The Pulaski County Council this week held a lengthy discussion over how much the county should pay per hour for a part-time animal control officer. Commission President Tracey Shorter approached the council alongside the newly-hired animal control director Sarah Thompson with a request that the council set a part-time wage for the position, asking for a rate of $15.17 – the same rate as a full-time employee but without benefits.
The tablet trend continues as more and more government, education, and private entities switch to tablets such as the iPad to allow employees to access information more conveniently. This time, it’s the Pulaski County Commissioners who are seeking to employ iPads to assist them with their duties.
Commission President Tracey Shorter approached the county council at their meeting this week requesting the purchase of iPads from Venture Wireless to help them work more efficiently. Shorter said it is hard to keep up with the information that is provided in their information packets, and that inconvenience translated to a loss for the county when the commissioners approved the purchase of a new truck for the sheriff’s department before reviewing the bids. Consequently, the commissioners spent more money on a Chevrolet model from Braun Chevrolet than they would have if they had gone with a different bid for a Ford model from Jim Dobson Ford.
The Pulaski County Council on Monday night heard a number of requests that had been approved by the county commissioners, but the council wasn’t so eager to approve some of them.
The county commissioners last week approved a purchase for the surveyor’s office to rent a printer capable of printing 11-by-17-inch pages, a necessity for the office. At a cost of $65.10 extra per month for the equipment, the council was not required to make a motion to approve the cost because the money was available in the budget. However, the council gave their approval for the equipment to be paid for using funds from the commissioners budget.
The Pulaski County Auditor’s Office isn’t getting any additional help any time soon, as the county council this week denied a request from Auditor Shelia Garling to hire an additional full-time employee.
Garling said her request was denied because the county council felt the office did not need any additional staffing, despite the auditor’s office being down one full-time employee. Fortunately, she said things should change at the start of the new year, when she expects to have three full-time employees and two part-time employees.
There was some heated discussion regarding the recycling center’s purchase of aluminum and other recyclables at the last Pulaski County Commissioners meeting. Ed Clark, of the Pulaski County Recycling Center, approached the commissioners and mentioned his interest in allowing the recycling center to once again purchase aluminum from county residents and businesses.
After much discussion at its recent meeting, the Pulaski County Council approved Sheriff Michael Gayer’s request to replace one departing deputy.
The Council approved the hiring of two deputies to fill vacant positions that are funded in this year’s budget, but Sheriff Gayer will hold off on one of the hires until the Council examines the legality of filling the position. Hiring two new deputies would give the County nine patrol deputies.
