Clinton County Fiscal Court held a short but rather busy regular meeting last Thursday evening, June 21.

After accepting the monthly treasurer’s report, voting to pay claims and bills and approve fund transfers, road material bids were opened.

Only one bid was received on culverts and three total bids were received on stone and road materials. As in the past, the court voted to accept the lowest local bids with the stone to be divided as equally as possible to both Gaddie Shamrock and Albany Quarry.

The court then gave unanimous approval to second reading of the 2018-19 fiscal year budget, which totals $4,924,143, which is about $200,000 above the 2017-18 year total, primarily due to carryover in the road department funds.

The court also approved second and final reading of two budget amendments pertaining to insurance fund reimbursements on county and/or sheriff’s department vehicles.

After acknowledging receipt of the health department’s budget and tax rates for the coming year as presented, the board took the issue of several road petitions, most of them being in the fifth magisterial district.

The court appointed viewers on the Creek Side Drive road petition and approved first reading on some other roads, including Griffin Trail, Griffin Spur and Whitney Way.

The court also approved, on a split vote, to accept Franklin Road on first reading, with magistrates Mickey Riddle and Ricky Craig claiming that particular road should be considered a subdivision and should be maintained the owners.

The motion by magistrate Hershell Key, with magistrate Patty Guinn absent, did pass on a 3-2 vote with magistrates Terry Buster and Johnny Russell also voting yes.

Magistrate Key theorized that Franklin Road only led into Franklin Estates, aka Eagle Point Drive, and did not including maintaining the subdivision roads themselves.

After approving the annual Sheriff’s Settlement, the court–following a presentation by EMS Director Lonnie Scott–voted to proceed on applying for two grants for sheriff’s department vehicles and giving judge/executive Richard Armstrong the authority to sign any related documents pertaining to the grant applications.

Scott noted this process was to close out the grant application process for the sheriff’s department vehicle project.

The court then dealt with some new hires, including Rodney Brown as a replacement employee on the road department, starting out at $8.50, increasing to $9 after 60 days.

Clinton County Coroner Steve Talbott also addressed the court, asking for a pay increase for deputy coroner Lonnie Scott. The court voted to set Scott’s pay in that position at $7,000 annually, just over half of the annual coroner’s salary. Even with the increase, the pay scale for assistant coroner was still well below the state average rate of pay.

The court also accepted a list of employees and pay scales for some new employees that have been hired at either the jail or emergency services, including:

Steven Baker, EMT; Laura Harvey, Paramedic; Angela Byrd, jail; Sasha Likens, EMT; Joseph Portman, jail; Alex Beaty, EMT; Jerry Hancock, jail; Tammy Dodson, dispatch and Chelsea Stacy, EMT.

Judge Armstrong then noted to the court that the vehicle for the sheriff’s department to replace a wrecked cruiser, after insurance adjustment, would only cost the county about $9,000 with the vehicle being a 2018 Durango.

The meeting was adjourned after approximately 35 minutes.

The next regular meeting of Clinton Fiscal Court is scheduled for July 19 at 5 p.m. and is open to the general public.