Greene solicitor named state Solicitor of the Year
Greene County’s solicitor has been recognized as the best in the state.
Robert (Gene) Grimm was honored with the State Solicitor of the Year award last month by the Pennsylvania County Commissioners Association at its annual conference.
Grimm, the county’s solicitor since 2020, said it was humbling to receive an award for serving Greene County, which he called a “super place.”
“To be honest, there’s times I’m overwhelmed, but what I find is, unlike other counties, these commissioners work together,” he said. “They put interests of the residents first above politics, and they make my job a lot easier.”
From Grimm’s perspective, the most crucial part of his job comes in the assessment office, where he supervises assessment appeals from property owners who think their property is being taxed unfairly.
“We haven’t had a reassessment since 2003, and so a lot of older houses are getting a tax break,” he said. “But people in their 60s come in, generally on a fixed income, and quite frankly, their taxes are high. And so you’re trying to help them at the board, and at the same time meeting the needs of the county and being fair to everybody else.”
Vice Chair Betsy McClure, who nominated Grimm for the award, said she feels like Grimm makes his decisions with an eye toward what will most benefit the people of Greene County.
“He has come in with that attitude, he’s carried that attitude forward, and I feel like the county is a better place because of him,” she said.
State Sen. Camera Bartolotta came to Thursday’s meeting to present the resolution she brought to the state Legislature honoring Grimm, as well as state Reps. Bud Cook and Charity Grimm Krupa, Grimm’s daughter.
“Rep. Cook was gracious enough to let me co-sponsor it, since even though he’s my father, he is also my constituent,” she said.