In his report to Barry County Commissioners June 14, Administrator Michael Brown explained a new account that is being created to handle capital purchases of equipment, such as furniture, desks and chairs.

The county divides funding not spent by departments by the end of the fiscal year into three special funds; Vehicles, Buildings and Grounds and IT. The funds are used for capital improvements in those categories by county departments.

Now, unspent funds will be split four ways instead of three; the fourth fund  to be used for capital improvements in furniture and other needs. Brown said they haven’t been successful in funding some capital items.

“We often look to department budgets for equipment, chairs, desks, radios, bullet proof vests. We haven’t been able to address those needs…as the fund develops and progresses, we can identify them and plan for them.”

Brown also said the final draft of a classification and compensation study will be presented for review July 5, with a copy of the presentation given to commissioners in advance.

Segal Waters Consulting Group was hired in September, 2015, to produce the study for $92,500. They compared Barry County employee’s salaries and benefits to comparable private sector jobs and updated classifications. //

The study was done in a series of steps; project initiation, confirming goals and objectives for the study and specific dates for reports, presenting the plan to employees through a series of meetings; performing a job analysis that includes typical tasks, supervisory responsibilities, level of discretion and judgment needed and conducting employee interviews. The county provided current salary structures, personnel policies, organization charts, job descriptions, and employee census data.

Also, revenue sharing from the state will be increased one percent this year, meaning $11,500 for the county. State revenue sharing of $1.5 million is a significant part of the county’s budget, he said. And, a planned DEQ soil erosion study project in the county has been postponed for 30 days and the annual audit is complete with a report set for the June 28 meeting.