Athens County Commissioners covered the discipline of an emergency employee and routine county expenditures during their relatively short meeting Tuesday.
The commissioners authorized a 24-hour, one-shift suspension for a breach in protocol by an Athens County Emergency Medical Service employee.
On April 30, Gabrielle Campbell was working after the completion her shift around 8:30 a.m. and did not respond to an emergency call, a breach in protocol, said Rick Callebs, chief of Athens EMS.
Campbell was disciplined because she was the closest technician to the call and did not respond to it, Calebs said, adding that another unit did respond to the call and no one was injured because of the delay.
Commissioners also discussed funding for writing pre- and post-sentencing reports for felons in the area, something that was once paid for by the state, but is now a county responsibility.
The state government no longer pays for pre- and post-sentencing reports for felons, passing the requirement onto counties.
Athens County Court of Common Pleas was given a 2-year grant to write these reports last year, but must apply re-apply for this grant annually, said Judge L. Alan Goldsberry of Athens County Court of Common Pleas.
The commissioners allocated $38,000, the same amount as last year, to write the reports.
Commissioners approved four appropriations: more than $15,000 for Athens Dog Shelter, about $17,000 to the Athens County Sherriff, almost $500 to Solid Waste and $13,000 to Emergency Management Agency for equipment.
Commissioners declined a request by Ohio Deferred Compensation, an organization that helps public sector employees save for retirement, to send out a newsletter to employees.
However, commissioners approved Ohio Deferred Compensation’s coming to make a presentation later in the year and to notify county employees of the program through a general newsletter from the Commissioners, in the same manner that county employees are typically notified.
Athens has an average participation in the Ohio Deferred compensation with 18 percent of employees participating in the program, said Jason Brown, who spoke on behalf of Ohio Deferred Compensation at the Commissioners meeting.
Commissioner Lenny Eliason said the reason the specific form was not sent out to employees was because the language of the form favored Ohio Deferred Compensation as opposed to other programs.
“That form has some issues with us,” Eliason said. “It’s a subtle distinction, but it’s important for people.”
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