March 29, 2024
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County reconsiders computer position

ELLSWORTH – The Hancock County commissioners have not made a decision on the matter, but they are reconsidering their decision to eliminate the county’s computer specialist position.

Commissioner Dennis Damon brought up the issue Friday at the commissioners’ year-end meeting. He said that he is concerned that the county will not be able to get adequate service if it contracts out for the maintenance and repair of the county’s computer software and equipment.

“I think we’d be better served to have someone do this in-house rather than have it outsourced,” Damon said.

Damon suggested that if the commissioners transferred $37,440 from the computer maintenance account into the information systems specialist account, the final figure for the county’s approved 2002 budget would not be affected. He said any benefits or insurance associated with the funded position would have to be paid for out of the $37,440.

The commissioners, at the recommendation of the county’s budget advisory committee, cut the county’s full-time computer specialist position from the county’s 2002 budget when they approved the budget earlier this month.

Hancock County Sheriff Bill Clark opposed the elimination of the position when the budget was being drafted. The county has more than 150 pieces of computer equipment and 60 different software applications it has to maintain, according to the sheriff.

After fellow Commissioner Ken Shea pointed out Friday that $37,440 would likely not cover the costs of a full-time position, Damon said that a part-time position may meet the county’s needs.

“It might be that we have someone six hours a day,” Damon said.

Ray Bickford, the county clerk, said that any county position that entails working less than 32.5 hours a week does not come with benefits or insurance. A part-time employee could buy into the county’s insurance program at his or her own expense, Bickford said.

The county has sent out requests for proposals to contract out its computer maintenance and has yet to get back responses from any potential service vendors, Bickford told commissioners. Damon agreed that the commissioners should wait to get back some proposals to see if the contracted cost would be favorable to re-establishing the county position part time.

Bickford said he expects to have the proposals by the time the commissioners next meet on Jan. 8. After Damon said he’d be willing to wait until then to discuss the matter further, the commissioners tabled the proposed transfer. Damon said that in the meantime, he will try to meet with other county employees to determine what the expectations and costs of a part-time computer position would be.

In other business, the commissioners voted to rehire the county’s former assistant jail administrator as a community corrections specialist.

Terry Robertson had been the Hancock County assistant jail administrator until his position was cut, with the support of the budget advisory committee, from the county’s 2002 budget. By hiring him as a community corrections specialist, with his new position funded through a state community corrections grant, more programs will be made available to inmates at the jail, according to Linda Hannan, Hancock County jail administrator.

Among the programs at the jail are Alcoholics Anonymous counseling, religious services and work-release programs, Hannan said.

Sheriff Clark told the commissioners more work-release programs could be applied with Robertson as a second community corrections specialist. “That’s a real public relations plus for the county to be able to provide free labor [to nonprofit organizations and municipalities],” he said.

The commissioners also voted 3-0 to advertise and-or post in-house a vacancy for the position of a communications director for the county’s proposed E-911 regional communications center.


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