Marshall County Sheriff Tom Chamberlin has four positions he needs to fill within his department.
The Marshall County Council members entertained his request to advertise for those full-time positions.
“I can fill two full-time positions at this time and tentatively I’ve got two jailer-dispatchers that have received conditional offers of employment as police officers so I might be losing two more,” stated Chamberlin.
The Marshall County Council approved a transfer of funds to take care of the salaries for the two new positions developed at the highway department.
The positions of highway superintendent and general foreman were eliminated and the duties of those two departments were split between two new positions in the highway administration manager and the supervisor of county highways.
The Marshall County Council will meet today at 9 a.m. ET.
Sheriff Tom Chamberlin will request employee replacements as well as Mary Jane Walsworth from the probation department. Laura Mann will have an update on the Heminger House.
The council members will entertain an additional appropriation request for the 7th Road construction project in the amount of $252,000 from the cumulative bridge fund. The council members will also discuss a salary amendment for a WIC employee.
The Marshall County Council members discussed additional appropriations for the highway department and the health department Monday morning.
The highway department requested $55,000 for road paint. Interim Superintendent Jason Peters explained that the paint should last the rest of the season and it was purchased at a cheaper rate than last year. The crews are set to stripe a lot of the main roads this year with this paint.
The Marshall County Council members will meet today where several items will be discussed on the agenda.
A representative of the personnel committee will approach the council with job description changes for the highway administrative manager and the supervisor of county highways. The council members will consider additional appropriations from court services for a case work manager in the amount of $21,384. The request includes wages and benefits. The highway department is asking for an additional appropriation of $55,000 for road paint and $300,000 for vehicle maintenance. The health department is asking for $5,000 to take care of unsafe buildings.
The Marshall County Commissioners and the Marshall County Council met in joint session Monday morning to discuss the possibility of refinancing the bonds the county took out when the Marshall County Jail was built back in 2006.
The bond for the jail project was roughly $15 million in 2006 and $11 million is still outstanding. The county is hoping to lower their payment of $1.2 million per year until 2026.
Several department heads went before the Marshall County Council members this week to discuss some of the items for consideration in the 2015 budget.
Interim Highway Superintendent Jason Peters said that more staff would be ideal for the department.
“We’re minus eight people. That really hinders some of our operations especially come spring time when we could actually be out berming roads. When I first started in 2004 we were always able to go out and start berming in the spring. Right now we don’t have the personnel to be able to pull those people off – the guys that are patching roads as opposed to being able to go out and start berming. I would be inclined to ask for three more positions if possible – two more truck drivers and one more operator,” said Peters.
The Marshall County Council heard several requests from department heads for consideration for the 2015 budget.
One item is the upgrade of the 911 system at the Marshall County Jail. Matt Pitney, the 911 Supervisor, said the current system is at least ten years old. He added that parts are no longer available for repairs and a service agreement will no longer be an option since the company servicing the equipment has been bought out and that company has decided to “end of life” that system.
The Marshall County Council approved an additional appropriation of $50,000 for the sheriff’s budget to fulfill a contact with Quality Correctional Care through the rest of the year.
Marshall County Sheriff Tom Chamberlin explained to the council members in their May meeting that they signed a contract where the monthly cost to provide medical, dentistry,and pharmaceutical services with the addition of mental health in 2014 is $12,166. In May, there was balance of $41,000 and that wouldn’t cover the contract for the remainder of the year.
The Marshall County Council members discussed at length the purchase of an asphalt zipper at a cost of almost $160,000 to come out of the rainy day fund.
Marshall County Commissioner Jack Roose first spoke to the council members and explained his opposing vote for the asphalt zipper at the commissioner’s meeting last week. He feels that a purchase such as this should be tabled until a highway superintendent is hired and not by the interim superintendents.
The Marshall County Council will meet in regular session this morning.
The recorder and the clerk will be before the council to request personnel replacements and budget considerations will be taken from several departments.
Sheriff Tom Chamberlin will discuss an additional appropriation for $50,000 for prisoner care. The proposal was made at the council’s previous meeting where the members agreed to advertise for the money and a final decision will be made today.
The Marshall County Council entertained a request from Sheriff Tom Chamberlin to advertise for an additional appropriation for inmate health care.
In October 2013, the county approved Chamberlin to enter into a contract with Quality Correctional Care and while Chamberlin said the services they have provided are excellent, more money needs to be appropriated for their services.
The Marshall Council Council will meet in regular session this morning at 9 a.m. ET.
Wes Burden with the Marshall County Health Department will request a personnel replacement and Sheriff Tom Chamberlin will discuss prisoner care. Additional appropriations for the auditor’s office, court services, WIC and EMA grants will be considered.
The Marshall County Council approved a request from Clerk Julie Fox to hire two new employees in her office.
Fox explained that two of her deputies will be retiring, mostly due to the changes in retirement benefits.
Carolyn “Avon” Hansen has worked for 20 years with Marshall County. Fox said Hansen began in the clerk’s office and then moved to the child support division. She eventually came back to the clerk’s office and that’s where she will finish her career. Her last day will be May 30.
The Plymouth Aviation Board will be moving forward in obtaining a weather station.
Dave Lattimer told the Marshall County Council on Monday morning that it’s highly probable that the green light will be given for a weather station after several other improvements are made.
Lattimer explained that the runways need to be extended and widened and two taxiways from the ramp to the runways need to intersect at a “T” instead of at a 45 degree angle. The staff will also need to extend the taxiways. Insurance will also need to be adjusted. All of those improvements need to be done before the FAA will approve the Plymouth Airport for a weather station.
In his presentation to the council on Monday morning, Prosecutor David Holmes said sometimes what you see on the internet isn’t always what you get. He explained that his department purchased a copier online for $7,645 which was supposed to operate just like the copier the department was attempting to retire after several years of use.
Highway Superintendent Neal Haeck said the money is for the 7th Road project and the federal reimbursement has not yet come in. He assured the council that the money is coming, it’s just slow in its arrival.
