Tag Archives: Ben Rodgers

Putnam County Commissioners re-elected Ben Rodgers as chair for the new commission year Monday night. Commissioner Chris Cassetty will serve as chair pro-tem. The Commission’s Fiscal Review committee elected Kathy Dunn as chair with Cathy Reel elected as vice chair. Terry Randolph selected as chair of Planning Committee, with Darren Wilson elected as vice chair. Commissioners voted on multiple appointments ... Read More »

A wheel tax could work give Putnam County another revenue source instead of property tax increases in the future. Budget Committee Chair Ben Rodgers said just over half the counties in the state have implemented a wheel tax to help fund a variety of projects. He said the average tax is about $25 per vehicle registration. Rodgers said he does ... Read More »

After about an hour of discussion Monday night, Putnam County Commissioners approved a new fiscal year budget with an 18.8 cent property tax increase. The county will use some $6.5 million in fund balance to make up the budget deficit, reducing the reserves to about $18 million. That’s still above the Comptroller’s request that a county maintains 20 percent of ... Read More »

The Putnam County Budget Committee will not meet Thursday night after county officials confirmed the 18.6 cent property tax increase would meet the budgetary needs. The proposed budget including marketplace pay adjustments and 91 new employees, now goes to the County Commission on July 31 for approval. County Commission Chair Ben Rodgers said he believes the commission will move forward ... Read More »

The Putnam County Budget Committee voted Monday to reduce the property tax increase to 18.8 cents, sending the budget to Mayor Randy Porter to be finalized. The budget includes 91 new employees, the majority of which will serve the expanded County Justice Center. It also includes a marketplace adjustment to bring county salaries more in line with similar government and ... Read More »

The Putnam County Budget Committee voted 6-1 Thursday to take the next step with a 27.5 cent property tax increase for county residents. The approved proposal includes fully funding a new pay scale plan for county employees and 91 new employees. Mayor Randy Porter and his team will bring more formal cost estimates to the next committee meeting Monday night. ... Read More »

The Putnam County Budget Committee voted Thursday night to consider a new employee pay plan which would top out salaries faster. The idea: to improve retention and increase wages. The plan gets employees to their top pay by year ten for emergency services, 15 for all other county jobs. It also incorporates the marketplace adjustments suggested by the recently-completed wage ... Read More »

Putnam County’s recently conducted salary study revealed that the county is generally behind on paying county employees for many positions. That’s according to Commission Budget Chair Ben Rodgers. He said the report compared the county to similar-sized counties and to jobs in the private sector. Rodgers said while both are issues, he is more concerned with how the county shapes ... Read More »

Putnam County and the 13th Judicial District will get a new Circuit Court Judge September 1 to help with increased workload. Putnam County Circuit Court Clerk Jennifer Wilkerson told the County Budget Committee Thursday night said that means a new expense to the county. “It’ll be another court date, another judge, more dockets, and more jury trials,” Wilkerson said. “I ... Read More »

Putnam County Commissioners will start to piece together a budget this week as they begin meetings with department heads about what the needs are. Commission Chair Ben Rodgers said they will start with the sheriffs department which could be ready to open the justice center expansion by the end of the new fiscal year. “We’re not sure the timeline yet ... Read More »