| County Clerk Robert Pero goes over budget revisions with the Carbon Commissioners during their Dec. 27 meeting. |
There will be some new faces filling board rooms as the Carbon County Commissioners made annual appointments during the last meeting of 2007.
The changes discussed during the Dec. 27 session will include a new commissioner as Steve Burge continues his career upstate, new board members, a budget revision and an updated transient room tax.
“We could see him vacate his position sometime in September,” said Commissioner Mike Milovich, during a telephone interview Friday. “He reported he will know more after the first of the year.”
Appointments to current executive boards included:
•Chuck Buchanan, who will fill a vacated seat on the board of adjustments.
•Bill Gigliotti, who will take Pam Miller’s seat on the county’s restaurant tax advisory board.
•Mike Johnson, who will be contacted to fill positions on the weed control board.
No applications were submitted to fill the current open positions.
•Dondra Nance, Reed Phillips and Rhonda Petersen, who will be seated on the travel bureau.
Two more vacant seats will be filled in the near future, according to Milovich.
•Nick Sampinos, who will serve on the county’s water conservancy board.
•Christian Bryner was re-appointed for another year of service as deputy county attorney.
Bryner reported no changes to his current contract.
However, Burge requested that the county’s new copy of Bryner’s contract include a detailed record of how much time the attorney spends on his governmental duties.
“I think it will be beneficial for all parties included if you detailed just how much time you delicate to the commission on a weekly basis,” said Burge.
Bryner indicated that he spends approximately two to three days per week working exclusively for the commission, a figure that determines that amount he charges the county for his services.
Bryner reported that he submit a revised contract to the commissioners and they approved his reappointment contingent upon receipt of the contract.
Due to changes within the state legislature, the county commission increased the transient room tax from 3 to 4.25 percent, effective April 1, 2008.
According to the county attorney, the 1.25 percent increase is eligible for inclusion in the commission general fund. Whereas the initial 3 percent has stipulations placed upon a portion of it for allocation to the tourism industry specifically in the form of tourism promotion.
“The state has never really defined tourism promotion,” said Commissioner Burge. “And the fund allocation in based on that term.”
County Attorney Bryner further stipulated that no public hearing was necessary for the tax increase.
“The majority of this money will come from out of town patrons and no public hearing is required for the increase in tax,” said Bryner.
As a final note the restaurant tax board will continue to meet annually, after a large discussion as to weather they should meet more often.
Bryner reported that because the county is a fourth class and not a first class county, the commission is not required to have an advisory board oversee the restaurant tax. Members, therefore, can meet as often or as little as preferred.
“The restaurant tax board will conduct all of its deliberations in public during the coming year as well,” said Milovich. “They can meet more often if they feel they need to but they will schedule to meet only once a year to review applications for funding and to review money spent over the past year.”
The budget for the 2008 session was also re-opened for revision and re-approved by the county commissioners.