Pulaski County Soil and Water Conservation District Requests Position Be Salaried

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

The Pulaski County Council this week discussed the possibility of changing the position of education coordinator and treasurer for the Pulaski County Soil and Water Conservation District to a salaried position rather than hourly due to the large amount of work involved in the position. Kathy Wyatt explained to the council that her position requires a lot of work in schools where she provides a number of programs and classes related to the conservancy district and the new maximum number of hours the county has set is preventing her from providing some programs.

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Pulaski Council Approves Advertisement of Software Purchase

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
The Pulaski County Council this week approved a request from the county highway superintendent to advertise for the purchase of a computer software suite designed for resource tracking and accounting for highway departments. Mark Fox, highway superintendent, told the commissioners that the program would greatly help the accounting aspect of his department because of its variety of features, including time tracking, resource tracking, accounting, and report management.

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Pulaski County CDC May Soon Hire Part-Time Employee

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
The executive director of the Pulaski County Community Development Commission will soon have a helping hand, as the county council this week approved a $9000 transfer to allow Nathan Origer to look into hiring a part-time employee to help alleviate some of the responsibilities that are weighing him down. Origer said he is having a difficult time attending numerous meetings, manning the office, taking care of clerical work and working as the “ambassador of Pulaski County,” all while trying to entice businesses to set up shop in the area.

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State Legislators May Override Pence’s Veto of CAGIT Bill

Posted on Author WKVI
State Senator Ed Charbonneau
State Senator Ed Charbonneau

State Senator Ed Charbonneau visited Pulaski County this week to speak to the county commissioners and council during a joint session held Monday night regarding a revenue bill vetoed by Governor Mike Pence that could affect the county’s CAGIT moneys. State Representative Doug Gutwein previously explained to the boards that a clerical error at the state level could force the county to pay taxpayers back millions of dollars that had been collected by the County Adjusted Gross Income Tax – money that had originally been collected to cover the cost of the jail – because the state claims that the county overcharged its taxpayers. The county still owes roughly $5 million on the jail facility.

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Pulaski County Council, Commissioners Approve Amendment to Personnel Policy

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
The Pulaski County Council and commissioners met in a joint session last night to discuss an amendment to the personnel policy regarding overtime, paid time off, holidays and bereavement pay. Commissioner Larry Brady was present at the meeting while commissioners Tracey Shorter and Terry Young were unable to make it to the meeting; Shorter, however, was available via speakerphone.

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State Rep. Gutwein Explains State CAGIT Concerns in Pulaski County

Posted on Author WKVI
State Representative Douglas Gutwein explains the confusion regarding the CAGIT tax to the council and commissioners.
State Representative Douglas Gutwein explains the confusion regarding the CAGIT tax to the council and commissioners.

State Representative Douglas Gutwein visited Pulaski County this week to speak to the county commissioners and council during a joint session held Monday night regarding a revenue bill vetoed by Governor Mike Pence that could affect the county’s CAGIT moneys. Gutwein explained that a clerical error at the state level could force the county to pay taxpayers back millions of dollars that had been collected by the County Adjusted Gross Income Tax – money that had originally been collected to cover the cost of the jail – because the state claims that the county overcharged its taxpayers. The county still owes roughly $5 million on the jail facility.

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Pulaski Council Tables Road Paving Request

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
The Pulaski County Council at their meeting Monday night tabled a request from Mark Fox to pave a gravel road, County Road 950 South, because residents had been complaining of gravel dust because of frequent truck traffic. Fox said he would like to use some CEDIT money to fund the project, since the first quarter-mile of the road had been paved 3–4 years ago using the funds and now the residents on the road would like to see the rest of it paved as well, approximately three-quarters of a mile.

Auditor Shelia Garling said the funds are available in CEDIT, which currently has a balance of nearly $1.7 million, but she would have to make an additional appropriation.

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Pulaski Council, Commissioners Discuss Personnel Policy

Posted on Author WKVI

Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
The Pulaski County Council and commissioners met in a joint session last night to discuss the personnel policy, particularly holiday pay and paid time off for sheriff’s department and EMS employees. Paula Reimers of Wagner, Irwin & Sheely appeared before the two boards in an effort to get the mess sorted out, and a lengthy discussion followed.

Because the county has 119 employees to worry about, the county council and commissioners would be hard-pressed to find a policy that would suit everyone’s needs, and the council sought changes to the policy to ensure fairness between departments. Reimers expressed to the boards that some important questions that needed answered regarding the policy included whether or not 12-hour shift employees would receive 12 or eight hours’ pay for holidays, whether those working on holidays would receive time and a half, and whether or not to allow employees to “bank” their holiday time.

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iPad Purchases Leave Commissioners Budget Short

Posted on Author WKVI

Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
The purchase of eight defibrillators for office buildings in Pulaski County hinges on the council’s willingness to appropriate funds for the potentially life-saving devices. Commissioners approved the expenditure last week. However, they don’t have funds readily available to make the purchase, having spent nearly their entire discretionary budget on iPads. Council members repeatedly refused to purchase the tablet computers for the commissioners and finally told them they can spend money in the commissioners budget without obtaining the council’s permission. If the council approves that expenditure when they meet tonight, it will still need to be advertised and approved at their June meeting.

