(Photo by Charles Romans, Carter County Times)
By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
The Carter County Fiscal Court approved the purchase of three new transport vans for the Carter County Detention Center on Monday, February 9. The jail is currently operating its transport with vehicles that are over ten years old, and all of those vehicles have experienced major maintenance issues. Two of the vehicles have needed engines replaced and the jail has also had to purchase replacement transmissions.
Carter County Jailer R.W. Boggs told the fiscal court that the transport vans currently in use had been purchased in 2014 and 2016, and the vehicles had reached their limit.
“We have broken down seven times this year,” Boggs said, referring to the issues the vans had experienced since the beginning of 2016.
There were three instances, he said, where the vehicles had effectively stranded them while working for the US Marshall Service.
Boggs voiced his apprehension that consistent breakdowns and/or delays might compromise that contract, which currently brings in around $2 million per year for the county jail. He presented the fiscal court with quotes for new cargo vans, the cheapest being from Mark Porter Chevrolet in Ashland, at a cost of $35,000 per vehicle. As is the case with most official service vehicles, Boggs told the court they would need to be ordered soon because of the delay in delivery.
One of the three vehicles, Boggs said, might arrive fairly quickly but he was not given a time frame for delivery of the remaining two vehicles. That delivery might be up to six months, he said. Fortunately, however, the jail would not be out a re-equipping fee for changing radios and cages because jail employees would be able to handle that conversion themselves.
Boggs also mentioned to the court that he had spoken with Kentucky Deferred Comp about a retirement supplement that could be made available to county employees.
“It’s kind of like the health departments in the state systems use,” Boggs said. “They allow for the counties to participate in that, and all we have to do is have a resolution stating that we want to participate.”
They program runs a 401K and a 457B deferred compensation for county employees who choose to sign up. The program allows employees to designate a portion of their payroll to the account before taxes, and the county, if it chooses to do so, can match those funds, but it is not required to do so. The program, Boggs said, was designed as a supplement to the county employees’ pensions. The court voted to approve a resolution (No. 450) that the county wished to participate.
In other business, the court voted to renew the interlocal agreement with the Carter County Public Library. The agreement, which has a two-year term, lists the fiscal court’s support of the public library (along with the City of Grayson and the City of Olive Hill) in the amount of $27,000 per year.
The court also accepted the recommendation from Mindy Click to appoint Olive Hill teacher Diane Stephens to replace Aaron Baldwin, who resigned from the Carter County Library Board. The court has the right to appoint one board member to the Library Board, Click explained, and Baldwin was the last member appointed by the court.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
