Pulaski County Council Considers Budget Transfer, Additional Appropriation Requests

Funding for Pulaski County’s fiscal plan, the courthouse elevator replacement project, and reassessment expenses was among the transfer and additional appropriation requests brought to the county council last week. Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer explained that he has $50,000 budgeted annually for potential land acquisition. But since the CDC won’t be needing it for that purpose, the county council agreed to let him make $36,000 of that available for the fiscal plan. The county commissioners have since decided to hire Peters Municipal Consultants for a cost not to exceed $24,000.

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Pulaski County Council Takes Action to Correct Oversights in Salary Matrix, Address CDC Pay Issues

Changes are coming to Pulaski County’s salary matrix next year. The 2019 matrix approved by the county council last week seeks to correct a couple of oversights in the current version by adding the jail commander and certain employees in the Health Department. It also appears that EMS employees will remain on the matrix next year. The EMS Department was added to the system last month, despite opposition from EMS Director Bryan Corn and some of his employees.

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Pulaski County Commissioners to Discuss Vaping, Hear Department Reports

Pulaski County Commissioners: Mike McClure, Jerry Locke, Kenny Becker

The Pulaski County Commissioners will hear updates from EMS Director Bryan Corn and Highway Superintendent Terry Ruff during this morning’s meeting. According to the advance agenda, County Attorney Kevin Tankersley will discuss vaping, Recorder Sue Fox will discuss two bids, and Building Inspector Doug Hoover will ask the commissioners to approve an invoice.

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Culver School Board Accepts Donation for BPA Chapter, Approves Budget Transfers

The Culver School Board cleaned up a couple bookkeeping items when it met Monday. Treasurer Casey Howard said that the Special Education Grant wouldn’t be enough to cover costs. She explained that the grant application was turned in before teacher contract negotiations wrapped up and didn’t take into account a pay increase that ended up being included.

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Pulaski County Council, Commissioners Approve Vehicle Purchase for Prosecutor’s Office

The Pulaski County Prosecutor’s Office is getting a new investigator vehicle. Prosecutor Dan Murphy plans to get a 2019 Dodge Charger from Braun. “We’ll have about a $12,000 discount buying it through that program that the State Police use for vehicles,” Murphy told the county council Monday. Once the discount, trade-in, and the addition of a police package are taken into account, the final cost is around $26,400.

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Pulaski Council to Consider Salary Update, Monterey Library Bond Resolution Tonight

The Pulaski County Council will consider a salary matrix amendment when it meets tonight. Auditor Laura Wheeler first proposed the changes back in July, following the adoption of a set of written “Matrix Rules” the month before. However, council members had questions about whether the EMS Department should be added into the matrix, and if so, how to do it.

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Pulaski County Council Approves Budget Transfers for Sheriff’s Department Overtime

Making up shortfalls in the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department’s overtime budget was the goal of a couple budget transfers approved by the county council Monday.

More than $18,000 was moved from various line items, at the request of Sheriff Jeff Richwine. “These are all to cover overtime. Well, the part-time clerical’s not, but the other is overtime for deputies,” he explained. “And then one’s overtime for dispatchers.”

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Pulaski County Council Discusses Shortfalls in Part-Time Pay Budgets

The Pulaski County Council decided Monday not to appropriate additional funds to pay part-time staff. Last month, Maintenance Supervisor Jeff Johnston asked council members for permission to spend another $30,000 for part-time help. At the time, he reminded them that money had been cut from the 2018 budget so the state would approve it, with the understanding that he could come back later to request enough for the rest of the year.

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Pulaski County Council to Consider Additional Appropriations for Part-Time Pay

The Pulaski County Council will be taking steps tonight to make sure money is available to pay part-time employees. A shortage of full-time EMS employees at the beginning of the year took a huge toll on the department’s part-time budget, according to EMS Director Bryan Corn. “Staffing was kind of rough there for a while,” he told the county commissioners last week. “We had quite a few full-time openings that we had to utilize part-time staff to fill that, to essentially keep the 911 trucks going, keep the 911 trucks in service.”

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Pulaski County Council May Look at Property Taxes to Resolve Budget Shortfalls

The Pulaski County Council is working to make sure the maintenance department has enough money to pay its part-time employees through the end of the year. Maintenance Supervisor Jeff Johnston reminded council members Monday that they’d cut money for part-time pay when they put together this year’s budget. “You guys, at that time, told me to come back halfway through the year and request enough to cover the rest of the year,” he explained. “It’s for $30,016 for Part-Time Help.”

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Salary Issues to Continue to be Discussed during Tonight’s Pulaski County Council Meeting

Pulaski County’s salary matrix will continue to be discussed during tonight’s county council meeting. A salary ordinance revision will be up for the council’s approval, while Maintenance Supervisor Jeff Johnston is expected to request a budget transfer and additional appropriation to help cover the wages of part-time employees.

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Pulaski Council Makes Funds Available to Pay Five Sheriff’s Department Staff Members

Making sure money is available to pay Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department employees was the goal of a couple budget items approved by the county council this month. To help balance the county’s General Fund budget, council members had previously moved several staff members’ salaries into other parts of the budget. But that’s led to some new issues.

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Pulaski Council Votes to Correct Improper Payment Made to Highway Department Employees

Confusion about checks paid to two Pulaski County Highway Department employees led to a heated debate during last week’s county council meeting. The first had to do with $2,500 paid to Secretary Jessica Rausch for her duties as asset management coordinator. Last month, council members agreed to transfer that amount into the department’s asset management services line item. Auditor Laura Wheeler then apparently paid the money to Rausch as part of her paycheck. She asked council members last week to adjust the salary ordinance accordingly.

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Pulaski County Council Debates Asset Management Plan Funding

Making sure the Pulaski County Highway Department will be able to update its asset management plan and continue to qualify for Community Crossings grants was the goal of a lengthy conversation during Monday’s county council meeting. The highway department’s $2,500 budget for asset management services was apparently cut out of this year’s budget. To resolve the issue, Highway Superintendent Terry Ruff asked council members to transfer $10,000 into the line item from his department’s salt budget.

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Pulaski County Council to Clarify Salary Matrix

The Pulaski County Council is expected to make some clarifications on the county’s pay structure tonight. Pulaski County has a salary matrix that’s designed to give full-time employees a set schedule for pay raises, but department heads have asked for more clarification about how the system is supposed to work. Pay levels for part-time employees are governed separately, but different department heads say they were each told different things about what they’re supposed to pay people.

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Pulaski County to Get Less Than Previously Expected for Wrecked Sheriff’s Department Pickup Truck

Pulaski County’s insurance payout for a wrecked police vehicle is a bit less than previously expected. Sheriff Jeff Richwine previously announced that the county would get over $20,000 for a 2012 pickup truck that was totaled in an accident several months ago. Last week, he told the county council that the check will only end up being for about $17,000.

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Pulaski County Council Approves Budget Transfer to Help Cover Circuit Court Overtime Costs

Overtime costs continue to add up for Pulaski Circuit Court. The Pulaski County Council voted Monday to transfer $5,000 into the court’s overtime budget from the law books line item, at the request of Judge Michael Shurn. “Last week, a two-day jury trial morphed into a four-day one,” he explained. “And I was working 16-hour days, and my staff was real close to that.”

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