An eye on time

Noting how archaic Putnam County's system of tracking employees' time worked is, Commissioner Rick Woodall was sure there had to be a better way.

"The county currently does time keeping in the 1970s, the 1950s," Woodall said this week. "We write stuff down on paper and then manually enter it."

All that writing down and entering means a lot of wasted paper and a lot of wasted time for one employee of the Putnam County Auditor's Office.

Woodall and his fellow commissioners unanimously approved a new system this week, agreeing to a fingerprint system for clocking in and out with Advanced Time Management.

The company was one of just two with a system compatible with the county's payroll software.

The system comes with an up-front cost of $2,750 for six punch units plus 260 user names. Thereafter, it will cost $1,364 per month.

The system can be installed in six weeks.

With the beginning of the year just around the corner, the commissioners are also considering the 2018 plan for Economic Development Income Tax (EDIT) funds.

The plan will be up for adoption in January.

In the meantime, the commissioners will be considering a request to increase funding for the Putnam County Senior Center.

Director Sarah Quasebarth made the request during this week's meeting, noting that financial support for the center is down.

For example, the center lost the renter, a business that had occupied another part of its building on West Franklin Street. Additionally, United Way funds have been on the decline recently.

Quasebarth is requesting an increase in county support from $5,000 to $10,000.

In other business, both the commissioners and county council have set their 2018 meeting calendars.

The commissioners will continue to meet at 9 a.m. on the first and third Monday of each month on the first floor of the courthouse.

The only exceptions are holidays, which applies to both January meetings in 2018.

The New Year's holiday will move the first meeting to Tuesday, Jan. 2, while Martin Luther King Jr. Day will move the second meeting to Tuesday, Jan. 16.

The first September meeting will also be moved due to Labor Day, with the commissioners meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 4.

The council will continue to meet at 6:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month.

Additionally, hearings for the 2019 budget will be at 9 a.m. on Sept. 11, 12 and 13.

The commissioners also approved the 2018 holidays for county employees, which include New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Good Friday, Primary Election Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, General Election Day, Veterans Day (observed Monday, Nov. 12), Thanksgiving (Nov. 22 and 23), Christmas luncheon (close at noon Dec. 21), Christmas (Dec. 24 and 25) and New Year's Eve (leave at noon on Dec. 31).

The subject of county employees also getting Dec. 26 off was discussed. While this has been the case in recent years, that has had to do with Christmas Eve or Christmas Day falling on a weekend.

Woodall expressed his displeasure with the 2018 plan, which would have left the courthouse closed from noon on Friday, Dec 21 through the open of business on Thursday, Dec. 27.

Commissioner Don Walton made a motion to give employees Dec. 26 off, but the motion failed when neither Woodall nor Commissioner David Berry seconded.