A new year brings with it new hope and new goals to achieve. The year has begun on a real good note here in the office. Not only did we have a good fiscal year, we have added a person and split one job that will surely make the county more efficient.
We would like to welcome Kelly Hiatt to the Commissioner’s office; she will be in charge of human resources for the county. Kelly’s other duties will also include working with Bureau of Workers Comp claims along with the county’s Health and Wellness program. John Cook had these duties previously, along with being our building inspector, contract manager, and County Business Administrator. All these duties along with new requirements were becoming too much for one person is the reasoning for the split. With the move to the old ODOT facility, John and the Commissioners agreed now was a good time to split the duties and devote more time to each area. John has done a fantastic job the last few years and we had noticed that his area had expanded so much it was difficult to devote as much time as needed to each area. Hiring Kelly will help make us more efficient in all areas along with meeting state mandated reports and requirements. If you see Kelly, welcome her aboard!
We have several goals to accomplish this coming year; complete the MARCS radio conversion by April 16, the remodel of the emergency dispatch center, and the updating of the courthouse steps. The courthouse has undergone some remodeling over the past couple of years, and most recent is the Auditor’s Office has moved some of their office downstairs. This will give the state auditors their own room plus allow the GPS and mapping offices to have more space. These upgrades were made to the Courthouse due to the choice of not moving to the Wagner Avenue building. The elected officials decided after getting quotes, looking at various avenues, comparing pros and cons, and hearing from people that staying in the Courthouse was the best choice. This will keep offices in the Downtown area, one of the areas that concerned some of our citizens. The remodeling will be completed soon and people can see the upgrades.
This time of year starts a busy time for the Commissioners as we usually have quite a few gatherings to attend. Meetings, speeches, trips to Dayton and other counties for ditch meetings, Economic meetings, and Columbus for CCAO matters start all over again. It will not be long before we also have FFA banquets starting too. The year is off to a fast start and we like staying busy.
If you would like to attend one of our public sessions, please feel free to do so! We meet every Monday and Wednesday at 1:30 in the Commissioner’s Office located at 520 South Broadway in Greenville. We are the small brick building just south of the Courthouse. Come on in and see what is going on in the County. Hope to see you there!
