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BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2018
County has outspent overtime appropriation
Renshaw cites staffing shortages in detention center, BCES as key factors
By Scott Thompson
News-Journal Editor
Barrow County has outspent
the amount of overtime appropri
ated in the Fiscal Year 2018 bud
get, and the county manager said
the driving forces behind those
over-expenditures are staffing
shortages at the Barrow County
Detention Center and within Bar-
row County Emergency Services
(BCES).
According to figures county
manager Mike Renshaw present
ed to the Barrow Board of Com
missioners at its meeting Tuesday,
the county appropriated $751,358
for overtime across all depart
ments for FY18, but has spent
$801,499, or 107 percent of the
allotted amount. The fiscal year
ends June 30.
The detention division has so
far spent $254,542 — 131 per
cent of what it was appropriated.
The fire department has spent
$123,845 (130 percent), and
Emergency Services has spent
$225,471 (115 percent).
“We’re trying to control it the
best we can,” Renshaw said. He
added the figures represent built-
in or scheduled overtime shifts,
particularly in with public safe
ty employees, as well as regular
overtime.
Renshaw said BCES completed
interviews and testing last month
and is processing eight new hires.
Once they’re trained and ready to
go, that should help reduce over
time expenditures, he said.
The sheriff’s office is working
to fill its five or six vacancies
at the detention center, Renshaw
said.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business Tuesday,
commissioners:
•approved changes to the coun
ty’s animal control ordinance,
which include reducing the stray-
hold period for owners to reclaim
animals from 120 to 72 hours,
stiffening tethering laws and
requiring animals not be teth
ered outdoors during inclement
weather and allowing people to
have indoor/outdoor cats, provid
ed they are up to date on rabies
vaccines and fixed.
•accepted a hazard mitiga
tion grant program award. The
county’s current hazard mitiga
tion plan, which is required to be
updated every five years, expires
on Sept. 9, 2020, and an updat
ed plan must be submitted to
and approved by FEMA prior to
that date in order for the coun
ty to remain eligible for FEMA
funding and reimbursements.
The county will hire a consul
tant as in previous years to com
plete the update. The multi-year
reimbursement grant expires on
June 30, 2020. The total approved
grant cost is $32,000 — including
a federal share of $24,000, a state
share of $3,200 and a local share
of $4,800.
•approved a “third-party force
account agreement” with the
Georgia Department of Transpor
tation and CSX Railroad, which
will facilitate construction of
phases one and two of the West
Winder Bypass. The project will
include a bypass bridge, which
will span State Route 8, CSX
Railroad and Bankhead Highway,
as well as reconstruction of the
Bankhead Highway railroad spur
near 84 Lumber. The project has
been scheduled to be bid out in
May and construction is expected
to begin this summer. The county
was asked to sign the agreement
because it is required to close the
existing railroad crossing at Deer
Run Trail after the bypass bridge
is opened to traffic — a condition
that was part of a 2017 agreement
between the county and CSX to
open the new Ed Hogan Road
crossing.
•approved a reduction of ani
mal adoption fees to $20 from
April 1 through Sept. 30. Animal
control director Jackie Fryman
said the last time the county ran
an adoption special, it saw an
increase of over 100 adoptions.
Currently, adoption fees are $85
for female dogs over 25 pounds.
$65 for female dogs less than 25
pounds, $55 for male dogs, $55
for female cats and $35 for male
cats.
•approved a grant agreement
for federal and state reimburse
ment of more than $104,000 for
expenses related to damage from
Tropical Storm Irma in Septem
ber.
•met in closed session to dis
cuss potential and pending litiga
tion. No action was taken.
Red Cross blood donation
opportunity coming up
Though spring has officially arrived, the
American Red Cross blood supply is still
recovering from severe winter storms in
March. Donors of all blood types are urged
to roll up a sleeve and help save lives.
Winter weather in parts of the country
forced more than 270 blood drives to
cancel, resulting in over 9.500 uncollected
blood and platelet donations in the first
two weeks of March, according to a news
release No matter the weather, the need
for blood to help cancer patients, those
undergoing surgeries, trauma patients and
others remains.
Volunteer blood donors from across the
country are needed to help ensure life
saving blood products are available for
patients this spring.
Make an appointment to donate blood
by downloading the free Red Cross Blood
Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org
or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-
733-2767).
The following blood donation opportu
nity is coming up in Barrow County:
•Friday, April 20, 1:30-6:30 p.m. —
Auburn Masonic Lodge 230, 64 Autry
Road, Auburn.
Bullying continued from 1A
to her say they follow the “chain of
command” in reporting incidents and
“don’t get any help.”
