The Christian County Board met earlier this week to discuss old and new business, review committee reports, and announce some appointments at their January monthly meeting. Jake Janssen presented a dividend check. The county had switched over on health insurance due to issues with volatility and Hope Trust is their new carrier and with the ownership, the county received a check dividend for $5640.
Sam Sassatelli has been appointed to District 1 to take the spot left by the retirement of Tim Carlsson. County Board Chair Bryan Sharp says that he is thrilled to have Sassetelli on board.
Sharp says that the departments gave their yearly summaries and he says that over the last three years, the departments have all seen gradual improvement over the last few years and many departments have outstanding goals in 2026. Sharp says that he is proud of their progress. Sharp discussed property taxes saying that it is something that is still heavily misunderstood and that they are doing their best to list the reasons why things are done the way that they are.
The Christian County Health Department has a new survey called the IPlan Survey. It’s available on their website and helps the county with their grants. The Christian County Health Department is one of the few health departments that is solely funded by grants and these surveys help with that.
Under Highway building and grounds, Shawn Hammers, solid waste director, announced numbers for 2025: electronic recycling 55,245 lbs of electronics, 43,080 lbs of tires, and single stream recycling, 4440. Bryan Sharp also announced the animal control numbers and things are progressing extremely well.
Albert Niemerg, who is originally from the Teutopolis area has been pegged as the new County Engineer and will be moving to the Taylorville area soon. Sharp says it was a rigorous process and he’s glad to have it done.
Jeff Stoner, Christian County EMA Director, announced that there were 14,000 calls this year. Under new business, the board announced Tiffany Senger as the Public Defender through November 30, 2026, and Aaron Herkert and Jarred Rahar as conflict public defenders. The county received money back from their safety grant that they received $7745 for utilizing on safety upgrades in the county. The next meeting is set for Tuesday, February 17th, 2026.
Pictures courtesy: Venise McWard
