The Greene County compensation board will recommend the county attorney, recorder, auditor, treasurer and supervisors receive salary increases of 3 percent in the next fiscal year, and that the county sheriff receive a 5 percent salary increase. The compensation board met for 30 minutes Thursday morning using wage comparisons and the population ranking of the county. Members of the board…
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GrCo school board holds last meeting in old location
Determines use for anonymous gift to East Greene district years ago The Greene County Schools board held its last meeting at the W. Madison St location on Wednesday. The first item of old business on the agenda for the board’s regular meeting Dec. 16 was to pass a motion to move meetings to the new administration offices at the middle…
Read MoreCounty adds newer wind turbines to urban renewal plan
Allows for TIF in the future, but no plans for that now The Greene County board of supervisors held a public hearing Dec. 14 and then approved a resolution amending the Beaver Creek Wind Farm urban renewal plan to include the wind turbines erected in 2018. Although a public hearing held by the county board of adjustment in 2017 as…
Read MoreJeff council adds special meeting
The Jefferson city council canceled its last regular meeting for the year but is holding a special meeting Friday, Dec. 18, at 1 pm at the municipal building. The agenda includes approving the hiring of an accounting clerk/administrative assistant; approving the purchase of programmable controllers for the water treatment plant; approving a contract to rental additional tasers for the police…
Read MoreGJ man seriously injured in pedestrian accident
A Grand Junction resident was seriously injured when he was struck by a vehicle while walking on 16th St in Grand Junction Tuesday evening. According to a report from the Iowa State Patrol, Travis Fincel, 46, of Grand Junction was walking northbound in the roadway on 16th St north of Sandoe St at 8:10 pm when he was struck by…
Read MoreOHV/snowmobile registrations expire Dec. 31
Greene County recorder Deb McDonald reminds local residents who own snowmobiles and off highway vehicles (OHV) that the state registration expires Dec. 31. A penalty goes into effect on Jan. 1. Registrations for snowmobiles and OHVs purchased during the 2020 registration cycle will expire Dec. 31, 2020. Any decal displayed on a machine with a 20 printed on it will…
Read MoreJeff council member wants public input on animal shelter
Says animal shelter is a necessity Jefferson city council member Darren Jackson wants to know community members think about moving forward with an animal shelter. “The press has reported on this, but I ‘d like to hear more from the community as to what they’d like the city to do,” he said. Don Orris talked with the council during the…
Read MoreJeff council saves money with water treatment hire, bond issue, insurance premiums
The city of Jefferson scored a win with the hiring of Marty Murphy to operate the water treatment plant after the retirement of current operator Tom Schilling. Approval of Murphy’s hiring was on the city council’s Dec. 8 agenda. He will start Dec. 29 at an annual salary of $62,000. Also on the agenda was consideration of a professional services…
Read MoreMulti-agency investigation working on drug case in Jefferson, elsewhere
The Greene County sheriff’s office is one of 13 agencies investigating a drug distribution case that has led to the seizure of more than 80 pounds of methamphetamine. Lead agencies in the investigation are the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force of Waterloo, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. On Oct. 30, seven search warrants…
Read MoreCounty supes becoming uncomfortable with public attendance at meetings
~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline At the regular meeting of the Greene county board of supervisors on Dec. 7, the board discussed electronic and in-person attendance of the public at board meetings. Chair John Muir asked county attorney Thomas Laehn whether the board is required to provide electronic attendance to the public and whether the public must be allowed to…
Read MoreJeff city, union agree to new contract
All non-salaried Jefferson city employees will receive pay raises beginning January 1, with police officers getting a larger increase than other employees. A new 5-year contract with AFSCME Local 3949 was ratified earlier by the union and by the city council at the council’s regular meeting Dec. 8. The contract goes into effect Jan. 1, a full six months earlier…
Read MoreElks suspend Christmas dinner due to pandemic
Another holiday tradition has been suspended for 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Jefferson Elks lodge has cancelled the 55th annual Christmas Day dinner. “It takes so many people to prepare and distribute the meals that we don’t think it can be done safely or within the Governor’s max person proclamation,” said Steve Smith, Elks secretary. “We do not…
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