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

During open forum, county resident Nancy Hanaman presented the Supervisors with a resolution to petition Governor Kim Reynolds, State Senator Jerry Behn and State Representative Phil Thompson to review and update the master matrix for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Board Chair John Muir said he liked the foundation of the resolution but before the Board moved forward, the Supervisors wanted to present it to Greene County Farm Bureau so that they heard all sides on the issue.

The Board then approved the County Treasurer’s investment report of $5,951,580 for February and issuing 220 driver’s licenses last month. They also approved the County Recorder’s report of fees for February of $12,801, a letter of support for Greene County Development Corporation’s application for Iowa Great Places designation, and an hourly rate of $18.50 for an advanced emergency medical technician.

Following a public hearing, the Board approved the recommendation by the County Compensation Board for salary raises of elected county officials including: auditor of 8.6-percent, attorney of 7.34-percent, recorder of 6.15-percent, sheriff of four-percent, supervisors of 3.6-percent, and treasurer of 2.96-percent. They also approved the 2020 fiscal year budget with a countywide tax levy of $6.69 per $1,000 of property valuation and $10.09 for rural tax levy.

The Board also heard an update from Genesis Development CEO Terry Johnson. He said due to the change in mental health regions, going from Heart of Iowa Community Services (HICS) to Central Iowa Community Services (CICS), Genesis has lost their local provider for prescription medications and now have to travel out of county for. He then talked about developing a rehabilitation home in Marshalltown like they did in Perry and Indianola last year for those individuals with extreme mental illness who need one-on-one services. He mentioned that Genesis bought Pursuit of Independence in Lenox and took over operations on March 1st. They added over 70 employees and $3 million to their business. Finally, Johnson announced his retirement as CEO effective at the end of July.

The Board then discussed an issue regarding the mental health advocate position. The Board agreed that they wanted to change from their current advocate with HICS and utilize the advocate with Boone County, who serves as part of CICS. However no formal action was taken by the Board.