County Approves Employee Pay Raises
The Jasper County Commission Monday voted unanimously to give county employees an across the board two percent cost of living raise, with the exception of the three members of the board of Registrars.
Those three persons are to get 50 cents an hour more for their work, as they were the lowest paid of any county part-time employees.
Commissioners also voted to approve a text amendment to the zoning ordinance allowing certain used mobile homes to be moved within the county if appropriate conversion to the roof pitch is made.
The Planning and Zoning Commission had unanimously voted last week to deny the text amendment. That recommendation was taken to the commissioners, however, with little discussion they ignored the recommendation and voted the opposite.
Fred Meyer, chairman of the Bear Creek Reservoir advisory committee, told commissioners he had received the retainer agreement from the attorney that the group plans to hire, and was waiting for the county to sign the agreement before moving forward.
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He said that he did not feel it was appropriate for him to call the attorney or take any action until the agreement had been signed. He said attorneys usually charge by the hour, and he didn’t want the clock ticking by the attorney talking with him, rather than the attorney working on the issue at hand—reviewing the proposed contract.
Commission Chairman Russell Bennett said he could not sign the retainer agreement as presented because it was open-ended. He said that the board had agreed to budget up to $10,000 for the service, but that the contract did not specify a ceiling.
The commission agreed that County Attorney W. Dan Roberts should be in touch with the other attorney and make a contract that clearly designates what the commissoin has approved.
Commissioners approved a plan for a septic system for the jail, an item they had been working on for some time. They also determined the approximate location. The proposed area for placement will cause the commissioners to have to rethink where to put the animal control facility.
The Environmental Protection Division had informed the county that the current oxidation pond was not sufficient, and instructed the county to come up with an appropriate alternative. Some of the engineering for the septic system had actually been done several years ago when the county first realized there were problems.
At the mid-month meeting scheduled for Monday, Feb. 16, at 6 p.m. commissioners are to discuss where to locate the animal control facility, a storage area for the Jasper County Water Authority, and the septic systems needed.
Commissioners were to walk the property after their regular meeting Monday, to help them determine the best placement options.
Commissioners also voted to table a proposed agreement with Newton County on the Bear Creek Reservoir project. When the commission first considered the project, they had set the first February meeting as the time to make the decision. They voted officially to table any action on the project, with no date set to bring it back up.
Commissioners have repeatedly been asked to let more work be done on the planning for the water needs of the county, to determine where funding will come from, and to carefully consider the proposed contract before entering the 50-year, multi-million dollar project.
Commissioners discussed bids received and opened last month to take over the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) billing. The county only received two bids, and Commissioner Charles Hill seemed to sum up the feelings of the commissioners when the said, “I don’t like either one of these bids.”
They discussed with Emergency Services Director Ed Westbrook current problems with the billing and collections. Mr. Westbrook indicated that if the county would adopt a collection policy, it would greatly help collections.
During the general comments segment of the meeting, Ken McMichael told commissioners he felt like they need to address the issue of unrestrained/unlimited growth. He wanted to know where the money is coming from for the infrastructure that is required.
He suggested the county appoint three or four people to learn about impact fees, and suggested that would be one way the county could help pay for necessary improvements.
Jack Bernard said he agreed with Mr. McMichael. Then he commented on the animal control issue. “Our progress is abysmal,” he said. He said stray animals are a public health and safety issue, and that wild animals are a nuisance.
Mrs. Shelba Jean Morrison told of her problems with the stray animal situation in the county. She works with the Jasper County Humane Society in trying to find homes for strays. She told of a situation where she had located more than a dozen animals in need of medical care that were homeless, indicating how tough it is to find homes for all the animals.
She said, “We’re a rescue group…I’ve got to have some relief.”
The local humane society adopted out 292 animals last year.
Mrs. Morrison has attended the County Commission meetings monthly for the last two years tracking the progress of an animal control facility.
In other action, commissioners:
•Approved purchase of an accounting system to help Jasper conform with state requirements.
•Agreed to modify the minutes of a previous meeting to correct typographical errors and identify persons named.
•Let the public know work has begun on a new solid waste short term work plan for the county. It is a standard procedure which must be done every five years. Persons interested may contact Administrator Phil Peevy for input. A public hearing will be held when the new plan is complete.
•Acknowledged that they had received a letter of resignation from Bill Halliday from the Planning and Zoning Commission. However, the letter arrived too late to be included on the agenda for Monday’s meeting.
Therefore, they will consider accepting it at the next meeting and begin looking for a replacement. They suggested that any person interested in serving contact Mr. Peevy.
At the end of the regular meeting, the commissioners went into closed session to discuss a personnel issue.
