Greene commissioners approve hiring of elections director
The Greene County commissioners officially approved hiring Mount Morris native Joe Lemley to helm the county’s elections bureau.
Commission Chairman Jared Edgreen said Lemley’s hiring puts the county “well on our way to restoring faith to the office.”
Lemley is the sixth person to lead the office since 2020, when longtime elections director Tina Kiger left in August 2020.
“I’d just like to say we’re excited to have Joe on board, and he’s already doing some tremendous work. We’ve heard from the community how well he’s doing already,” Edgreen said during Thursday’s salary board meeting.
In speaking with a reporter earlier this week, Lemley said he hopes to bring stability to the office as the presidential election looms and voter turnout is likely to increase. Lemley also said he’s interacted with county voters already, and enjoys that aspect of the job.
“He hit the ground running, that’s for sure,” said Commissioner Blair Zimmerman.
After a career as a public school teacher and administrator for 25 years, Lemley, 49, of Whiteley Township, moved back to Greene County a couple of years ago to help care for his father.
His hiring was retroactive to Jan. 12, and salary was set at $55,000.
During the commissioners regular business meeting Thursday, they unanimously approved the purchase of two X-ray security scanners.
The scanners are for the sheriff’s office, and cost $44,000, which will be paid for through Act 13 funds.
In other matters, commissioners also approved an extension of time on the final design work required to replace two county bridges in Morris Township. The state Department of Transportation cited various delays in the completion of preliminary design work including drilling, soil testing, and a foundation report.
PennDOT’s final design will be prepared by Dec. 31. The commissioners noted that the delay comes at no cost to the county.
The board also voted to appoint Edgreen to the Conservation District Board, the Farm Preservation Board and the Southwest PA Commission.
Commissioner Betsy McClure was appointed to the Regional Policy Advisory Committee, Executive Committee of the Southwestern PA Commission and the Board of Directors of the Southwest PA Corporation.