The Pulaski County Commissioners took action to raise the amount of money allotted for the maintenance department in the case of an emergency situation.
Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston brought up the issue of emergency calls and the attempts to get a hold of commission members to approve a decision on how to move forward with the emergent issue at hand. The commissioners reiterated that Johnston has the authority to make the best, quickest and most cost-effective measures to take care of what needs to be done, but County Attorney Kevin Tankersley noted that some of the processes that have been done to seek commissioners’ approval of the emergent issue and money needed are not being handled in the best practice. He explained that any decision that requires immediate attention by the commissioners containing purchases over the minimum purchase requirement needs to be done in an a public emergency meeting.
Within the scope of his job, most of the projects Johnston does are rather large and require repairs costing more than his $500 limit.
To help with this issue, Tankersley suggested that the commissioners raise Johnston’s minimum purchasing amount and if there are situations where he needs more than that allotment, the commissioners can hold an emergency meeting, which can be scheduled at any time – day or night. As long as Auditor Shelia Garling is notified and can get the notice posted, the emergency meeting can be held.
With that, the commissioners unanimously approved a spending limit increase to $2,500. A resolution to reflect that and an emergency meeting protocol will be drafted for the commission members to review at a future meeting.
