Though the Public Safety Subcommittee has not concluded its work – President of the Marshall County Council Jesse Bohannon and Vice President Tim Harman informed the Commissioners that the Public Safety Subcommittee is considering the recommendation of a $500,000 matching grant program for Fire Departments and Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Nothing has been officially presented to the Council nor has it been formally approved, however Bohannon and Harman expressed confidence that a program such as this would likely be supported by the Council.
Bohannon and Harman informed the Commissioners that there would be a need for some inter-local agreements or memorandums of understanding from the executive brand of government for this program to successfully move forward.
The funding, which will be appropriated from the General Fund, will be considered and approved on a case by case basis through an application process that illustrates the needs of each applicant.
A weighted scale might also be implemented so that those entities with limited financial resources are not excluded from the opportunity.
Commissioner Kevin Overmyer suggested that the Council take the lead on taking applications and determining awards as the fiscal body utilizing their Special Projects Fund line item; and let the Commissioners facilitate the necessary executive branch agreements.
Bohannon said, “I always think that power sharing is good so yes – if that agreement states that the Council do the administration I am sure that they’d be happy to do that.”
No formal action was taken; this solution, if implemented, will not require a tax increase.
