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Christian County Board Meets; Discusses Pipeline, County Salaries

A packed board meeting sent the board scurrying upstairs to the Christian County Courtroom in order to fit everyone in. The packed house spoke during the comments over a number of certain topics, including discussion over a new cat room for animal control in Christian County, the Heartland Greenway Co2 pipeline, and the proposed changes to the courthouse lawn including a public restroom. 

 

EMA requested ARPA funds, that was forwarded to the finance committee.  The board also heard from CTI on a cybersecurity update, and the board approved extending hours in the Taylorville Square until 8 PM beginning April 1st through September of 2022.  The board tabled the Courthouse lawn renovations and discussed salaries. The salary of the Chairman of the Board was set at $20,000. The county clerk position was a heavily discussed position.  Venise McWard and Chairman Matt Wells discussed the motion.

 

 

A motion was put on the floor to cut the salary 10% for the county clerk and for it go up 3.5% moving forward. Christian County Treasurer Betty Asmussen voiced her frustration saying that loyalty wasn’t rewarded. 

 

 

Christian County Coroner Amy Calvert Winans who is not up for election or up for a salary change echoed those sentiments.

 

 

The motion to set the salaries at 70,000 for the next four years was brought on the floor and again Treasurer Asmussen says that that was a slap in the face to those who gave their hearts to the county. The motion failed and a new motion was put forward for raising 3.5% per year for the Treasurer and Supervisor of Assessments. The Sheriff was also granted a raise as well of 3.5% per year for the next four years.

 

A motion for a new cat room got tabled. A motion for new windows for the courthouse that would cost nearly $500,000 also was sent back to the finance committee. The County Clerk email was changed from .com to .gov in order to help alleviate fraud issues. The board also turned down a $25,000 donation from Heartland Greenway for legal counsel during the Carbon Capture and Storage discussions. 

 

The meeting was nearly three hours and concludes until the next monthly meeting on April 12, 2022.

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