Clinton Fiscal Court held a special called meeting last Thursday, June 22, with all five active members present. The meeting was held in lieu of its regular meeting which had been cancelled the previous week.
The meeting was brief, lasting approximately 15 minutes, but contained a couple of important items of business, including the re-hiring of the county treasurer and discussion of the issue of no bids being received as of now on the Judicial Center Waste Disposal project.
(A separate article on the Judicial Center can be found in this week’s NEWS.)
Also on the agenda included the renaming of a road and various department head reports.
The court first acknowledged the treasurer’s report, then on a motion by Magistrate Jerry Lowhorn, unanimously approved the monthly report.
After voting to pay claims and bills, the court approved two cash transfers from the Occupational Fund totaling $16,000 combined. One transfer was to the jail checking account in the amount of $11,000 and the other to the ambulance checking account in the amount of $5,000.00.
The court then unanimously voted to rehire County Treasurer Cindy Thrasher for a four year period, effective this July 1. The salary was set for the position at $950 per month.
Following the court vote to employ Thrasher for another term period, County Judge/Executive Ricky Craig noted the great job the county treasurer has done since being hired, including that the county has received back-to-back perfect state audit reports.
It was also noted that in the new fiscal year budget that begins in July, all county employees across the board did receive a salary increase for the year.
Later in the meeting, Thrasher thanked the court for their faith in rehiring her and noted she was working with a good group of people including the court and judge’s staff.
911 Mapping Coordinator Renea Wells addressed the court about a need for a slight road name change.
Wells said she had been in discussion with the U.S. Postal Service, which requested–for mail delivery purposes–that Trails End Road be named Trails End Lane.
Magistrate Lowhorn made a motion to approve the change to Trails End Lane, which passed on a 5-0 vote.
Wells also gave other updates about the 911 Mapping process and the updating of quarterly forms.
Clinton County Jailer Bruce Stearns also gave the court a monthly update, noting jail inmates had picked up 43 bags of trash and two tires along roadways this past month.
The court then approved the annual jail policies and procedures, with only a couple of minor changes being made.
The changes included camera securing run times and jail staff use of “shock gloves” which is used in cases needed for unruly inmates, but is not life-threatening in any form.
Clinton County Sheriff Ricky Marcum noted, pertaining to the shock gloves used by jail staff, that they were an “intermediate” weapon and briefly explained how they worked and the effect they have on a person to subdue them.
The sheriff also said his department had a somewhat new intermediate weapon to subdue prisoners that is relatively new to this area, that being a shotgun weapon that fires rubber bullets, and other non-life threatening ammunition.
He noted such guns would also be a good tool for animal control.
He noted that tasers only reached a certain distance when an officer was in pursuit, whereas a non-lethal shotgun type weapon would reach a much further distance.
Finally, the sheriff said the department was looking for certified officers and he was “trying to get the word out,” if anyone is certified and qualified to apply.
The next regular meeting of Clinton Fiscal Court is scheduled for Thursday, July 20, at 5 p.m. and is open to the public.