The Troup County Board of Commissioners made several hiring and purchasing decisions during their regular meeting on Tuesday.

Hiring for Solicitor’s office

The commission approved a hiring request from the Solicitor’s office to be able to hire a full-time and part-time victim advocate. Both positions are budgeted positions and should be funded through the victims of crime assistance act.

“This is a federal grant that is pulled in by the Criminal Justice Coordinated Council that has enabled us within the last year and a half to provide victim services within about 72 hours to victims of domestic violence,” said Troup County Solicitor General Markette Baker. “Men, women and children in this community that previously – because we are such a high volume court without the position – we were not able to provide. The part time position amounts to what I would call a summer clerking position.

“There is a matching component to this grant. We have done that through volunteer hours, through high school students through their classes, through college students and through their internship programs that have come into our office to be able to volunteer. To see how court works. To see what the nuts and bolts are really like. To see if this is a profession that they would really like to go into. They have volunteered their time, and they have got some credit for school, but it is all so that the county does not have to put up any matching money for that as well.”

The summer internship clerking position hopes to connect with a recent college graduate on a law track to provide the student with a solid experience and the county with the additional help that the department regularly needs during summer months, according to Baker.

Internship Grant for the Parks and Recreation Department

The Troup County Board of Commissioners approved a request from the Troup County Parks and Recreation Department to participate in an ACCG Foundation Internship Program Grant that will allow the department to hire a summer intern to assist with marketing. The grant will reimburse the county for the full cost of hiring the intern.

Probate office promotion

Commissioners also approved a promotion within the probate court on Tuesday that will allow an employee of 22 years to become an associate judge. That would allow the court to continue to run if the probate judge was unavailable for any reason. The promotion would not include a raise in pay.

Surplus property auction

The commission approved the list of surplus property to be sold at an auction on Saturday at the Troup County School Board building on North Davis Road after the transfer of some vehicles to an online auction site that the county has had positive experiences with.

“After our meeting on Thursday, I have been to the shop and (we) went over each vehicle with the shop manager, and we have selected maybe a little over half of them that we are going to put on GovDeals,” said Purchasing Director Diana Evans. “We do have some that will still be sold at the auction with some other items. We are looking at – after we get everything cleared out and we have the space that we use for surplus – we are going to try to put everything on GovDeals as Commissioner (Ellis) Cadenhead suggested, and we’ll be doing it differently next year.”

The commission also agreed to a proposal to sell more items as they are determined to be surplus at the website which can be found at www.govdeals.com though the commissioners did want to make sure that the public would still be able to find the items when they are put up for online auction.

“We’ll post on our website that we have items for bid and the location to go to to find them, and anybody – you don’t have to be a government employee or government agency to bid on those items,” said Evans. “You just have to register and follow the rules, and as long as you follow their rules, pay when you are supposed to, pick up the items when you are supposed to then you will be a member in good standing and continue to participate in the program.”

Budget amendment for waste management

The county approved an amendment to the budget for waste management that will allow the department to use some of its income that came in above budget for repairs.

“They contract their services for fees and payment, and their chipping is running higher than they expected, and they also need some equipment maintenance,” said Buddy Cashwell. “It is over $85,000, but that $85,000 would be offset by an increase in their revenue that was not in the budget of $85,000.”

According to Cashwell, the increase in use and revenue is due to the fact that the city has gone in with the county to use the county landfill since the city landfill reached capacity in the fall.

“They had to close theirs down,” said Cashwell. “When they tore down the Mansours building that was the last bit that they could take in the city’s landfill, so that is the main reason.”

Recent storms have also contributed to the increase and so has increased construction within the county.

Water tanks for the jail

The county approved the purchase of two hot water tanks to replace the failing tanks at the jail which would leave both the jail and the sheriff’s office without water.

“We also looked at what the cost would be to go tankless in the future, and what we’ll have to do, so we’ll be ready the next time we have tanks fail,” said Division Director Dexter Wells. “That happens around every ten years, so we are going to look at different options going forward.”

The commission also declared the faulty tanks surplus during the meeting.

Board of Election and Registration salary request

The commission promised to further consider a request from the Troup County Board of Election and Registration for a per meeting salary of $50 for monthly meetings instead of paying the board per election during upcoming budget meetings.

“Presently, they are being paid $100 every election day,” said County Manager Tod Tentler. “Some years they have one election. Some years they’ve had as many as five.”

The board of commissioners has not paid the board per meeting in the past because it is a non-working board, though other nearby counties do pay a per meeting salary to their election and registration boards.

The Troup County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to meet to discuss its annual budget on April 25 at 9 a.m. at 100 Ridley Ave.