Residents demand answers about alleged sheriff‑ICE collaboration, county spending

Several residents used the meeting’s public‑comment period to press the board on transparency and on access to public comment. Melanie Johnson, a Greene County resident, told the board she had learned the Greene County Sheriff's Office collaborated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a June 12 operation in neighboring Page County and asked the board how much county taxpayer money supported that operation.

Johnson asked how many Greene County deputies participated, which county vehicles and equipment were used, whether overtime was paid and whether any of the $116,000 in overtime recently appropriated during the consent agenda supported the operation. "We have learned that the Greene County Sheriff's Office is collaborating with ICE in neighboring Page County," Johnson said, and she urged the board to disclose costs and staffing used in the operation. She urged the board to use its budget authority to reduce the sheriff's funding if necessary and said residents deserve clear accounting of county expenditures.

Earlier in the public comment period Mark Heineken (resident) opposed hard limits on out‑of‑county speakers and urged the board to leave the question for January. Linda Copeland (resident) asked that matters from the public be placed earlier on the agenda so residents can meaningfully participate in decision making.

The board did not provide detailed answers to Johnson’s questions at the meeting; no county official detailed the sheriff’s office role or the cost figures Johnson requested during the public comment block.