Carroll County’s commissioners voted on a number of requests, approving an application for assistance to firefighters grant, in addition to discussing adjustments at the Bureau of Housing at their most recent meeting .
Danielle Yates, chief of the Carroll County Bureau of Housing discussed with the Board of Commissioners seven recommended changes during the Feb. 4 meeting. Those changes including implementing streamlined recertification for families with fixed incomes over a three-year period rather than annually, fixed income sources including social security payments, pensions, annuity and retirement plan. This would affect 150 of the families the bureau works with, 99% of whom are adults over 62 according to Yates. The process will allow the bureau to continue to work with the numbers of tenants they are assisting without adding additional staff.
The Bureau of Housing currently provides vouchers to 773 tenants.
“This shows how compassionate we are that we can’t just throw elderly, disabled and veterans out in the street,” said Eric Bouchat, R-District 4, before calling for the approval of the annual plan for the Bureau to be displayed for public comment.
The newly formed Carroll County Department of Fire and Emergency Services submitted a request for permission to apply for the Assistance to the Firefighters Grant (AFG), a fire safety grant that funds resources for emergency personnel and is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Scott Campbell, the director of public safety, said he had always been interested in the grant but Carroll had never been eligible until the formation of the countywide service. Carroll’s hybrid paid-volunteer fire and EMS department was established in October.
Campbell said the department is specifically requesting 277 portable radios and 111 mobile radios.
“Having a portable radio available to every approved riding position is a tenet of safety,” said Campbell, who noted that the county’s various fire services had previously purchased portable and mobile radios. The grant will ensure that every assigned riding position in the department will have a radio.
The meeting also included an acknowledgment of Black History Month and discussion of the current legislative session.
Commissioner Stephen Wantz, R-District 1, began the meeting by acknowledging Black History Month.
“I encourage everyone to take some time this month to pay attention to the things that occurred not only in the state, but also in Carroll County,” Wantz said.
The commissioners later approved a 15-year extension for the PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) program for Westminster Bond Senior apartments, also known as Sunnybrook. The PILOT program will allow the property to be exempt from property taxes., giving the senior residents affordable housing.
And Mike Fowler, the county’s legislative liaison, revisited the previous week’s conversation on climate bills as they affect the county.
The glyphosate ban, which received some opposition, has now been amended. The legislation’s sponsor agreed to amend agriculture out of the bill so that it would pertain only to state and local governments. As Fowler noted, the farm bureau uses the chemical for their integrative vegetation management program.