GREENVILLE — The Darke County Board of Commissioners met Wednesday afternoon to the discuss county’s outstanding debt and to renew the county workers’ compensation plan. Commissioners Matt Aultman and Mike Stegall were present. Commissioner Larry Holmes was absent.
The board approved Resolution (R-122-2021) to provide redemption of outstanding callable bonds. The bonds presented in the meeting are located in Greenville on Wagner Ave. and currently house Goodwill and Edison State Community College. There are three bonds: one for structures, an additional property and renovations of the property.
The commissioners said that this is the beginning of the process but they have to do this as a part of paying off the bonds. There’s a procedure of notifying the bank that you lent from and this is the notification that they’ll pay off the debt, they said. The commissioners will pay off the third bond involving renovations of the property by the end of May taking the balance on that bond from $740,000 to $345,000.
Commissioner Matt Aultman said due to fiscal conservancy, the board was able to put roll over funds toward paying off the bonds.
“When Mr. Aultman first got elected, him and I talked quite a bit about how we’d like to reduce this (outstanding debt),” Commissioner Mike Stegall said. “This is really a first step and a dream come true for the both of us because we really want to reduce the county’s debt as much as we can.”
Kelly Everhart, Darke County Human Resources Coordinator and Business Manager, presented an Employer Statement and Plan Agreement to the board on the county workers’ compensation group rating plan. The county was approved to be in the group rating program instead of the group retro program, which they’ve been in previously.
The new program will allow for the county to save $25,000 up front on workers’ compensation costs. In the group retro program, which the county is currently in, the board would continue to pay an inflated amount and wait to see over the next three or four years what they could potentially get back in retro savings.
Everhart recommended the board approve the switch to the group rating program. She said this means the county is doing a good job at managing their workers’ compensation claims and that not every county in the state is eligible to switch to the group rating program. To be eligible for the group rating program your multiplier must be under one.
The Darke County Board of Commissioners meets every Monday and Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at their office located at 520 S. Broadway Street in Greenville. To contact the office, call 937-547-7370.
