Council debates creating cemetery caretaker post; amends job description before second reading

Council members on Feb. 20 debated a proposed ordinance to create a cemetery caretaker position for the Village of Greenfield and voted to amend the job description to add equipment maintenance, off‑season assistance to the streets department and explicit coverage of the Pioneer Cemetery.

The proposal (Ordinance 2-20-25) was presented for first reading as an ordinance establishing and creating the position of cemetery caretaker and declaring an emergency. Council moved to receive the ordinance; discussion then focused on cost and whether the village should hire employees or keep contracting mowing and openings/closings.

Why it matters: Councilors raised competing priorities: retain contracted services that some said have produced fewer complaints in recent years, versus creating local jobs and keeping spending and control inside village government. One council member summarized the rationale for a village employee: “we're creating a job that is beneficial to that person and probably more so to the city than subcontracting a $95,000 a year contract out when we still have to open and close the graves,” arguing the village would “know that it's done right.” Another council member said past outside contractors had produced few complaints and that contracting saved money.

Discussion points and clarifications: Council discussed how many employees and what costs would be needed. A speaker stated the earlier staffing estimate was “two full time employees and two seasonal employees” and a $125,000 figure was referenced for that staffing level; another council member questioned an asserted $1,000 fee for opening/closing a grave and the transcript shows that $700 is the accurate charge discussed during the meeting. Questions included whether the village has equipment and whether staff could accomplish both cemetery and park tasks; staff said the village’s existing machines could probably get through the first year with maintenance but that one backhoe was overheating and might require replacement later. Council members repeatedly asked that maintenance duties, off‑season duties for the streets department and inclusion of Pioneer Cemetery be added to the posted job description.

Action taken: Council member McMurray made a motion to amend the job description to include maintenance of equipment, off-season assistance to the streets department as needed, and explicit inclusion of the Pioneer Cemetery; the motion carried. Council then agreed the matter would return for a second reading once the job description changes had been drafted.

Ending: Councilors agreed not to treat the ordinance as an emergency at this time and to return the ordinance for a formal second reading with the revised job description.