Board Reviews CorrectHealth Bill for Uncontracted Months
Business, Community, Police & Government August 3, 2022
LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga.- Finance Director Abby Branan and Sheriff Stacy Jarrard brought the commissioners the bill for the uncontracted months where they paid the lower rate to CorrectHealth for their services.
CorrectHealth also sent a bill for a labor variance for four months. County Manager Alan Ours also made the board aware of the City’s vote to enter into mediation over the local option sales tax (LOST) slipt.
Finance Director Abby Branan and Sheriff Stacy Jarrard while presenting the CorrectHealth Bill information to the board.
CorrectHealth is the inmate health provider that the board re-contracted with in April. The previous contract that according to CorrectHealth was set to expire on Dec. 31 of 2021 was put out for bid due to an unexpected price increase. To review that process visit https://lumpkin.fetchyournews.com/2022/04/20/board-approves-inmate-health-contract/.
During the three months that the county was looking at their bid options, CorrectHealth worked with them on a month-to-month payment plan at the old lower rate. With the new contract finalized they are seeking additional funds to get them at least back to what the rate would have been for those three months had there been a contract in place.
To meet the original rate of $27,699.67 per month they are requesting an additional $15,847.98 from the county. The old rate that was being paid during that three-month time period was $22,417.01 per month. The board is considering paying them to meet the new contract rate of $29,000 per month rate.
Heard in the clip above is Chairman of the Board Chris Dockery explaining why the board should consider paying them at the new rate. The board has not taken action on this bill yet, it will be voted on during the regular meeting on Aug. 16 at 6:00 p.m.
The bill that was sent from CorrectHealth also includes a labor variance for four months. This is an additional $46,532.62 that they are requesting due to having to bring in contract nurses to keep up with the contract requirements.
Sheriff Jarrard did inform County Manager Alan Ours that CorrectHealth would be bringing in outside help to ensure that there were nurses at the jail. However, the Board of Commissioners was not made aware of this and did not vote to approve or deny this action.
County Manager Alan Ours and County Attorney Joy Edelberg while discussing the CorrectHealth contract information.
According to County Attorney Joy Edelberg, there was also nothing stated in the previous contract to make the county liable for any extra labor expenses. Due to the Commissioners not being made aware and there being nothing in the contract there was no funding source setup for this expense.
“I feel that we owe it because we utilized the service and if I’ve got a way to pay for it take it out of me,” explained Jarrard.
To review part of Branan’s explanation of the bill visit https://youtu.be/L1GhC4hCLZE. This is also an ongoing matter and the board took no action on it at this time.
Ours also took time at the end of the meeting to inform the commissioners of the city’s decision to enter into mediation over the LOST split. The city voted at their meeting on Aug. 1 to take this step and to review why they took this action visit https://lumpkin.fetchyournews.com/2022/08/02/city-votes-to-move-into-mediation-with-county-over-local-option-sales-tax/.
The county felt keeping the split at 75% for the county and 25% for the city was fair since their numbers say they could actually go for a split of 87% for the county and 13% for the city. They will now enter into mediation and they have until Dec. 31 to come to an agreement on the split.
City Votes to Move Into Mediation With County over Local Option Sales Tax
Community, Featured Stories August 2, 2022
DAHLONEGA, Ga.- The City Council voted to move into mediation with the county over the split on the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) during their Aug. 1 meeting.
Sheriff Stacy Jarrard brought an idea for a crosswalk safety program to the council for their consideration. City Engineer Mark Buchanan also gave an update on the Morrison Moore Pedestrian Bridge and Sidewalk project.
Mayor JoAnne Taylor brought the council the update on how negotiations were going with the county over the LOST at the Jul. 18 work session. To review that please visit https://lumpkin.fetchyournews.com/2022/07/19/city-discuss-housing-study/.
After consideration, the council voted to move into mediation due to how much the city has grown in the past ten years and how much growth is expected especially once the new hospital opens. The county’s proposal that was sent to the city for their approval was to remain at the current 75% to the county and 25% to the city.
The LOST was put in place to help ease the burden of property taxes on citizens and the city has started new services such as the police department in the last ten years. The demographics have also significantly changed in the last ten years including the growth of the University.
Heard in the clip above is Councilmember Ron Larson explaining why the councilmembers are taking this next step. The City Attorney Doug Parks has already found available mediation and it will be up to the county to accept or decline the mediation and suggest another. The city and county have until Dec. 31 to reach an agreement on the LOST for the next ten years.
After his family’s recent vacation to St. Augustine Flordia Jarrard was inspired by a program he witnessed there. The idea that he brought before the city council is to have bright color flags available at both ends of the crosswalks for pedestrians to use when crossing.
The idea is to make pedestrians more visible to oncoming traffic to try and deter any potential accidents. To watch the presentation the sheriff made to the council visit https://youtu.be/Dck2rIRz4Lc.
The council expressed interest in the idea and told staff to begin looking into pricing options. They could take action on this at a later date after the staff’s research is done.
Mark Buchanan while presenting the project.
In 2018 Buchanan applied for the transportation alternatives program (TAP) grant for the Morrison Moore Pedestrian Bridge and sidewalk project. The plan is to have the sidewalk start at Wal-Mart and end at the boat ramp on the reservoir.
Currently, they are in the preliminary engineering phase of the project which is an estimated $415,000,000. This phase includes the initial design and environmental permits. The hope is to begin actual construction in 2025.
The total estimated budget that has not been adjusted for the current inflation is $4,285,000.00. There is an 80/20 match between the city and GDOT for the project and the county has verbally offered to help with the parts of the reservoir that are jointly owned.
Description of the Construction for the project.
When the bridge is complete it will look similar to the bridges on Wimpy Mill and the Dam. This is an ongoing project and there will be further public meetings. However, if there are any comments, concerns, or questions, there are comment cards available at city hall, and the information on how to contact Buchanan can be found at https://dahlonega.gov/department/public-works/.