Emergency Management updated the Board of County Commissioners on recent activity and recommended budgeting for a replacement emergency-management vehicle.

Andrew Delgado, county emergency manager, reported three search-and-rescue calls in the past month (one each in Davison, Hamlin and Clark counties) and attendance at required crisis-track training and regional emergency-management meetings. He said staff submitted updated municipal contacts to the state Office of Emergency Management to meet a statutory requirement.

Delgado said the department is proposing a $50,000 capital outlay to replace the current 2017 Ram 2500 emergency vehicle, which has recurring mechanical issues, intermittent display failures and occasional check-engine lights. "This the display screen is starting to not turn on from time to time. So, just with that being our only vehicle and, there being times that we absolutely need it, it's probably better to try to stay ahead of this and make sure that we don't have, significant downtime with that vehicle," Delgado said.

He also outlined budget-line adjustments: modest salary and on-call compensation changes (including proposing to raise an on-call pay rate from $20 to $30 per hour for backup personnel), a small decrease in supplies because recurring costs were being moved to a professional services line, and proposed professional-services funding of about $8,600 to cover annual contracts (Nixle, Who's Responding, Connecting Point, copier contract).

Commissioners questioned contingency levels in supplies and professional services; Delgado noted the change reflects more accurate categorization of recurring service contracts. The board did not take immediate formal action on the $50,000 capital request during the meeting; Delgado said replacement while residual trade-in value remains would be preferable to avoid future downtime.