By Haylee Pence
TROY — During their regularly scheduled meeting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 14, the Miami County Commissioners met to authorize several agreements.
The first authorization the commissioners agreed to was the addendum to the Community-Based Corrections Programs for the grant agreement. The change to agreement was a 5% increase of the county’s award, which changed it to $75,600 from a previous $72,000.
The next resolution was for the Common Pleas Court, which funded Judge Stacy Wall to attend the 2021 Ohio Common Pleas Judges’ Association Winter Conference for a four-day time period in Dublin. The resolution was amended to include an additional $134.40 for mileage. This resolution was approved.
The commissioners also approved the purchase of a new 2021 Ford F-150 Supercab XL for the Miami County Public Health Department. The new truck will be utilized for towing a trailer to move supplies and equipment around the county for COVID mobile testing clinics. The vehicle will be purchased from Interstate Ford in Miamisburg.
Commissioner Gregory Simmons stated, “[the commissioners] are really glad to help out with that. It’s really needed.”
The next authorization involved the Communication Center and Job and Family Services for three employee requisitions. The two positions within Job and Family Services are full-time child welfare case aides for a pay range of $13.39-$20.66 depending on qualifications. The other position for the Communication Center is full-time telecommunicator with a pay rate of $19.55.
The commissioners authorized the employment verification of Michalla Davidson starting Dec. 20 with a pay rate of $15.52 in the Job and Family Services for the position of eligibility referral specialist.
Next, they authorized a memorandum of agreement with Jill Henson for the position of guardianship investigator with the Probate Court. For each investigation within the county, the cost will be $110. Out of county investigations will be $120. For each additional service requested, the cost will be $20 in county and $30 out of county.
The next authorization was for the purchase of one 1,000-gallon fuel tank and pump at the Miami County Transfer Station for a cost that shall not exceed $8,280 for the Sanitary Engineering Department.
The Sheriff’s Office was approved to purchase 12 HP ProDesk desktop computers and 24 Planar monitors for a cost that shall not exceed $14,170.44 to replace older equipment.
The commissioners approved the collective bargaining agreement between the Miami County Sheriff and the Fraternal Order of Police, which sees a pay raise for employees within the Sheriff’s Department. The contract negotiation occurred a year early, and the accepted terms run from Jan. 1, 2022 through Dec. 31, 2024. Deputies will receive a 3% wage increase for each year of the contract with a one-time $2.00 per hour wage increase that will take place in 2022.
Following the general meeting, the commissioners met with those involved with the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds to receive updates on where the funds are being used. The first update involved allocating $342,850 for a two-year agreement with 4C For Children. This agreement is to help the childcare needs within Miami County by increasing the childcare programs with six in-home services and three centers.
The next update was the Artistic Inspirations meeting to discuss the design of an interactive website to communicate Miami County’s projects and programs, which has a cost estimate of $11,785.
The Department of Development started looking into information about starting a revolving loan fund utilizing ARPA funds. The ARPA consultant, Bricker and Eckler, informed them it was a viable option. The funds must only meet the general requirement for small business support listed in the statute. This was also supported by the Federal Economic Development Agency.
The final update provided by the ARPA committee was the purchase of the new Ford truck for Miami County Public Health.
