Beech Tree News Network

Butler County Fiscal Court held its regular meeting for March on Monday night. All members - Stevie Givens, Johnny Tuck, Chad Tyree, David Whittinghill, and Bobby Moore - were present, along with Judge-Executive David Fields.

First on the short agenda was a report from Don Sullivan from the Butler County Ambulance Board. Sullivan told the court that declining funds caused by the reduction of land-line phones and expenses incurred with updating the county’s 911 equipment has caused a budget shortfall for the ambulance service.

According to Sullivan the ambulance service had dispatching expenses of $285,918.00 in Fiscal Year 2014, with income from 911 telephone surcharges totaling $185,658.00, resulting in a $102,260.00 deficit. Using a breakdown of calls received to dispatch, Sullivan showed that of 15,772 calls received in 2014, 6,453 of the calls were for county services such as EMS, sheriff’s office, etc. By those figures 41% of calls were for county services.

Sullivan proposes that the county pay $41,927 of the shortfall, which amounts to 41% of the deficit. He told the court that charging for dispatch services is something the board had considered before, but did not enact because the county had previously provided bays for the ambulances, a dispatch office, and other facilities. He said that the city of Morgantown now provides the facilities for the ambulance service and dispatch for $1 per year.

He also told the court that tax money only provides 36% of funding for the ambulance service. He said that other funding comes from telephone 911 surcharges, insurance reimbursements, and other funds. Sullivan said that telephone surcharge income has dropped in recent years, and will continue to drop because of the reduction of home telephones. Ambulance runs were also down in 2014, which contributed to the budget deficit.

Sullivan told the court that the ambulance service still owes 45 payments on their new 911 equipment, and that each payment is $3,405.87 monthly. He said that once the equipment is paid for that the budget problems will be easier to overcome.

No action was taken on Sullivan’s report.

Next, Bruce White from the Boys and Girls Club of Butler County spoke to the court. White said that he had turned in all the required reports and paperwork to request $12,500 in annual funding. White reported that the club is servicing more children than it has in the past. He said that the Smart Moves program alone is helping educate 560 first and fifth graders about the problems caused by drug and alcohol abuse, and teenage pregnancy. According to White the club will expand services in 2015 when they open a second unit at North Butler Elementary School. He anticipates about 30 children will use the new unit when it is opened.

No action was taken on the request.

Butler County EMS Director Terry Hunt spoke to the court about the county’s EMS radio system. Hunt said that license fees are due to the Federal Communications Commission by April 28th, or the county risks losing their radio broadcast license and/or possible fines. Total fees for the county are $2,610.00 including three new repeaters for county fire departments.

Hunt said that the license fee for the new repeater added in the 4th District has also not been paid because of a misunderstanding about who is responsible for the payment. Hunt said that repeaters for the 2nd and 3rd District fire departments were paid for by the departments. He advised that the 4th District Fire Department should pay for their repeater, or have the funds taken from their annual budget allotment next year.

Hunt also told the court that a new control box is needed to make all the repeaters in the county work properly. He said that currently the repeaters aren't broadcasting signals properly when county fire departments are called out. He said that the new controller would allow dispatchers to broadcast on specific repeaters when those departments are called out.

To illustrate the problem, Hunt told the court that presently some department members in areas not covered by the Morgantown repeater don’t hear their emergency tones. He also said that in certain areas of the county communications back to dispatch is hampered because of the improperly operating repeaters.

He said that Kenwood radio dealer Bill Kidd can install the control module for the repeaters for $1,000.

Magistrates voted 5-0 to purchase and install the control module, however they took no action on paying the license fees until more information can be attained about the nature of the fees, and a breakdown of the fees can be presented to the court.

Hunt then gave a brief report about the two recent snow emergencies in the county. He said that Judge Fields declared the county a disaster area during both events, and that the damage threshold in dollars was met and surpassed. However Hunt said that FEMA funds are in doubt because snowfall amounts didn’t surpass records set in the 1960s. He said that if any county touching Butler County received record snowfalls that Butler County would also be allotted federal disaster assistance money. No action was needed or taken on Hunt’s report.

Sheriff Scottie Ward presented a check for his department’s 2014 fee settlement to the court, and received a refund from his 2013 settlement. Ward overpaid the court $377.07 in 2013. His fee settlement check for 2014 totaled $9,201.40. Ward was questioned about one line on his quarterly report. Magistrate David Whittinghill asked why drug-fund monies weren’t reported. He told the sheriff that he had learned at a workshop in Frankfort that drug fund money was always to be reported. Ward said that auditors had seen his quarterly reports and found no errors and said nothing about reporting drug fund monies.

The court voted 5-0 in separate motions to accept the sheriff’s settlement, and refund the overpayment from 2013.

Magistrate David Whittinghill asked to revisit the proposed nuisance ordinance that was discussed last fall. Whittinghill told the court that County Attorney Dick Deye had prepared the ordinance, and he asked that a first reading be held on the legislation. Whittinghill moved to accept the ordinance, with Magistrate Johnny Tuck seconding. The first reading of the motion passed 5-0 after limited discussion about enforcement and fines.

In other business the court approved hiring Randy Grubb as a seasonal operator for the Butler County Road Department. They also approved changing the name of Rocky Hollow Road to Noble Wallace Lane. A litter abatement payment of $602.00 was approved for the BCHS Broadcasting Club. The court approved a change in their life insurance carrier from MetLife to Anthem. The change will lower premiums and raise coverage from $16,000 to $25,000.

The meeting was then adjourned.

The Fiscal Court meets in regular session on the second Monday of each month, at 5 p.m. in the upstairs courtroom of the Butler County Courthouse. All meetings are open to the public.

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Story by Joe K.Morris, Beech Tree News