The Rowan County Fiscal Court made several budget adjustments and saw through other business matters at their October meeting.
One of these was the use of federal ARPA funding for the upcoming senior center. Harry Clark, Rowan County Judge Executive, said the court had to either use that money or lose it.
“We have to allocate and contract our ARPA funds by 31 December of this year. If we don’t, like I said we don’t have to, but we would have to give everything back remaining in the ARPA account back to the federal government,” said Clark.
Officials added they have been slow and methodical in spending these funds because other local governments have undergone audits, revealing mistakes and misallocations those counties had to pay back.
The court also approved requests to purchase some new equipment for the road department, including excavator attachments and garage equipment. These purchases come after the road department cleared fallen trees from Hurricane Helene from roads countywide.
Several positions across the county were hired for, including two full-time positions with the Rowan County EMS. Magistrates also approved the appointment of Michelle Jessee as the County Treasurer.
Clark explained the county treasurer is one of the only roles that works for the court itself, rather than for the Judge Executive directly, so he did not fill the position alone like usual.
“That’s why any fiscal court can make the motion to hire. I don’t know about fire, they’ve never had to do that! But also reappointment. When it comes time for reappointment, the court has the authority to reappoint or not reappoint,” said Clark.
The Fiscal Court also approved the use of opioid settlement funds for the county’s SCORE program, allowing inmates to work and earn money to save in the months preceding their release.
Fiscal court meetings and agendas are available at the Rowan County Fiscal Court Facebook page.