Staff writer
Marion County Commission approved promotions and pay raises Thursday for two employees in the county treasurer’s office.
The commission met with County Treasurer Jeannine Bateman and County Clerk Carol Maggard in closed session for 15 minutes to discuss personnel.
On return to open session, they announced that Kathy Swan was promoted from driver’s license examiner to deputy treasurer, with a raise from $2,099 to $2,836 per month, and that Dianne Burnett was promoted from clerk to driver’s license examiner, with a raise from $1,938 to $2,096 per month.
The commission also announced that the county is seeking a full-time office employee whose duties will include work in both the treasurer’s and clerk’s offices.
The offices have both been short-staffed for a period of time, Maggard said.
In other business:
- Road and Bridge Department received a reimbursement of $168,962 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for work repairing flood damage.
- Replacing a bridge on 240th Road about one-half mile west of the Chase County line will cost about $426,000, and the county’s share is 20 percent of that, Road and Bridge Superintendent Jim Herzet told the commission. Construction times will be limited to prevent any harm to an endangered minnow, the Topeka shiner.
- Herzet said he hopes asphalt work on 290th Road between K-15 and Tampa can begin immediately after wheat harvest. The county will put a 6-inch asphalt overlay on the gravel road.
- Road and Bridge Department is preparing to demolish two houses east of the courthouse that the county purchased . One of the houses has asbestos siding, Herzet said, but a plan is in place to remove it safely.
- Health Department Administrator Diedre Serene had a phone conference with the commission in closed session for 10 minutes to discuss personnel. No action was taken on return to open session.
- Great Plains Computers and Networking will sell a laptop computer for $2,102 and a computer monitor for $148 to the emergency management department. Online retailers Tiger Direct and CDW-G also bid on the items. Tiger Direct bid $2,182 for the computer and $160 for the monitor. CDW-G bid $2,253 and $135.
- Roland Boesker will work as a part-time pesticide technician in the noxious weed department, receiving $10 per hour.
- The commission approved a price schedule for items related to mapping services from the appraiser’s department. The three highest-priced items are full digital data, including the countywide map and database, for $800; the street centerline map for $500; and the user fee for banks and licensed appraisers to access the material online for $250. County Appraiser Cindy Magill said the prices are comparable to what other counties charge.
A meeting was scheduled for 8 a.m. today to discuss Road and Bridge Department projects. The next commission meeting will be Friday.