Pulaski Council Approves Additional Appropriation for Courthouse Elevator Project

Pulaski County Council: back row: Mike Tiede, Kathi Thompson, Brian Young; front row: Scott Hinkle, Rudy DeSabatine, Jay Sullivan (not pictured: Ken Boswell)

The Pulaski County Council has given its permission to pay the final bills from the courthouse elevator replacement, more than a year after the work was completed. The county council voted five-to-one last week to finalize a series of additional appropriations. That included almost $57,000 for the elevator work.

Auditor Laura Wheeler previously explained that the money had to be appropriated again, since many of the bills didn’t arrive until this year, and then there were disputes on the invoices. But Council Member Kathi Thompson felt that Wheeler should have discussed the issue with the council before the bills were paid. Thompson cast the lone opposing vote last week.

Other additional appropriations approved last week include over $21,000 for overtime expenses in the Prosecutor’s Office, along with grant funding received by the county for various court programs that wasn’t officially included in the 2019 budget.

Council members also approved several budget transfers, including funding for an IT study and funding to fix shortfalls in Superior Court’s examination of prisoners line item and the Sheriff’s Office’s animal control wages line item.