Higher-than-expected phone bills are causing some challenges for Pulaski County.
Auditor Laura Wheeler told the county council Tuesday that the bill for office phones has come in $20,000 over the county’s phone budget for the year. “They’ve gone over for the last two years,” she said. “I think IT is looking into getting something changed on that, so it drops.”
In the meantime, Wheeler is asking for a $10,000 additional appropriation to make up that shortfall. She thinks the rest can be covered by transferring money within the budget. Council members agreed to advertise the additional appropriation request for consideration next month, along with requests from the Recycling and Transfer Station for part-time employee wages and the Extension Office for overtime pay.
Also during Tuesday’s meeting, the council approved several budget transfer requests, as department heads look for available funds to finish out the year. They included more than $52,000 in transfers in the Circuit Court budget, while the Highway Department moved nearly $26,000.
Council members also finalized over $170,000 in additional appropriations that had previously been discussed, including $60,000 for architectural fees for the new courthouse elevator, almost $29,000 for the county’s reassessment contract, and nearly $30,000 in donated funds for EMS equipment upgrades.
