Jansen Officials Sworn in at Contentious Village Board Meeting: New Clerk/Treasurer Also Hired

By Gordon HopkinsThe Jansen town hall was filled to capacity and more for what proved to be a contentious meeting of the Village Board on Wednesday, December 14, 2022. There were not enough seats and some members of the public were forced to stand during the two-hour meeting. A primary topic of discussion was the recent firing of clerk and treasurer Regina Russell. No reason was publicly given for Russell's termination. Village attorney Gregory Kratz told FJN prior to the meeting, “I will not discuss the reasons why she was relieved of her position.”The meeting began with newly elected board member Matthew Leatherwood and re-elected board member Joyce Ambrose being sworn in. The oath of office was administered by Kratz.Kratz confirmed at the meeting that Russell was not given two-weeks notice or any severance. She did not have a contract with the village and, according to Kratz, chairperson Kesha Eldridge does not require approval of the board to terminate her employment, “The village ordinance did say that any officers of the village may be removed by the chairperson.”That did not sit well with the board's newest member, Leatherwood, who said, “She didn't work for me. I don't know. I get the impression she did a fine job at the meetings I attended. But what I do feel like is that she's been wrongly terminated.”Outgoing board member Tiffany Schoenrock, whose seat was taken by Leatherwood, said terminating Russell's employment was never discussed with her, “I was completely unaware. So there was actually no call made to me.”Eldridge said she did discuss the matter with Ambrose and board member Janene Russell individually. According to Kratz, the Open Meetings Act allows members of the board to discuss board business with other members outside of a meeting, “As long as there's not a quorum.”Despite Leatherwood's objections, the board voted to hire a new clerk and treasurer, Christina Koenig, who has worked for the village in this capacity twice before.Koenig is expected to work part-time, between 20 and 30 hours a week, at $25 an hour.Several members of the public spoke at the meeting, such as Greg Ackman, who objected to some of the wages being paid by the village, “When I moved here and started coming to the meetings, things were simple. Boom, they were done. Nice and quick. Now all of a sudden is everything's difficult. Everybody's drawn to wage.”“This is a small, small town. We don't need big wages and tons of hours put in. You're making it that way. Quit it,” said Ackman. “Things are out of control. I said two years ago, you need to get your hands out of the cookie jar. This is not a job, you're doing your civic duty.”

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