Commission approves inmate medical claims, county manager signs temporary CDBG budget resolution

The Curry County Commission approved a staff recommendation to accept a negotiated payment for inmate medical claims and heard a county manager report on a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) cash-match transfer.

A staff presenter described claims submitted by Plains Regional Medical Center and recommended approving 10 claims for eight inmates while denying three claims because those patients were not in county custody at the time of service. Staff reported a total billed amount of $117,666.07 and recommended approval at a negotiated amount of $37,653.14; the commission approved the recommendation by voice vote.

County Manager Bob Pyle briefed the board on a previously authorized grant for detention center shower improvements. Pyle said the resolution the commission previously approved included a cash-match component from general fund reserves. "The state has notified us last Friday that we have to actually have a document that shows we have budgeted or have set aside that cash match," Pyle told the commission. He said he will sign a budget resolution transferring $590,000 from general fund cash reserves into a special Community Development Block Grant fund and bring that resolution back to the commission for ratification on Sept. 16 because the state required the document by the 12th.

Pyle said the grant amount the county is applying for is $1,000,000 and the county’s cash match will be $590,000. He told the commission he does not have authority to sign budget resolutions of that dollar amount but that he would sign to meet the state's deadline and asked the commission to ratify it at the next meeting.

During the meeting staff also moved the commission into a procedural session described as a JIT board to consider the claims and later exited that session. Commissioners closed the meeting after a brief discussion of potential community events and future agenda items.