Pulaski County property taxpayers may be in for a bit of a shock. A tax restructuring approved by the county council last year lowered the local income tax from a state-high 3.38 to 2.85 percent. That involved adjusting how that money is allocated, shifting much of it away from property tax relief.
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Pulaski County officials will continue discussing the future of Arens Field tonight. The county commissioners recently agreed to hire Daryn Wilder as airport manager, even though some county officials had expressed interest in privatizing the airport. Board of Aviation Commissioners President Jeremy Wegner is expected to weigh in on Bluebird Ag’s interest in buying or leasing the airport during tonight’s joint county council and commissioners meeting.
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Pulaski County EMS may allow non-certified staff to work on its ambulances. That’s one of a few ideas EMS Director Brandon DeLorenzo presented to the county commissioners Monday to address the department’s staffing shortages.
Continue readingPulaski County may have to offer its EMS staff more money or reduce to a basic service. Those were the options EMS Director Brandon DeLorenzo gave the county council earlier this month. He said he hasn’t been able to fill two open full-time positions, as anyone who expresses interest finds a better-paying job elsewhere. If the county can’t have a paramedic on duty at all times, he said it may have to go to a basic service, which several council members opposed.
Continue readingPulaski County will have to cut spending out of its Cumulative Capital Development Fund, as the county council tries to avoid overburdening property taxpayers. Auditor Laura Wheeler recently told council members that its revenues can’t sustain its expenses for the long-term.
Continue readingPulaski County may be looking to have a new maintenance director in place before setting out to restructure the department. Commissioner Chuck Mellon previously presented a restructuring proposal that would involve adding a qualified maintenance person at a rate of $25 per hour.
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Updates to Pulaski County’s solar farm regulations got the approval of the county’s advisory plan commission Thursday. The proposed adjustments would beef up setback and screening requirements.
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Plans are moving ahead to issue bonds for the expansion of the Pulaski County Justice Center, while county officials continue discussing the planned renovation of the courthouse.
Continue readingThe Pulaski County Council will consider action tonight to correct a couple of oversights in the 2021 budget. During the budget process, council members decided to move funding for local fire departments out of the county’s General Fund and into the public safety income tax fund. Auditor Laura Wheeler told the council last month that while she took the $31,500 out of County General, she forgot to add it to public safety.
Continue readingThe debate over Circuit Court staffing continued during last month’s joint Pulaski County Council and Commissioners meeting. Judge Mary Welker once again asked for a part-time staff member to be moved to full-time status.
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Some Pulaski County officials are open to the idea of privatizing Arens Field, but there would be a number of obstacles that would have to be overcome before that could happen.
Continue readingAs Pulaski County officials consider restructuring the county’s Maintenance Department, its current director is stepping down. The resignation of Mia Salyers was accepted by the county commissioners Friday. She’d served as maintenance director for the past two years.
Continue readingPulaski County government employees can continue using paid COVID-19 leave through the end of March. The extension was approved by the county council and commissioners last week.
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Suicides and drug overdose deaths were up slightly in Pulaski County in 2020. Coroner Jon Frain reviewed last year’s numbers with the county council and commissioners last week. He said his office investigated nine accidental deaths, three suicides, and two homicides.
Continue readingThe Pulaski County Commissioners last week finalized some arrangements for the county’s share of COVID-19 relief funding. The commissioners passed an ordinance directing CARES Act money to be used to reimburse public health and safety payroll costs.
Continue readingThe Pulaski County Council finalized over a million dollars in additional appropriations Monday, but not without a debate on funding for COVID-19 response. The county’s Incident Management Team asked for almost $48,000, the amount that was left unspent from last year’s $100,000 additional appropriation. But with only about $2,400 actually being spent on PPE last year, Council Member Rudy DeSabatine wasn’t comfortable approving the entire request at once.
Continue readingMore than $1 million in additional appropriations will be up for the Pulaski County Council’s final approval tonight. Many of those are appropriations that were approved last year but weren’t entirely spent by December 31. A lot of that is to cover up-front costs for various projects that can be reimbursed from other funding sources later.
Continue readingJust a month into 2021, the Pulaski County Council is already considering more than a million dollars in additional appropriations. Many of those are additionals that were approved last year but weren’t entirely spent before December 31.
Continue readingThe new president of the Pulaski County Board of Commissioners is laying out his proposals to overhaul the Maintenance Department and IT services. Chuck Mellon shared his ideas with the rest of the commissioners last week.
Continue readingPulaski County leaders remain split on the need for an outside analysis of the county government’s pay scales and staffing. Accounting firm Baker Tilly has offered to do the first phase of the study for $30,000, about a $5,000 decrease from last year’s proposal, according to Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer.
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