Pulaski County hears Extensionrequest; presenter cites smaller ask but larger overall program budget

Jose (Lupe) Perea, who identified himself as the regional operations director for extension services, presented the department's request for Pulaski County's 2027 budget and described a shift from county-dedicated educators toward regional service agreements covering 4‑H, community development, human sciences and agriculture programs.

Perea told the council that county contract amounts are population-scaled and that the county's contractual figure had moved only slightly in one example — "about 74,000" to "75,000" — while some expenses such as educator mileage and technology purchases are being handled differently under the new regional agreements. He said, "we ended up with a budget request of $27,163.59, which is actually a little bit lower than the $164,073 that came in last year." The presenter emphasized the request was intended to continue existing services rather than fund major new purchases.

Perea described three priority program areas he expects the regional model to support: a modular community-leadership curriculum (12-module or broken-up formats), a "Building Bridges for Kids" program for local nonprofits and boards, and practical classes (family finances, nutrition, tax-and-cash programs) delivered at community sites including the Black Diamond Community Center and the Cabell County Extension Office. He said the programs can be adjusted to local needs and that staff will coordinate outreach through schools, local nonprofits and volunteer leaders.

Council members asked clarifying questions about how the county's agreement figure is calculated and whether requested amounts reflected changes in state support. Perea attributed some of the differences to shifting state funding and to how salary and benefit lines were allocated across funds; he also noted scholarship and fee-waiver mechanisms exist for youth who cannot pay program fees.

Next steps: the presentation was followed by questions from council members; no formal motion or vote on the extension request was recorded in the provided transcript.