The Decatur County Council met on Tuesday.
Sean Durbin with the Health Department came to the board to request part time rate changes. This is for 3 positions which have been replaced recently. The positions are 2 environmental health specialists and 1 nurse position. The pay for the nurse position has increased significantly to $60,000 a year due to the pandemic. This was approved.
Michelle Guidice and Erin Thomas with Catch-A-Ride came to the board to request their 2023 budget. Throughout COVID their biggest concern was keeping everyone safe with social distancing. This ended in April and while it was a necessary precaution, it had a major effect on their revenue. Due to this they have increased their budget request to $10,000. This was accepted for the board for review.
Amanda Lear with Centerstone came to the board to discuss the annual payment made by the council. They provided the reports for the last 4 years to the council. Centerstone works closely DCS, the schools, probation and help to coordinate specific services to ensure that children and families are getting the individual specialized treatment that they deserve. This includes both inpatient and outpatient therapy services. The board appreciates everything that Centerstone does; however, they have not been given a report in 12 years and state statute states that they must do an annual report as well as have a commissioners appointment to their board in order to receive the $220,000 that they requested. Lear stated that while she is new to this county and was not aware that there were no reprints being sent out, they want to do everything in their power to make sure it doesn’t happen again and they get up to state statute.
Minde Myers with Animal Control came to the board to request additionals for utilities, animal medical bills, and adoption fees totaling in $21,700. This was approved.
Sheriff Durant came to the board to request a transfer of $19,800 from longevity to an OT fund for the detention center. This was approved. The board approved for $19,100 from a vehicle sale to go towards the purchase of a replacement. The board approved $28,000 for a transport van purchase. The Sheriff request $150,000 for fuel. Since the rise in fuel they are currently on track to be out of funds by the end of the year. There was a question on if they would be allowed to submit a monthly bill rather than take a full chunk out at once that will be looked into. The board approved $60,000 for fuel.
There was a discussion on the salary study. They thanked everyone involved on the committee for their time and effort. They wanted to make a set of data that was as impartial as possible and to do this they did not compare office to office but rather compared our county to 17 other counties. They sat down with different departments both within and outside of our county in order to discuss the numbers with them and get a feel of what is needed. They have given the recommendations for the elected officials.
All transfers were approved. All additionals were approved. The health department 144 was approved. The Delta abatement renewal was approved.
Morgan Schofield
WTRE News
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