The Greene County Board of Supervisors met Monday in regular session.

The Board agreed to move forward with placing a monument outside on the Greene County Courthouse grounds, to honor the Schoolboy Soldiers of Rippey who served during the Civil War. The committee presented preliminary drafts of the monument and the language they would like to include, along with naming all of the individuals. The committee also stated that they were going to place a modified version of the monument in the Old Rippey Cemetery as well.  Based on the advice from County Attorney Thomas Laehn, the Board will take formal action at a future meeting once two Board members have had a chance to review the final versions of the structure. 

The Board also approved an engagement letter with the Hoyt, Morain Hommer Law Firm for services related to the drainage repair that was done within the Union Pacific Railroad easement, at a rate of $200 per hour. Laehn mentioned that a demand letter will be sent to the UP to pay their portion of $40,000 that they took ownership of when the project was done a few years ago. He said if they don’t pay it, then they could take UP to court for litigation. 

The Board then approved the Sheriff’s Quarterly Report of Fees for October through December of 2025 as presented and a resolution to transfer over $441,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to Graphite Construction for the courthouse HVAC project. 

During the budget workshop, they briefly discussed their own salary increases, with the notion of a 3.25 percent increase that was decided on by the Board for the county elected officials. Board member John Muir mentioned that he wasn’t always concerned about having a salary increase as a Supervisor, but the job has changed and Supervisor Chair Dawn Rudolph added that there isn’t any down time anymore as a Supervisor. 

County Auditor Billie Jo Hoskins stated that the biggest change in her department’s budget for the 2027 fiscal year was increasing her deputy’s by over four percent, due to increasing her job responsibilities while taking on more drainage district duties. They also said for the Multicultural Family Resource Center budget request to send a bill for services to whichever county department utilizes them.

There was a lengthy discussion involving the County Recorder’s budget request to increase her deputy’s salary. It was mentioned that Recorder Deb McDonald was requesting her deputy to receive a 4.8 percent salary increase and she told the Board that she adjusted her revenues down to just a $200 proposed budget increase to cover the added salary expense, along with her increased salary of 3.25 percent. Muir disagreed because he felt there was no increase in job responsibilities like there was in the auditor’s or treasurer’s offices. 

After McDonald told the Board her thoughts about her deputy being an incredible employee and shared public comments about her professionalism, Supervisor Pete Bardole mentioned that there were a lot of incredible county employees, but she was the only one requesting a higher percentage increase in salary. Following the discussion, the Board agreed with a 3.25 percent increase.