The Marshall County Commissioners approved the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) for 2012 at their meeting Monday.
Emergency Management Agency Director Clyde Avery has met all of the requirements in order to get the EMPG grant which covers half of his $40,000 salary.
Avery’s salary has been a topic of discussion in the past month. In March, the Marshall County Commissioners approved a motion to go ahead and pay Avery’s full salary out of the General Fund and not rely on Avery getting the points needed to get a 50 percent reimbursement on the grant. The commissioners felt that more time could be devoted to issues in the county than having to rely on getting grant points.
The Marshall County Council disagreed with the commissioners at their meeting last month where they found that it could be beneficial for Avery to get those points necessary and to keep up with things so the county could remain eligible for grants in the future. Marshall County Council member Matt Hassel expressed that failing to keep the state standards would result in the depletion of the county’s emergency readiness.
That portion of the argument will be taken up again during the budget process which begins in August.
