49,500 to the city. The department replaced three desktop computer systems with budgeted and other funds. A grant from opioid settlement funds proving funding for a new in-car computer at a savings to the city of more than $4,000. Council member Darrin Jackson, who served as mayor pro tem in the absence of mayor Craig Berry, reported the Jefferson public library will be “quite a structure” with the new addition. The library trustees are close to beginning the fundraising step of the project. He noted the cost of the project as it stands now is half what was originally suggested.
