Some Putnam County agencies presented their budget plans to the Putnam County Commission Thursday.
The Putnam County Health Department, Putnam County Libraries, Putnam County Day Report and Putnam County Development Authority all presented their proposed budgets. Every agency said their budgets were about the same or lower than the current fiscal year, and are not requesting additional funds. With many agencies facing proposed state funding cuts, all directors said they were monitoring proposed state legislation.
Putnam County Commissioner Ron Foster also made a motion to reduce the number of members on the Planning Commission board. The board currently has 15 members.
Foster said the board has too many members, causing it to become inefficient.
"I think this would be a step in the right direction to make sure we are not restricting the people who want to business and engineering here," Foster said.
Commission President Steve Andes and Commissioner Andy Skidmore disagreed with Foster, quashing his motion. Andes said if the commission reduced the amount of members on the board, it would also reduce the amount of community input in the county.
Also, the county commission honored County Manager Brian Donat and Putnam County Sheriff's Deputy Jack Luikart. Donat has worked for the county since 2003 in various roles. Luikart, who was formerly Putnam's chief deputy, joined the sheriff's office in 1987.
"I did my best to represent the sheriff's department, and you guys, every single day. I'm extremely proud of where I was assigned," Luikart told commissioners during the meeting.
The next commission meeting will be held at 9 a.m. on March 14.
Reach Ali Schmitz at ali.schmitz@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4843 or follow @SchmitzMedia on Twitter.