The White County Board held their June meeting at 9am Monday morning at the White County Courthouse. Following approval of the minutes of last meeting and the payment of current bills, the Board received an extensive update about the Ambulance Service from acting director Adam Allen. Allen stated that he had named Chris James as his assistant director and chief medic, and with approval of the Ambulance committee, is in the process of changing the service’s affiliation from Heartland Medical in Marion to Deaconness in Evansville. Allen stated that Deaconness offers many advantages to the County and representatives from Deaconness were on hand to answer questions about the transition.
Chairman Wes Trout reminded Allen that the Service is still operating in the red, and that more changes must be made before some proposed new equipment may be purchased, but also praised Allen and his staff for making improvements and cutting costs. The County will advertise for a permanent Ambulance Service Director next month.
Randy Fraisher was in attendance to speak again about property in Maunie held by the Trustee Program that has fallen into disrepair and overgrown. The Board committed to exploring more avenues to resolve the issues, and will offer those at the July meeting.
The prevailing wage ordinance was passed unanimously. Mike Ray was appointed to another term on the Board of Review that will expire on May 30, 2018. The EMA resolution which updates the agency from the previous ESDA act was also approved unanimously.
Norris City mayor Roy Kissel and EMA Director Jim Totten were appointed to the 911 Board, and Brian Ray was appointed to the Emergency Telephone System Board on a temporary basis.
The Board approved a resolution to automatically change the mileage reimbursement rate to the standard set by the IRS going forward, and enacted a county wide hiring freeze in any circumstance that would exceed allotted salary figures in the approved budget.
Following a short executive session to discuss pending litigation, the Board adjourned at 10:11am and will meet again at 7pm on Tuesday, July 12.
