Written by by Brian Huxman
Tuesday, 04 January 2000 18:00
Members of the Marion County Commission heard about preparations for year 2000 from Lloyd Davies at
Members of the Marion County Commission heard about preparations for year 2000 from Lloyd Davies at their Wednesday meeting.
“You’re in real good shape,” Davies told commissioners. “The methodology used on this was to make an inventory on everything we could, then determine anything that is obsolete or no longer used by the county.”
Davies said the primary Y2K issues were getting certification letters from companies whose equipment was in use saying their product was ready for the turn of the century; checking out the wiring and routers; and making sure the six workstations were Y2K compliant.
The one system which needed updating was at the Sheriff’s department, but Davies said that would be taken care of before it became an issue.
Other preparations included identifying all software and hardware for the county and find its locations.
Davies told commissioners most equipment was already Y2K compliant, but could become a problem for the county down the road. Davies worked on the project from April through the end of the year.
In other action from the commission meeting:
-- County parks director Dale Snelling announced which projects he will be working on for the new year and how they fit into his current budget.
Snelling will purchase $10,000 worth of fish, work on electrical improvements for the park and other park improvements.
With all improvements figured in, Snelling was left with just $242 left in his budget for 1999.
-- Commissioner Linda Peterson announced Chris Costello, whom she appointed two weeks ago to sit on the Planning and Zoning Commission, has already stepped down.
She said Costello had too many other commitments and did not feel he could make an adequate contribution because of time restrictions.
“I’m disappointed he felt like he had to step down,” Peterson said. “I thought he would be a very valuable member to the commission.”
-- Commissioners went into executive session to speak with their attorney, James Kaup. No decisions were announced following the 20-minute session.
-- The Road and Bridge Department had fuel bids approved. Three of the four line-items were approved to be purchased from Cardie Oil of Tampa and one was approved from Cooperative Grain & Supply of Hillsboro. The total bill was just over $6,000.
-- County Clerk Carol Maggard announced the year-end encumbrances from each of the departments. The encumbrances totaled $339,465.
Encumbrances are moneys from the 1999 budget which are carried into the year 2000 to cover expenses.
The money is still figured into the 1999 budget but can then be spent in 2000.
The departments must itemize requests so commissioners can approve encumbering the funds for the budget.
The following is a list of encumbrances for 1999:
Department Amount Encumbered
County Attorney Office $10,650
Register of Deeds $1,912
Judicial Branch $10,000
Sheriff $9,035
Courthouse funding $8,880
Emergency Preparedness $198
Emergency/911 $1,630
Sales Tax/Other $8,983
County Clerk $88,547
Ambulance $76,067
Appraiser $13,083
Parks $33,275
Road and Bridge $128,448
TOTAL $339,465
County Wide News 
