Alleghany County commissioners approve multiple routine budget transfers, volunteer landscaping and surplus-vehicle sales; fire-tax amendment passes 4-1

Alleghany County commissioners approved a series of routine actions and budget adjustments at a regular meeting, including volunteer landscaping around county buildings, the sale or auction of surplus law-enforcement vehicles, several interdepartmental budget transfers, and a budget amendment allocating last year's fire-tax funds.

The board voted unanimously on several procedural and routine items: approving minutes from prior meetings; waiving meeting rules and allowing an organized volunteer group to replant and maintain county landscaping; beginning the surplus process for four law-enforcement vehicles; authorizing the county attorney to sign documents adding the county to further opioid settlements; and approving multiple end-of-year line-item transfers and a general-fund amendment to budget donations for a law-enforcement Christmas program. Those unanimous votes were recorded as 5–0 in the meeting minutes.

A separate budget amendment to appropriate excess fire-tax funds for the prior fiscal year passed by a 4–1 vote after discussion about compliance and whether payments should be released before additional administrative checks. County staff said the action only budgets the money now and that no payments would be released until outstanding questions about requirements and contract language are resolved.

Highlights of motions and outcomes (as recorded in the meeting): - Approve agenda changes and additions (motion approved, recorded 5–0). - Approve minutes from prior meetings (motion approved, recorded 5–0). - Waive rules to move forward with volunteer landscaping work and approve volunteers to maintain and expand plantings around county buildings (motions approved, recorded 5–0). - Start bid/sale process for four surplus law-enforcement vehicles and retire two K-9 vehicles to their handlers (motion approved, recorded 5–0). - Authorize the county attorney to sign documents to participate in additional opioid settlements (motion approved, recorded 5–0). - Line-item transfers to cover year-end shortfalls and operating expenses (multiple motions approved, recorded 5–0): law enforcement fuel expense transfer ($2,652); detention-center transfers for utilities, inmate boarding and hospital expenses; DSS professional services transfer ($100); public-works transfer of $16,719 from unappropriated fund balance to cover utility overages; kitchen/accounting adjustments; and salary/benefits reclassifications. - Budget amendment to appropriate excess fire-tax funds from the prior fiscal year (motion approved, recorded 4–1). - General-fund budget amendment to record restricted and unrestricted donations and fundraising for the law-enforcement Christmas program (motion approved, recorded 5–0).

The board noted that some budget amendments were preparatory bookkeeping for the prior fiscal year and that several items (notably the fire-tax disbursements) will require further administrative review and will appear again on a subsequent agenda before funds are released. The minutes show the board also scheduled presentation items and department head reports for upcoming daytime meetings.