Putnam County commission approves multiple budget revisions, transfers and payment orders including fiber, paving and animal services

The Putnam County Commission voted unanimously to approve multiple departmental budget revisions and to issue a series of payment orders and interfund transfers during its meeting.

The board approved departmental adjustments described by county staff that reallocated line items within sheriff, home confinement, EMS and prosecutor budgets to cover operating needs as the fiscal year closes. County staff then presented payment orders and transfers from several county funds, which the commission approved by voice vote.

Why it matters: The decisions move county money into ongoing capital and operating projects, including the county’s fiber broadband project and courthouse paving, and authorize large transfers to the county’s network and technology funds as part of end-of-year accounting.

The clerk presented specific payment orders approved by the commission. These included a $40,336.24 check payable to Alpha Technologies for fiber materials on the Putnam County fiber-optic broadband project and a $2,700 check to Motograph Corporation for storage of fiber material for June 2025. The commission also approved a $57,600.16 payment to Asphalt Contractors for pay applications No. 3 and 4 on the Putnam County Courthouse Campus Paving Project.

From the dog fund, commissioners approved a check for $1,101,175.75 payable to Help for Animals for spays, neuters and office visits, and a $342.04 payment to Amazon.com for animal-shelter supplies for June 2025; both were presented as payment orders and approved. The commission also approved smaller payments to the Hoag House Foundation ($2,188) for a partial reimbursement to the Stephen A. Andy’s recreation enhancement fund and trustee fee payments to West Banko (invoices $8275 and $8273) of $3,500 and $1,500, respectively.

As part of interfund movements, the commission approved a $400,000 check from the general county fund payable to the Putnam County network fund and a $200,000 check to the county’s technology fund. The clerk also presented transfers reimbursing the general county fund for FY 2024–25 budget expenditures: $1,000,000 from the E-911 fund, $43,000 from the Putnam County fiduciary fund and $58,000 from the home confinement fund; the commission approved those transfers.

On departmental budget revisions, staff asked the commission to approve multiple reallocations, including: for the sheriff’s tax office (reductions in printing, advertising and capital outlay with increases in postage and contracted services), for the sheriff’s department (transfer of travel to telephone/communications), for home confinement (reduce travel, increase contracted services), for EMS (reductions in automobile supplies and utilities, increases in maintenance and contracted services) and for the prosecutor’s office (a number of small increases and decreases across printing, contracts, training, supplies, capital outlay and phone). Each request was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote.

Commissioners and staff described the actions as end-of-year cleanups to align departmental accounts before June closeout. The clerk noted that the county is preparing final FY 2024–25 accounting entries.

The commission took no separate vote counts on the record; each item was adopted after a motion and a voice vote of “aye.”