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Athens County commissioners approve routine appropriations, permits, fee schedule and appointments
Summary
At its Jan. 6 meeting the board approved appropriations and payment of county bills, adopted a new assigned-counsel fee schedule effective Jan. 1, ratified multiple utility permits and project payment requests, reappointed Edward Newman as county apiary inspector, and directed staff to explore one-way livestreaming in place of two-way Zoom.
The Athens County Board of Commissioners approved a slate of administrative motions on Jan. 6, including appropriations, ratified permits and contracts, adoption of an assigned-counsel fee schedule, and several routine appointments and travel requests.
A motion by Commissioner Charlie Adkins, seconded by Commissioner Chris Chmiel, approved appropriations, transfers and payment of county bills, including a $10,000 fund-to-fund advance for Common Pleas to a PSI grant fund. The roll call on routine financial approvals was recorded as unanimous.
The board rescinded the prior assigned-counsel fee schedule and adopted a replacement resolution setting reimbursement at $100 per hour in and out of court, effective Jan. 1, 2026; the resolution incorporates state Public Defender billing standards.
Commissioners ratified multiple utility permits from Columbia Gas, Le-Ax Water District and American Electric Power for work within county rights-of-way and ratified an OWDA payment request (#17) for the US50 New Marshfield sanitary sewer project. The board also ratified an application/agreement for deposit of public funds with Farmers Bank.
The board reaffirmed ending two-way Zoom/virtual meeting access due to cybersecurity risk, directed the administrator to explore one-way livestreaming options (for example, YouTube Live), and reappointed Edward Newman as county apiary inspector for the 2026 season. The meeting concluded after approving a schedule of departmental travel requests.
All motions cited in the minutes were carried on roll-call votes recorded in the journal; most were unanimous.
