Pulaski County officials met and approved routine minutes, scheduled a public hearing on the county tax rate, and advanced several administrative and operational items, including a first reading of changes to the county administrative code that officials said are intended to secure a drug-free workplace certification.

The meeting included formal approvals for road additions and removals, several new hires for county departments, authorization to surplus a fire department vehicle with proceeds to be retained for equipment, and routine purchases and services for public safety and road operations.

The administrative-code revisions presented by county staff include language asserting that Pulaski County will comply with federal and state laws and “all regulatory requirements of 803 KAR AR25:280,” additions to the county drug-testing list to include “synthetic narcotics” and “propoxyphene,” and clarifications to lodging and meal reimbursement rules. Under the proposed changes, lodging would be reimbursed at actual expense (taxes not reimbursable per federal guidelines) and meals for out-of-county training or meetings would require a detailed receipt showing location and date/time; employees must write the employee name and purpose on the back of the receipt to qualify for reimbursement. County staff also proposed changing an employee leave-exchange availability date from July to June.

Bridget Bender, representing the Pulaski County Health Department, presented the department’s tax rate request and said the department is seeking to maintain a rate of 3 cents per $100 of assessed property value; she told the board this is unchanged from last year. County staff then reported they had received state paperwork on assessed values and said the county’s general property tax rate is 0.044 and has remained at that level for two or three years; officials said they are among the lowest in the state and scheduled a public hearing on the county tax rate before the next meeting.

On roads, the board approved adding 766 feet of Dogwood Lane to the county road system after a public hearing and approved removing 1,535 feet of Jury’s Lane (off Oak Hill Road) from the county system after following the required procedures and reporting no objections in the public hearing. The board also approved a road-equipment request to acquire a 4,000-gallon attack oil tank and accepted the submitted road work list.

The board approved hiring Jimmy Black for a skilled-labor position in the road department and approved multiple part-time hires recommended by the solid-waste board, pending fiscal checks and drug screening. The solid-waste hires announced by staff were Lexi Epperson, Emily Hines, Kalyn Raider, Deli, Zacharias Velasquez, Austin Wilder and Andrew Woods.

On public safety, the board approved the Mount Victory Fire Department’s request to surplus a 2006 F-250 and allow the department to retain sale proceeds to buy equipment for an incoming replacement quick-attack truck. The board also authorized annual fire-apparatus service and testing — described as required by NFPA standards — at an amount of just over $5,000, and approved related routine motions. A county official also issued a public-safety reminder that Pulaski County is in a moderate drought zone and urged residents to use caution with outdoor burning ahead of an October 1 Forest Service burn-ban date.

Treasurer Mrs. Crissen asked for and received approval of the county’s July bank reconciliations. The meeting concluded after a short announcements period in which the judge reminded county law enforcement about an upcoming annual “cookout for cops.”

Votes at a glance

- Approval of Aug. 12 meeting minutes — motion to approve by Mr. Wilson; second by Mr. Strunk; outcome: approved.
- Public hearing on county tax rate (maintain current rate/consideration of 0.044 general rate reported) — motion by Mr. Strunk to leave the rate the same and set a public hearing; second by Mr. Wheeldon; outcome: motion carries; public hearing scheduled before next meeting.
- Administrative code: first reading and advertisement for second reading (drug-free workplace language; added drugs; reimbursement clarifications; exchange-date change) — staff presentation by McMartin/Donita; motion to advertise/advance to second reading (mover/second not specified in transcript); outcome: advertisement approved; second reading scheduled for next meeting.
- Road addition: Dogwood Lane, add 766 feet to county road system — motion by Mr. Strunk; second by Mr. Ranshaw; outcome: approved.
- Road removal: Jury’s Lane (off Oak Hill Road), remove 1,535 feet from county road system — motion by Mr. Ranshaw; second by Mr. Turpin; outcome: approved.
- Hiring: Jimmy Black, road department skilled labor position — motion by Mr. Wilson; second by Mr. Wheeldon; outcome: approved.
- Hiring: Solid-waste part-time hires (Lexi Epperson, Emily Hines, Kalyn Raider, Deli, Zacharias Velasquez, Austin Wilder, Andrew Woods) — motion by Mr. Ranshaw; second by Mr. Strunk; outcome: approved pending fiscal and drug screens.
- Surplus sale: Mount Victory Fire Department 2006 F-250; proceeds retained by department to outfit new truck — motion by Mr. Ranshaw; second by Mr. Turpin; outcome: approved.
- Fire apparatus testing/service (annual NFPA-required testing; approx. $5,000) — motion by Mr. Ranshaw; second by Mr. Strunk; outcome: approved.
- Purchase request: 4,000-gallon attack oil (road operations) — motion by Mr. Wilson; second by Mr. Will; outcome: approved.
- Road list approval — motion by Mr. Ranshaw; second by Mr. Turpin; outcome: approved.
- July bank reconciliations — motion by Mr. Ranshaw; second by Mr. Wilson; outcome: approved.

What this means next

Most items approved were routine operational or administrative matters that require either follow-up (advertising and a second reading for administrative-code changes) or administrative completion (hiring clearances, scheduling the public hearing on tax rates, and payment/contracting for apparatus testing). The administrative-code revisions must return for a second reading before they become adopted policy. The public hearing on the county tax rate will be held and the board will take a final vote at a later meeting.

Sources and attribution

Quotations and attributions in this report come from Pulaski County meeting remarks as recorded in the meeting transcript. Representative, verbatim excerpts include: “Hey, I'm Bridget Bender from the Pulaski County Health Department,” and staff descriptions of the administrative-code changes and road measurements as recorded in the meeting transcript.