Morgan County Commissioners get financial report, OKs Community Crossings application

Keith Rhoades
·3 min read

The Morgan County Board of Commissioners approved several items during its meeting Tuesday night.

It moved its meeting from Monday to Tuesday due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.

County finances

While Morgan County Auditor Dan Bastin was absent from the meeting, he did send the 2021 county financial statement to the commissioners for approval.

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The statement includes the balances for more than 150 seperate accounts.

According to Bastin, the county began 2021 with more than $65.4 million in the bank. The county had around $205.6 million in income from all sources, paid out around $193.1 million leaving the county with a balance of around $78 million.

The county paid around $18.7 million in salary and wages in 2021.

The commissioners approved the report.

Morgan County Treasurer Terry Clelland gave the commissioners a list of investments the county had in 2021.

According to Clelland, the county earned around $312,504 in interest last year. That amount was down from 2020 when the county earned around $434,985. In 2019, the county earned around $807,806 in interest. The commissioners also approved the county's policy on investments.

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The commissioners approved requesting the Morgan County Council transfer funds to pay several expenses from 2021. The members also approved requests for the council to appropriate funds to begin work on the county's building projects.

Community Crossing grants

Commissioners gave the go-ahead for the county to apply for a Community Crossing grant for the highway department.

If successful, money from the grant will go toward funding for the county's paving project in 2023. County engineer Tony Hinkle said he plans to advertise for bids later this year.

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There are around 21 miles of roads the county is looking to repave.

In other business

  • The commissioners approved a contract with the Consignment Connection auction service. The service will sell unneeded highway equipment. The company will receive 6% of a sale price plus a 10% buyer's premium. The county has used the service before.

  • Members approved an ordinance amending the county's Rainy Day Fund to allow money used for the county's future construction projects to be repaid when the county sells bonds to finance the project.

  • They also approved a resolution to send three unused or surplus county owned vehicles to the Enterprise Fleet Management company. The company will sell the vehicles.

  • The commissioners made no changes to the county's employee handbook concerning what employment positions will require background checks. Currently those wanting to work for the sheriff's office, county jail, the court system and the Emergency Medical Service have to undergo background checks. These positions are covered in the handbook. As for current or future employees who may have a felony or misdemeanor on their record, those cases will be handled on a care-by-case basis.

  • The commissioners approved allowing an unnamed employee to have 18 hours of unpaid time off. This is in violation of a county ordinance barring employees from having unpaid time off but the commissioners noted the employee had been negatively affected last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The next scheduled commissioner meeting is set for 9:30 a.m. on Monday Feb. 7 at the Morgan County Administration Building, 180 S. Main St., Martinsville.

This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Morgan County Commissioners get financial report