Carlisle County Fiscal Court members approved multiple vehicle purchases, adopted changes to the county administrative code related to employee drug testing and medical-marijuana accommodations, accepted a resignation and hired a new dog warden, and approved routine financial transfers and contracts during a regularly scheduled meeting.

The votes came after reports from emergency management and the sheriff's office and followed discussion among court members about fleet condition and staffing needs. Court members approved a purchase requested by the jailer, authorized two additional used Tahoe vehicles for sheriff's office use, accepted Dusty Hamilton's resignation as dog warden and appointed Jason Fraser as the new lead dog warden, and approved updates to the county's administrative code to add drug-testing language covering employees and volunteers.

Why it matters: the purchases respond to repeated operational needs voiced by jail and sheriff's staff — long-distance inmate transports and aging vehicles — while the administrative-code revisions formalize a drug-testing policy that the court said was prompted by questions about medical marijuana and workplace testing. The dog warden appointment fills an operational vacancy the court said had left some calls unanswered.

Emergency-management and 911 updates preceded the votes. Josh, the county emergency-management representative, told the court, “We ended the year with 787 runs, which was 21 higher than the year previous.” He said staff are completing paperwork for a $10,000 state grant for equipment and that a radio-system installation was scheduled for Jan. 20, with an estimated vendor invoice near $100,000 to follow. The 911 office reported staff returning from leave and a new full-time hire, plus pending reimbursement applications for prior grants.

Vehicle purchases and fleet decisions dominated discussion. The jail requested and the court approved buying a 2018 Tahoe priced at $24,000 for use on long-distance transports; the court also agreed to declare the 2012 Tahoe surplus for sale. Separately, the sheriff’s office presented an opportunity to acquire two used Tahoes — a 2018 model priced at about $22,050 and a 2019 model at about $26,000 — and the court voted to buy them and to surplus older vehicles. Court members discussed equipment transferability (radios, cages and other fixtures), potential sharing with the sheriff’s office and the operational need for vehicles on long runs to places such as Hopkinsville and Russellville.

The court approved updates to the Carlisle County administrative code that add drug-testing provisions applying “to all employees of Carlisle County Fiscal Court, including full time, part time, temporary, contract employees, special deputies, rescue squad members, and volunteer firefighters.” The court said the revisions were prompted in part by questions about medical marijuana and how the county would handle employees with medical-marijuana cards; officials said the drug-testing program will be run through a local provider (HealthWorks was discussed as a likely site) and that testing will be random. The court voted to adopt the administrative-code language as presented.

The court accepted the resignation of Dusty Hamilton as dog warden and appointed Jason Fraser as the lead dog warden. The court discussed how calls for stray or nuisance animals are handled and said it will revisit the county ordinance governing animal pickup and nuisance complaints.

Other routine approvals included the annual NICE Technology contract, the treasurer’s quarterly report and multiple line-item transfers and appropriations. The court also approved hiring a part-time, certified court-security officer to work some patrol/off-duty hours for the sheriff’s office and approved a motion placing certain receipt and transfer codes on the county ledger to carry over state grant funds.

Discussion (no final action) included a report about lights on a county radio tower and early vendor estimates for bringing the structure into compliance with Federal Aviation Administration guidance. One vendor quoted roughly $4,300 to change bulbs on mid-level fixtures; another vendor provided a higher estimate — about $24,000 — to rewire the tower to LED fixtures. The court asked staff to obtain additional bids given the range in estimates and the stated high insurance and labor costs for tower climbers.

What the court did not do: no ordinance or tax-rate changes were proposed or adopted at the meeting. Several items discussed — including potential permanent sharing of vehicles with the sheriff’s office and details of equipment transfers from surplus units — will be handled administratively or returned to the court for later formal action when vendor invoices and transfer details are finalized.

Looking ahead: staff were directed to finalize vehicles and surplus processes, complete grant reimbursement paperwork, and gather additional bids for the tower lighting work. Court members said they would revisit the county animal ordinance to clarify the scope of dog-collection duties.

Votes at a glance

- Purchase of 2018 Tahoe for jail, $24,000 — motion approved.
- Surplus 2012 Tahoe (jail) — motion approved.
- Purchase of two used Tahoes for sheriff’s office (2018 @ ~$22,050; 2019 @ ~$26,000) — motion approved.
- Adopt administrative-code updates adding drug-testing language (covers employees, special deputies, rescue squad, volunteer firefighters; addresses medical-marijuana accommodations) — motion approved.
- Hire (part-time) certified court-security officer for sheriff’s office (staffing authorization) — motion approved.
- Accept resignation of Dusty Hamilton (dog warden) and appoint Jason Fraser (lead dog warden) — motion approved.
- Approve NICE Technology annual contract — motion approved.
- Approve treasurer’s quarterly report, monthly claims, line-item transfers and appropriations — motions approved.

All formal motions above passed by voice vote; individual roll-call tallies were not read into the record for each item.

Speakers quoted or cited in this report spoke during the court meeting and their remarks appear in the record.