Fiscal Court Recap: February 26, 2018

Some County Employees Must Pay Back Benefits Not Deducted From Their Pay

Darren Doyle, story:​
Edmonson County Fiscal Court met on Monday, February 26, 2018.

The court discussed a situation where the county paid all the expenses for 19 different county employees for health benefits over a specific period of time. County finance officer Tammi Willhite said after a thorough audit, no one knew the reason why the expenses weren't deducted from the employees' checks but that the amount would need to be paid back in order for the fiscal year budget amounts to match.

Willhite and Judge Executive Wil Cannon said that all of the individual employees were notified of the problem and a plan to pay back the amounts were worked out with each individual employee. The court approved the plan for payback and Cannon said measures had been put in place to keep the problem from recurring.​

Road Report: County Road Foreman Ray Page reported on local flooding that had his crews repairing and cleaning out tiles and clearing debris. He also said that four county bridges were currently under water: Grassland, Cedar Grove Ch Rd, Willie Webb Road, and Alexander Creek bridge were all closed.

Sheriff Report: Sheriff Shane Doyle arrived late at today's meeting due to a medical run in which he assisted. He said an elderly man passed out behind the wheel of car but Edmonson EMS was able to administer the proper treatment and the man was going to be okay. He also discussed a recent possible overdose death in the county and expressed his desire to do more to keep this from happening. He also said that the new forensic device equipment obtained through grants in his office had helped gathered intel, file new charges, and provide new information about existing drug cases.

Jailer Report: Deputy Jailer Todd Vincent reported that Edmonson County currently has 29 inmates housed at the Hart County Jail with one on home incarceration.

County Clerk Report: Kevin Alexander was not present but deputy clerk Jason Alexander spoke about the new implemented statewide computer system that was working so far. He said an attempted state system shut down all of their local computers a couple of weeks ago because of major flaws. 

Parks & Rec: Parks Director A.B. Webb said that newly hired program administrator John Kiernan has “hit the ground running” in his new role. He also said the Little League Baseball and Softball Boards have extended  signups, and the upcoming Easter Egg Hunt in March in undergoing planning. The HWY 70 ballparks have undergone new grass seeding and the organization is preparing for the spring season.

Coroner Report: County Coroner Brentley Esters: reported 39 deaths occurred in the county during 2017, and that the number was slightly elevated from the average; however, no causes of death were out of the ordinary.

New business was also discussed at today's meeting.
​ 
Joe Plunk, Chief District Engineer (CDE) for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) District 3 office, reported on the Rural Secondary Road Program for Edmonson County that will see $1.1 Million in road work coming to the county. After his report, Sheriff Shane Doyle added that he had discussed several accident spots with state engineers over the past year. He said thanks to the state's action and improvements to those sites, the sheriff's office has not worked an accident in those areas. Magistrate Edd Rich said that several folks had contacted him about the need for new striping of 259 and 101 at Rhoda. Plunk said he will check to see if that road is eligible for new striping. 

The county also approved:

• Resolution EC 18-09, which is the Ky Dept of Agriculture grant agreement for spay and neuter
• Humane Society of Edmonson County to rent the Community Center on April 20, 2018 at no cost for an event
• KACTFO Conference for the county treasurer and finance officer

 
The next fiscal court meeting is scheduled for March 12, 2018 at 9am.