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The Monroe County Board took care of several housekeeping issues on Wednesday in the Monroe County Board Room in the County Courthouse Annex.

The board voted to do away with committee oral reports during county board meetings for at least three months. A resolution was passed that will begin a three-month trial period where committees will provide a copy of their monthly minutes to the county clerk by the monthly deadline to be included in county board meeting information packets.

“I have always had a problem with these reports because you can’t ask any questions,” supervisor Chuck Bluske said. “I don’t think we will be losing anything.”

One amendment was added to the resolution. Supervisor Carol Las made a motion to strike the two-page maximum requirement for committee reports from the resolution. The resolution was passed as amended.

The board also heard information on a Department of Justice opinion concerning open meetings and agendas from Monroe County Corporate Counsel Kerry Sullivan-Flock. She told the board that the state had found that Monroe County supervisors had not violated open meetings law in 2007, but the

county received feedback from the attorney general’s office concerning meeting agendas. According to Sullivan-Flock, several meeting agendas from 2007 were reviewed and found to be too general.

“We try to look at this as a good thing,” Sullivan-Flock said. “You usually don’t get warnings.”

Sullivan-Flock told the board that the committee agendas are the responsibility of the committee chair persons, and that if they do not feel that an average citizen of the county would know from the agenda what a committee meeting will include, then the agenda is too general.

“We need to be more specific,” Sullivan-Flock said. “It doesn’t take a lot. Sometimes it may just take a few extra words.”

The county also passed a resolution to authorize the transfer of $283,856 from the 2008 County Contingency Fund to respective 2008 department budgets to cover the cost of salary and fringe benefit increases. The Highway Union will receive $44,929 for 2007 and $93,709 for 2008. The Sheriff’s Union will receive $37,201 for 2007 and $58,549 for 2008. The jail will receive adjustments of $17,914 and $37,554 for 2007 and 2008, respectively. The resolution passed unanimously.

The county got its first look at the 2009 budget on Wednesday. Finance Committee chair Teresa Pierce presented the board with a projected budgeting timeframe. A survey was also given to supervisors to help the finance committee determine 2009 funding priorities. The budget will be completed in October, and voted on by the county board in November.