“Everything is higher than we report,”
she said. Wehunt said school officials
do not report all incidents because they
don’t want the numbers to reflect badly
on the schools.
Superintendent Chris McMichael and
Thompson disputed her. McMichael
said the district, if anything, “over-re
ports” discipline events.
Thompson said the district also sur
veys students anonymously to seek out
information about such things as bul
lying.
He also said every incident does not
result in a suspension. The school dis
trict must have evidence of a pattern or
behavior or about a specific incident.
McMichael said, “It’s just not true”
that bullying is rampant in the schools.
He said bullying means a pattern of
incidents between two students. It does
not mean multiple incidents with differ
ent students.
He said the school district plans an
education program next school year on
what bullying is. Thompson did note
that of the “interpersonal” incidents
about two-thirds of the total is for
bullying.
McMichael and Thompson said
“cyberbullying” has become more and
more of a problem. McMichael said
students used to be able to go home and
“get away” from the problems. It is dif
ferent now with social media, he said.
Thompson said cyberbullying is one
instance when school officials can get
involved and impose punishment for
actions that are not on school property.
Ken Greene, assistant superintendent
for support services, said the schools’
PBIS discipline program, which teach
es students to meet expectations, has
been helpful. Thompson said the
schools have provided more mental
health support this year — and more
is needed.
Greene sad the district’s student
advisory council has focused this year
on “the great kindness challenge” — a
national program.
Schools “tend to be a mirror,” McMi
chael said.
BOE continued from 1A
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the board:
•heard that Don Elrod, the county’s
chief appraiser, will speak to the board
at its meeting Tuesday, April 3.
•heard that 13 students were district
winners for the Georgia Young Authors
competition. They will compete next
at the Regional Educational Service
Agency.
•approved four textbooks for
Advanced Placement courses that may
be reviewed by the public for 30 days.
The books are for biology, government
and politics, calculus and statistics.
Melinda Kay, director of secondary
education, said the books being used
are out of date and no longer meet AP
requirements.
•heard about a memorandum with
the University of Georgia that will pro
vide speech services to the district for
$96,000 a year. Andrea Pender, spe
cial education director, said a UGA
staff person would be at the district
and would provide speech services.
Students would work with that person
much like a student teacher, she said.
Pender reminded the board that the dis
trict could not find speech pathologists
to fill positions last summer and had to
contract with private companies.
•heard a recommendation that
Apalachee High School buy 88 home
and away uniforms - pants and jerseys
- from Shuma Sports for $25,582. Par
ents can buy matching Adidas apparel
for a discounted price and the school
will get a rebate check for football
supplies and clothing bought for the
next two years. The school’s athletic
fund will pay for the uniforms. The
school had four other bids, ranging
from $23,516 to $42,064.
•heard a recommendation that the
current code of conduct be approved
again for the 2018-19 school year.
•heard a report by Kay that a new
course. Literary Types and Composi
tion, will be offered for seniors. She
said the program will be “targeted” to
AP Capstone students. The new course
will give students additional time for
research and writing assignments.
•heard from Perno that an updated
local facilities plan will be presented
for approval Tuesday. He said the sys
tem does an update each year and every
five years it presents a plan to the state.
He added the district hopes to get close
to $3 million in fiscal year 2020 to go
with $13.3 million it has accumulated.
That money is used for building con
struction and renovations.
Downtown continued from 1A
a potential water fountain
near the East Candler Street
side.
City officials have said they
would like a more pedestri
an-friendly downtown and
that the Jackson Street project
could help provide more con
nectivity to downtown.
Toms said reaction from
downtown businesses to the
plans for the public space and
additional parking has been
“overwhelmingly positive.”
But the public reaction to
the plans for the closure of
the Jackson Street section
has been more mixed. Some
residents, through social
media and in public, have
opposed the closure because
Jackson Street is used as a
thoroughfare to May Street
to avoid a crowded Broad
Street. Proponents have said
the closure would eliminate
a dangerous four-way inter
section between Midland and
Jackson, which is not aligned
straight, and that traffic could
flow more smoothly down
toward Martin Luther King
Jr. Drive.
City councilman Jimmy
Terrell said several residents
have said that if the Jackson
Street section is closed, that
there should be an entrance
to the public parking lot off
Midland Avenue.
Current plans call for two
entrance and exit points along
the East Candler side, but none
off Midland or Broad. Terrell
said he had mixed thoughts on
the idea of a Midland entrance.
Toms said the city will work
with the project engineers to
determine if an entrance off
Midland could be included
without taking up too many
parking spots and whether
doing so would affect traffic
flow along Midland.
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