County OKs police policy (04/28/08)

Jay County Commissioners gave formal approval today to a policy requiring county deputies to work for the county a specified period of time after they complete their training.

The policy, which was requested last week by Sheriff Ray Newton, requires new deputies to sign a four-year contract.

The contract will stipulate that if a deputy leaves the department in a year or less after completion of training, he or she will be required to reimburse the county $4,500.

If the deputy leaves one to two years after training, the reimbursment will be $3,500. If the deputy leaves two to three years after training, it will be $2,500.

Reimbursement will fall to $1,500 if the deputy left four to five years after training.

Commissioners also directed attorney George Lopez to draw up an ordinance controlling parking on the county's Walnut Street lot across from the courthouse.

Parking will be limited to county employees between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. A sign has been posted with that information, but commissioners want an ordinance to provide teeth for enforcement.

County courthouse employees will be given tags to hang from the rearview mirrors of their cars to make it clear they are allowed to park on the lot during the restricted hours.

"After 4:30 anyone can park there," said commissioners president Milo Miller Jr.

Acting as the county drainage board, Miller, Faron Parr, and Gary Theurer asked county surveyor Brad Daniels to research which ditch funds are more than five years in debt and come back with a proposal on raising those ditch assessments.

Auditors from the State Board of Accounts had expressed concerns about those ditch funds during a recent review.

After extensive review of a variety of options on extended warranties for an excavator purchased in 2007, the drainage board decided unanimously not to purchase any extended warranty when the current manufacturer's warranty expires.

[[In-content Ad]]