The Saline County Commission has a busy agenda for its virtual meeting Tuesday morning.
Meeting via Zoom
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday via Zoom and the county's YouTube channel. This decision to revise the meeting format was made to align with the mass gathering limitations imposed by the Saline County Commission and Saline County Health Officer.
Meetings can be viewed on Saline County’s YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwwZp_cTSJ3Nepp_5rOGevA
To participate in the meetings, citizens will need to use the Zoom link. Use the following link and put in the Meeting ID and passcode.
https://zoom.us/j/96835819901?pwd=bUEvaExUb2ppMEFaUnd6cUd6MmNMUT09
Meeting ID: 968 3581 9901
Passcode: 144636
If citizens wish to speak, either during the public forum or when the Chairman requests public comment on an item, they must raise their hand so that the meeting host can allow them to speak.
Citizens can also send comments or questions to County Commissioners via email by going to the website www.saline.org and clicking on the County Commissioner’s page under the Department tab. Please send any emails prior to the Sunday before the meeting when possible.
Agenda items
Commissioners are scheduled to review the COVID-19 situation as it pertains to the county's mask mandate with Jason Tiller, health department director. Additionally, commissioners are scheduled to discuss with Tiller a public health order.
A memorandum of understanding related to the recruitment and hiring of personnel for the sheriff's office also will be before the commissioners. According to information in the commission meeting packet, the county "is experiencing vast challenges with hiring and retaining Corrections Officers." The sheriff's office currently is short 11 corrections officers, with some of the positions having been vacant for six months.
In an effort to help resolve the shortage, the memorandum will put before the commissioners the following.
An amendment to the 2021-2023 agreement, to implement a two-grade increase for all positions covered by this bargaining unit effective April 5, 2021, in exchange for delaying the $500 one-time payment currently scheduled for December 2021 to July 2022. This would bring the base starting pay from $15.00/hour to $16.35/hour for entry level Corrections Officers.
Other items on the county agenda for Tuesday include the following.
●Consider signing a letter appointing Jason Kern as clerk on the board for Ohio Township -- Jamie Doss, county clerk
●Consider a bid award for 2021 chemical purchase -- David Flaherty II, weed supervisor, livestock and expo
●Consider a spring 2021 sheltering memorandum of understanding with the Kansas Division of Emergency Management -- Michelle Barkley, emergency management director
●Consider a federal fund exchange agreement -- Justin Mader, county engineer
●Consider three bid awards for the Road and Bridge Department for a mower deck, an assistant superintendent truck, and a heavy haul equipment trailer -- Darren Fishel, road and bridge administrator
●Hear the health department update -- Tiller
●Hear the livestock and expo update -- Rick Lamer, director
●Consider environmental health fees -- Tim Hamilton, planning and zoning administrator
●Hear the planning and zoning update -- Hamilton
To see the entire Saline County Commission meeting packet for Tuesday (a 35-page pdf), click here.