Major action began on several items in Gilmer County’s Board of Commissioners meetings as it continues splitting its meetings between Wednesdays, Work Sessions, and Thursdays, Regular Meetings.

While the Financial Report, pg 1 and pg 2, and  was delivered, most of the discussion fell with the county’s renewal of it’s benefits package renewal. After input from employees, the Board decided upon Option 1, which would help the county’s employees maintain less of an increase while the Board would pick up more of the insurance cost increase. They also opted for an EAP (Employee Assistance Plan) to include 6 visits to professionals per situation per family member.

The professional services range through numerous items from Toll-free 24/7 telephone consultation to Free, 30-minute telephone or in-person consultation with attorney, Identity theft recovery assistance, Tobacco free education and coaching, Child and elder care assistance, and Work place trauma response.

The major note from this increase, though, includes over $90,000 in taxes just for the ACA (Affordable Care Act).

Later in the meeting, the Board approved its First Reader to Amend the Land Use Ordinance. Many will remember this causing a little controversy with the county moving to change the process for Halfway Houses and Rehab Centers obtain permits.

Though they did hold a public hearing for this topic, nobody appeared to speak on the subject.

Moving quickly past the one Zoning Request approval for Dave Nealey (R-1 Residential to A-1 Agricultural), the Commissioners approved a resolution to modify the contract with the Gilmer County Chamber of Commerce. This originally was proposed as a 3 year contract, but was amended to become an automatically renewing contract on a yearly basis. The contract can be canceled every year within the first two weeks of January every year.

If a cancellation were to ever occur, the contract would expire and not renew at the end of that same year, effectively being a 12 month notice of cancellation.

The Board also approved two vehicle purchases this month. One purchase was for a Ford F250 to replace one lost in a recent accident for the Road Department. With the insurance paying just over $10,000, the Road Department will be getting a brand new 2016 F250, for $22,835, that the Commissioners are saying they’ll buy without a loan or lease.

The second vehicle purchase was to replace an older Dodge Durango used in emergency services. The Durango will still be used in Community Service, but the Commissioners will now be purchasing a Ford Explorer to replace it. This Explorer will have “True four-wheel drive,” as Chairman Paris stated, and be able to carry the large storage of specialized equipment needed for response situations.

Continuing to utilize such a vehicle, “we are avoiding equipping four more ambulances with all this very expensive equipment, and the equipment could cost as much or more than the Explorer.” The Explorer will cost $26,728. Of that, $23,000 is already in a line item in the budget.

Finally, in the last moments of the meeting the BOC approved a motion to begin advertising to dispose of some equipment at the Golf Course that is not being used.