July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Grant funds held (9/8/04)
State keeping $110,000 grant in fuel tank dispute
More than $110,000 in homeland security grants that have already been approved are being withheld from Jay County in a dispute with state officials over underground fuel tanks that goes back more than 10 years.
Ralph Frazee, director of Jay County Emergency Management Agency, was notified of the action last week via a letter from the Indiana Department of Revenue.
Jay County Commissioners and county auditor Freda Corwin looked into the matter on Tuesday, and the best answer the commissioners and Corwin can find is that state officials are saying the county owes money for tanks that were in violation during the early 1990s.
A spreadsheet sent by an employee of the department of revenue on Tuesday show that the county owes approximately $5,000 in fines and $4,000 in interest from the years 1990-95.
The withheld grants, which are paying for a variety of equipment for local emergency personnel — including masks for county first responders — have already been awarded by the State Emergency Management Agency.
Corwin said Tuesday that no original bills or invoices from state officials can be found.
In a call to the department of revenue, Commissioner Mike Leonhard said he was told that Jay County had several underground storage tanks at the highway department past a deadline for removal in the early 1990s. During that conversation, Leonhard told the employee the county would fight payment of any interest charges since this is apparently the first notice that money was owed.
Commissioner Milo Miller Jr., who first took office in 1991, said Tuesday he does not remember when the tanks were removed, but does remember installing a fiberglass tank in the late 1980s while he was an employee at Jay Petroleum. Miller said he does not recall any mention of a fine or assessment by the state for tanks during his tenure in office.
Also Tuesday, after a discussion with Frazee, the commissioners agreed to switch all county cellular telephones to Verizon Wireless. The majority of phones carried by county employees (16 of 26) are currently through Centennial Wireless.
Those employees/department heads who have Centennial phones will be allowed to use those phones until the contracts run out.
The contract with Verizon will charge the county $29.74 per month for each of up to 26 phones. Each phone will have an allotment of 400 minutes per month and will include such features at caller I.D. and voice mail.
The commissioners are expected to sign the contract as early as next week. They are also expected to consider adoption of a cell phone use policy for county employees next week, as well.[[In-content Ad]]
Ralph Frazee, director of Jay County Emergency Management Agency, was notified of the action last week via a letter from the Indiana Department of Revenue.
Jay County Commissioners and county auditor Freda Corwin looked into the matter on Tuesday, and the best answer the commissioners and Corwin can find is that state officials are saying the county owes money for tanks that were in violation during the early 1990s.
A spreadsheet sent by an employee of the department of revenue on Tuesday show that the county owes approximately $5,000 in fines and $4,000 in interest from the years 1990-95.
The withheld grants, which are paying for a variety of equipment for local emergency personnel — including masks for county first responders — have already been awarded by the State Emergency Management Agency.
Corwin said Tuesday that no original bills or invoices from state officials can be found.
In a call to the department of revenue, Commissioner Mike Leonhard said he was told that Jay County had several underground storage tanks at the highway department past a deadline for removal in the early 1990s. During that conversation, Leonhard told the employee the county would fight payment of any interest charges since this is apparently the first notice that money was owed.
Commissioner Milo Miller Jr., who first took office in 1991, said Tuesday he does not remember when the tanks were removed, but does remember installing a fiberglass tank in the late 1980s while he was an employee at Jay Petroleum. Miller said he does not recall any mention of a fine or assessment by the state for tanks during his tenure in office.
Also Tuesday, after a discussion with Frazee, the commissioners agreed to switch all county cellular telephones to Verizon Wireless. The majority of phones carried by county employees (16 of 26) are currently through Centennial Wireless.
Those employees/department heads who have Centennial phones will be allowed to use those phones until the contracts run out.
The contract with Verizon will charge the county $29.74 per month for each of up to 26 phones. Each phone will have an allotment of 400 minutes per month and will include such features at caller I.D. and voice mail.
The commissioners are expected to sign the contract as early as next week. They are also expected to consider adoption of a cell phone use policy for county employees next week, as well.[[In-content Ad]]
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