Pulaski County Council Denies iPad Purchase for Third Time

Posted on Author WKVI

Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
For the third time, Pulaski County commissioners appeared before the county council to request their approval for the purchase of four iPads at a cost of $4259, and also for the third time, the council denied the request. Commissioner Tracey Shorter said that the iPads would allow the commissioners to work more efficiently, explaining that it is hard for the commissioners and the county attorney to keep up with the information that is provided in their information packets, and that inconvenience has, in the past, translated to a loss for the county.

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Pulaski Council Approves Transfer of Funds from One Bridge to Another

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
The Pulaski County Council this week approved a $150,000 transfer from the funds dedicated to constructing a new bridge on County Road 625 East to the Haschell Bridge repair project. Recently appointed Highway Superintendent Mark Fox told the council at their meeting last night that the current deck for the bridge will be milled and the existing asphalt will be removed before workers remove a quarter-inch of existing concrete and perform full-depth patching to fill any potholes forming on the deck.

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Pulaski Council Approves $6000 for Health Dept. Shingles Shots

Posted on Author WKVI
 

The shingles vaccine offered by the Pulaski County Health Department is flying off the shelves, and Health Department Manager Terri Hansen requested an appropriation from the county council in the amount of $6000 to continue purchasing the popular vaccine as well as that for hepatitis B. Hansen told the council that they gave their last shingles shot this week, after giving an average of about 10 shots per month to county residents.

“We have been giving a lot of shingles vaccines to people over the age of 50. Most of the local doctors here have been recommending that to their patients, and we have been, I’d say, getting rid of at least 10 shingles vaccines a month – and they’re quite costly. They’re $175 each, and we’re not making money on them, but it is a great community service so we’re amazed at how many people are continuing to call and they’re always on a waiting list for this vaccine,” said Hansen.

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Pulaski County Council Approves Fire Dept. Radio Purchases

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
Five firefighters in Pulaski County are currently without radios due to an increase in department staffing, and EMA Director Larry Hoover approached the county council this week with a request to purchase six additional 800MHz radios to allow them to get to work protecting the county. Hoover told the council that three fire departments have increased in size enough that they no longer have enough radios to supply every firefighter with one and requested them to approve his purchase to allow them to safely begin fighting those fires.

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Pulaski County Auditor Makes Plea for Additional Help; Council Makes No Motion

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
The Pulaski County auditor’s office is still running ragged, according to Auditor Shelia Garling, who told the county council this week that her office is still running understaffed and requested an additional full-time employee.

The council, however, expressed their reservations regarding the hire of another employee, and suggested that Garling look into ways to cut down on the amount of work required in the office. The county will be installing a new time system to clock employees in and out, which would reduce the amount of work done in the auditor’s office. On top of that, the council recommended that Garling cross-train her employees, allowing them to handle multiple tasks within the office.

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Pulaski Council Again Denies Commissioners’ Request for iPads

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
Even with a slightly lower price tag this time around, the Pulaski County Council once again denied a request from the county commissioners to purchase four iPads from Verizon. Commissioner Tracey Shorter approached the council last night with the request to purchase the devices and presented new information regarding the proposed purchase.

Shorter said the devices would cost the county $4259 for the purchase of the four iPads, a one-time charge of $199 for two years of protection, and an additional $1404 per year to include the devices on the county’s current shared data plan through Verizon. Shorter said that because the commissioners fund had carried over an amount from last year through various cuts in county expenses by both the commissioners and the county council, she felt that this expense is justified – especially when considering the benefit she claims the iPads would have for the county officials.

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Pulaski Council Approves Salary Ordinance; Unfreezes Salaries

Posted on Author WKVI

The Pulaski County Council unfroze salaries for three Pulaski County positions after the council held a lengthy discussion on the revised salary ordinance. The council dropped the freezes for the economic development director, health department registrar, and head cook at the sheriff’s department. However, the discussion over the salary of the jail matron remains, as the council decided to table the discussion over that salary.

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Pulaski Council Approves Appropriation for Rail Study

Posted on Author WKVI

The Pulaski County Council Monday night approved a motion to advertise for a $52,000 appropriation to allow a design engineer firm to conduct studies to find suitable locations to improve rail access in the industrial park in Pulaski County. Nathan Origer, executive director of the Pulaski County Community Development Commission, told the council that the county’s strategic plan – which had been composed in 2010 – calls for development of the agricultural-technology alternative-energy industrial park on the west side of the county, which would be served by rail.

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Pulaski Council Denies Commissioners’ iPad Request

Posted on Author WKVI

The Pulaski County Council last night denied a request from the county commissioners to purchase four 64GB iPads, activation, and insurance at a cost of approximately $5000 for the devices and one year of coverage.

The council discussed whether the commissioners had a sound plan or if they were “putting the cart before the horse,” after a council member presented a quote from AT&T that was right around the same price but provided two years of coverage. On top of that, the information from AT&T indicated that the company would provide training – something that the commissioners’ proposal from Venture Wireless did not provide.

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Pulaski County Commissioners, Council Change Venue for Tonight’s Meeting

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter

The Pulaski County Commissioners will meet tonight at 6 p.m. ET for their regularly scheduled meeting, but there has been a change of venue because officials expect a large crowd due to a controversial agenda item. Both the commissioners meeting and the meeting of the county council at 5 p.m. ET have been moved to the circuit courtroom, located on the second floor of the Pulaski County Courthouse.

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