Saline County Commissioners are expected to make their final decision on the 2021 budget at next week's meeting.
During their Tuesday meeting, the commissioners reviewed a draft of the 2021 budget and provided their recommendations based on County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes' recommendations, according to information provided by the county. Smith-Hanes "will take the commissioner’s recommendations and update the spreadsheet for next week’s meeting for the commissioners to make their final decisions on proceeding with publishing the budget," the county information noted.
Additionally, commissioners appointed a Coronavirus Relief Fund Advisory Committee to provide recommendations concerning $11,026,434 in funds the county is getting through the federal CARES Act. Nearly 20 people applied to be on the committee, the county noted. Persons appointed to the committee include the following.
Tom Bell
Kristin Gunn
Dirk Hutchinson
Charles Roth
Priscilla Smith
Michelle Barkley
Phillip Smith-Hanes
Other commission business conducted Tuesday includes the following, according to the county.
•The Saline County Sheriff’s Office was awarded the AAA Silver Award from the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation, Safety, and Technology. The sheriff’s office is one out of 13 sheriff’s offices in Kansas that received the award this year. The Saline County Sheriff’s Office has department policies on seatbelt usage, they participate in the S.A.F.E. (Seatbelts Are For Everyone) program, they conduct dedicated seatbelt and DUI enforcement, and perform child seat safety checks.
•Darren Fishel, Road and Bridge Department director, provided a bi-monthly update on the activities in his department. They have replaced 11 culverts and 456 road signs, completed 26 miles of edge wedging, and many projects associated with re-shaping ditches and roads. They are gearing up to work on the roads in Sundowner West, including building the road up, reshaping, and shaping/cleaning out the ditches.
•Jason Tiller, Health Department director, provided an update on the COVID-19 situation. The Health Department has added three additional temporary staff to assist with disease investigation and contact tracing. Commissioners discussed the mandatory mask ordinance that the city commission passed Monday night. Staff had not seen the written ordinance at the time of the commission meeting, but a copy of it has been sent to the commissioners and county counselor for review. Commissioners reached a consensus that they are willing to review the city’s ordinance and have called a special meeting Wednesday at 3 p.m. in room 107 of the City-County Building, 300 West Ash Street, to determine if the county commission would be interested in issuing a mask mandate for all of Saline County that may mirror the city’s ordinance. Commissioners discussed the decisions that were made last Thursday with their action to not adopt the governor’s mandate. Commissioners are in support of mask use but saw many issues with the governor’s mandate when it came to enforcement, exemptions, and guidelines.
•Commissioners approved the acceptance of four grants for Community Corrections:
$901,072 Adult Comprehensive Plan Application and Budget Grant that covers the salary and benefits for 15 staff, 60 percent of facility costs, and costs for client services. This is an increase of $42,908 from last year.
$157,253 Reinvestment Grant Renewal which is a grant that covers the partnership with CAPS to continue the services that they assist with providing to youth and their families.
$244,026 Behavioral Health Grant that covers the cost for one high risk Intensive Supervision Officer, program provider, and recovery specialist that assists with client services such as mental health evaluations and treatment and substance abuse evaluations and treatment.
$973,888 Juvenile Services Grant that covers programs for juvenile intake and assessment, juvenile intensive supervision, community case management, immediate intervention programs, court services incentives, and prevention funds.
Additionally, commissioners met in three executive session:
•One for attorney/client privilege regarding the expo center
•One to discuss non-elected personnel
•One for employee/employer negotiations