By RICK KESSINGER

rkessinger@lockhaven.com

LOCK HAVEN — The Clinton County Commissioners have been meeting with department heads for weeks, talking about their wants and needs, as they look toward a 2020 budget.

They’ve had some help from financial consultant Ed Zack, who has been looking at the numbers and giving the commissioners perspective as he prepares a preliminary budget, which will be unveiled next Thursday.

When asked about the budget at last Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting, Commissioner Pete Smeltz said, “The cost of government services have gone up for a number of reasons. We’ve been taking a position of austerity and putting the brakes on. We’ve had to say ‘no’ to department heads,” Smeltz said.

Asked about a possible tax increase, Smeltz replied, “There shouldn’t be.”

That preliminary budget will be up for approval on first reading at next Thursday’s meeting at 10 a.m. at the Garden Building.

The budget will then be posted for 20 days for public review before final adoption, scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 19 at the commissioners’ 10 a.m. meeting.

Until then, the public will have opportunity to ask questions about the budget during commissioners’ work sessions on Mondays, Dec. 2, 9, and 16, according to Commissioner Pete Smeltz. Work sessions begin at 9 a.m. at the Piper Building.

In other business, the commissioners:

— Approved a memorandum of understanding with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Council 86 to transport US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees for the federal government. The detainees would then be housed at the county facility for a period of time before they are eventually moved to another location, Smeltz said. This ties into the facilities lease agreement for a passenger van which was approved at last weeks commissioner meeting, he said.

Commissioner Paul Conklin further elaborated that the ICE detainees are only passing through Clinton County before deportation and it is not an extensive stay at the facility. Those involved are paid $76 per day and transportation expenses like the personnel and mileage for the vehicle are also reimbursable.

— Approved a proposal with TLIC for their annual service agreement with Cisco SMARTnet Services in the amount of $38,943.96 effective, Nov. 18. As stated by IT Director, Suzy Watson, these services cover key networking, routing and switching devices in all eight county facilities. The TLIC agreement has saved $900 over the previous year, Chief Clerk Jann Meyers, said.

— Approved the resignation of caseworkers in Children and Youth Services Kelsey Kaltenbach and Alyssa Felty, effective Jan. 31, 2019 and Nov. 27, 2019 respectively.

— Approved the hiring of Jeffrey Croak, Jr. as Veterans Service Officer in the Department of Veterans Affairs, effective Nov. 12, 2019, at an annual salary of $25,795.

— Approved the 2020 county holiday schedule covering 11 and a half holidays for next year.

— Paid county bills in the amount of $288,589.18, and net payroll in the amount of $291,497.36, for the period ending Nov. 15, 2019. The bills over $10,000 were: Clinton County Tourist Promotion Agency for $147,225.36, Crossroads Counseling for $11,625.00, Dell Marketing, LP for $10,508.64 and Wellpath, LLC for $17,543.92.