By Dean Manning
While approving its 2009-10 fiscal year budget Thursday morning, the Laurel County Fiscal put a cap on the number of employees at the Laurel County Detention Center.
In approving its second reading, the fiscal court enacted a $16.47 million budget. The court voted to limit jail staffing to 72 full-time and two part-time employees.
Jail staffing has been an issue since Jailer Jack Sizemore asked the fiscal court for an additional $500,000 to meet shortfalls for the current fiscal year. Judge-Executive Lawrence Kuhl suggested that part of the problem was $259,000 paid to jail employees in 2008.
A request was made to increase the 9-1-1 surcharge, but the request died when none of the five Laurel County magistrates made the motion to vote on the measure.
Kuhl said the 9-1-1 board was requesting a 35-cent increase on all landlines in Laurel County from $2.50 per month to $2.85 per month to cover an expected budget shortfall of $60,000 to $70,000 in 2009-10.
Kuhl said in a letter to the county, 9-1-1 board members had noted the increasing number of people doing away with their landlines in favor of cell phones resulting in a decrease in operating revenue for Laurel County 9-1-1.
Laurel County 9-1-1 Communication Board Member Larry VanHook said the board had made a similar request to the city of London, but without the county being willing to do it, it is unlikely the city would go along.
VanHook said given the current economic situation, everyone’s budget is tight, so he understands the county’s decision.
“We will just have to go back to the board and cut back on everything we can cut back on to make ends meet,” VanHook said.
In other business at Thursday’s regular meeting the fiscal court
• Approved the second reading of the 2009-10 fiscal year budget
• Re-appointed Larry VanHook to the Laurel County 9-1-1 board for another term, which will expire in 2013
• Agreed to allow some county salaried employees to be exempt from punching a time clock
• Approved the magistrates’ committee assignments for 2009-10 as follows: Fire Protection and Emergency Services will include Tom Baker and Noah Baker; Sanitation and Environmental will include Noah Baker and Tom Baker; Transportation and Streams will include Roy Crawford and David Bruner; Law Enforcement, Jail and Animal Control will include David Bruner and Roy Crawford; Building and Ground, Parks and Recreation, Planning and Zoning will include David Westerfield and Jeff Book; Budget, Audits and Personnel will include Jeff Book and David Westerfield.
