Council addresses questions about clerk employee
Local resident Sherrie Mitchell asked the Brown County Council March 18 if there was a backlog of work occurring in the county clerk’s office after the council voted last month to move a full-time employee from that office.
The council unanimously approved a temporary salary ordinance amendment at their Feb. 25 meeting that unfunded a line item in the county clerk’s budget which funded one employee’s salary, and temporarily added that employee into the commissioners’ budget in a new line item.
“How are they doing running one full-time person short? Is it messing up court paperwork? Anything? Is it causing any kind of backlog?” Mitchell asked.
Council President Dave Redding said he had personally been involved with two-follow ups since the February meeting to make sure the clerk’s office is running efficiently.
“There’s a protocol underway. We just want to make sure to protect all confidence of all of the individuals involved. I am sure it will be resolved satisfactorily. We’re not letting anything fall off the end of the plate, so to speak,” Redding said.
“We’ll figure out how to get the work done. I’m unaware of any complaints from the judge or any other services the clerk’s office provides at this time. As they become aware, it will certainly be a priority for us to address those.”
Mitchell asked about a timeline to get that full-time employee back into the clerk’s office.
“Our timeline is to get this resolved as effectively and efficiently as possible. We’re very sensitive to protecting the process that we’re going through per HR and legal, to get all of that resolved,” Redding said.
Redding said the clerk, Kathy Smith, was recently asked if there was any work not getting done due to being down an employee, and Redding said that Smith indicated she could “handle it.”
During the February council meeting, no explanation was provided as to why the employee was moved. Auditor Julie Reeves also would not comment on the amendment after the meeting, only saying the line item that was unfunded was a pay schedule for one employee.
Before the council meeting Feb. 25, the council and commissioners met in executive session “with respect to any individual whom the governing body has jurisdiction to receive information concerning an individual’s alleged misconduct.” The commissioners and council also met in an executive session on March 20 “with respect to any individual whom the governing body has jurisdiction to receive information concerning an individual’s alleged misconduct” and to discuss classified records.
At the March 20 commissioners meeting, commissioner Jerry Pittman said that the county government “does have some issues in our clerk’s office.” He said the issues are being addressed.
“We’re following a fine process. We’re working very hard to ensure we protect the confidentiality of everybody. Human resource issues are confidential,” he said.
“It’s our position to oversee these in a way that’s moral, ethical and legal. So far, the work is getting done in that office. If we know that it’s not, we will do something further to address that as we work through this issue.”
Former highway leader shares concerns about gravel roads
Former highway superintendent Ron Fleetwood presented a slideshow on the condition of gravel roads in Van Buren Township at the Brown County Commissioners meeting March 20.
“You’d like to blame the condition on the road on wet weather,” he said. “It’s that way all summer. The same thing happens in the same place all the time.”
Fleetwood showed photos of Elkinsville and Blue Creek roads with potholes, culvert, ditch and berm issues.
“I understand it’s a gravel road. I hear people say they knew it was gravel when they moved there, but they have the right to expect to have a reasonably well maintained road,” he said.
He also showed a photo of a wooden bridge on Blue Creek Road that was covered in mud.
“If that bridge fails, there’s no way for emergency services or anybody to get there. That bridge definitely needs to be cleaned off,” he said.
Fleetwood said he has gone out to the gravel roads two days after they are graded and the potholes are back because they are not cut out by highway department crews and are filled with loose material only.
“If we had money upfront to pave all the roads, it would be cheaper to maintain them than gravel roads,” commissioner Jerry Pittman said. “Those left with gravel are more expensive to maintain and more expensive for people to drive on. Until we find $30 million to finish paving the roads, we’re stuck with taking care of the gravel roads.”
Pittman said he spoke with Brown County Highway Superintendent Mike Magner about getting gravel crowns back onto the roads in Van Buren Township. Magner, who sat through Fleetwood’s presentation, said he would work on that.
Community festival to return to Helmsburg in August
On Aug. 24, downtown Helmsburg will be the site of a festival featuring motorcycle and classic cars.
The Brown County Commissioners voted to allow Brown County Highway Superintendent Mike Magner to work with the Helmsburg Community Development Group to close Main Street to vehicle traffic not associated with the festival.
The festival will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Commissioner Diana Biddle said the theme this year is “Helmsburg Hog Heaven.”
The purpose of closing Main Street to vehicle traffic would be to allow the motorcycles and classic cars to park along the north and south side of Main Street between the Helmsburg General Store and Eagle Storage.
The development group stated in a letter to the commissioners that they intend to leave the road open to allow emergency vehicle access.
