Clinton Fiscal Court held its regular meeting last Thursday, February 16 with all members present and several issues either voted on or discussed.

The court once again approved the claims and bills on a split vote, with half the magistrates, Mickey Riddle, Ricky Craig and Patty Guninn voting no, in opposition to the county paying for work release inmate lunches. Magistrate Hershell Key, who made the motion to pay, as well as magistrates Terry Buster and Johnny Russell voting yes and judge/executive Richard Armstrong broke the tie with a yes vote, passing the motion 4-3.

The court did unanimously approve the monthly treasurer’s report and fund transfers.

Prior to the business portion of the meeting, judge Armstrong praised Clinton County Attorney Michael Rains and assistant Gary Little for investigating, and discovering a “bonding company” scam in which someone was attempting to charge the county several thousand extra on the sheriff’s bond. The county attorney’s office discovered it was a scam, thus according to Armstrong, saved the county several thousand dollars.

The court also unanimously approved both the sheriff’s office and county clerk’s office annual settlements.

Cindy Thrasher with the sheriff’s office presented the court a check for $8,000 in excess fees and noted there would be an additional $1,400 to turn over after the audit is complete.

County Clerk Shelia Booher also presented the court with $9,000 in excess fees from her office, noting approximately $3,500 more would also be coming later.

There was a split vote on an issue pertaining to the sheriff’s office, as judge Armstrong recommended the county purchase the department a used cruiser.

Sheriff Jim Guffey explained that an additional deputy had been hired and needed a patrol car. He said he had found a 2004 Crown Vic, complete with the police package, for $4,000, saying his department needed the extra vehicle because an extra person had been hired.

Although the vehicle will be county property, some magistrates said they thought the funds to purchase a car should come from the sheriff’s budget, not the county and some previous vehicles had been purchased with the help of grant funds.

Other magistrates, however, noted that previous vehicles, although purchased in part with grant funds, still needed county money to buy and the vehicles were all county property.

Following a brief discussion, magistrate Key made a motion to purchase the vehicle and again a split tie occurred among court members–the same as the previous split vote on claims and bills–with judge Armstrong again breaking the tie in favor or purchasing the car.

Director of Emergency Services Lonnie Scott then discussed some ongoing grant applications the EMS is applying for, including a Homeland Security grant that would help purchase additional outdoor warning sirens. One of the grants would be under “communications” and another under “personal protection” equipment.

Scott also told the magistrates the EMS was in line for another $10,000 block grant, noting it had received the same amount last year, but the funds have to be accepted by March 15. He asked the court for permission to accept the grant and use the funds as needed, in lieu of taking a chance on losing it. Magistrate Riddle made the motion to accept the grant, which passed unanimously.

The court then unanimously approved an inter-local agreement between the county, city and school district in support of the Recreation Park Board. Those are the three entities that provide the vast majority of funding for the maintenance and upkeep of Mountain View Park.

Judge Armstrong explained that recently both the city and county had agreed to increase their budgets for the park from $10,000 to $15,000 per year and the school district had agreed to increase revenue from $10,000 to $13,000 to assist the park.

The school district provides other “in-kind” services such as trash pick-up, use of equipment, etc.

The court voted unanimously to approve the agreement, including the extra funding in the upcoming budget, to be paid in quarterly increments.

The court also voted unanimously to advertise for bids for the clean-up of two major illegal dump sites in the county. Both will be entirely funded from a recent state grant the county received earlier this year and in all about six total dump areas, including four smaller ones, will be cleaned up this year. The motion to advertise for bids was made by Key and passed on a 6-0 vote.

On the next issue before the court, magistrate Key excused himself from the discussion and vote, as judge Armstrong recommended that Odell Key, the magistrate’s brother, be hired on the road department to replace an employee who had left the road crew for a job elsewhere.

Magistrate Craig initially questioned if there was some type of nepotism law that may prevent the hiring. However, it was noted the county had earlier–due to the county’s small population size–had waived the state rule to allow relatives of county officials to work for the county.

County Attorney Rains then obtained a copy of the county’s policies and procedures and read directly a policy the county had adopted in 1994 that did, in fact, waive the state nepotism rule to allow the county of this size to hire relatives.

The court then voted 5-0, with Key not voting, to hire Odell Key at $8.50 per hour and be raised to $9 per hour after the standard 90-day probationary period.

The court then briefly discussed the buy out of Wayne County from the Tri-County Animal Shelter.

Recently, the county opted to buy out Wayne County’s share after the current contract period ends in mid-May, as that county will then begin housing its animals at its own shelter that is being constructed.

The only issue discussed was whether to pay the full amount at one time or make two payments in April and May. Eventually, without the necessity of a vote, the court opted to let Wayne County officials decide how it would prefer being paid for its share.

The court also briefly discussed trying to pinpoint the owner on Hwy. 696 in southeast Clinton County, where illegal dumping is taking place and county attorney Rains will try and research that matter.

Finally, Animal Control Coordinator Janet Brummett gave a progress report on the shelter operations, noting she was getting medicines for vaccinations for animals at a vastly reduced cost that was saving the county money.

She also said she had a volunteer helping her, especially in the area of animal rescues, who had put in a lot of time and asked the county if that person could receive some type of small compensation for the hours she puts in. However, judge Armstrong noted the county basically couldn’t afford to pay another part-time employee, but did tell Brummett he would try and assist getting that person some type of compensation, possibly through donations.

Magistrates Key and Riddle then advised the court about problems with the dishwasher at the Community Center, with Riddle noting it may be more to repair than what the unit is worth. The court agreed to purchase a new dishwasher for the facility and include the purchase on the March claims and bills.

The next regular meeting of Clinton County Fiscal Court is scheduled for March 16 at 5 p.m.