GALLIPOLIS — Budget discussions dominated the morning session of the Gallia County Board of Commissioners’ weekly meeting Thursday.

Commissioners met with Department of Job and Family Services Dana Glassburn, Engineer Brett Boothe, representatives from the Gallia Soil and Water Conservation District and EMS Director Larry Boyer to discuss finances for the new fiscal year.

Glassburn informed commissioners that there is still some confusion at the state level regarding public assistance and child support, two of three main JFS budget lines. He said that due to changes in state rules, DJFS is unsure how much money will be allocated for public assistance and that the budget estimate he provided commissioners on Sept. 1 of this year is now just a “rough guess.”

Additionally, due to a $7 million descrepancy in Columbus, Glassburn said he’s unsure just how much funding Gallia County JFS will receive for child support services. He said he thinks about $3 million to be allocated, but isn’t sure how much of that will come to Gallia County.

“I know no matter what we do, it’s going to change,” Glassburn said.

County Engineer Brett Boothe introduced new assistant engineer Jenny Brown to commssioners during his allotted time. He also talked about some of the projects his office is working on, including the proposed Base Response System (BRS), which would allow the engineer’s office to track accident locations around Gallia County.

BRS would provide access to reports from the Ohio State Patrol, Gallia County Sheriff’s Office, county auditor and other agencies. Boothe said about 90 percent of the funding for the project is being provided through a grant with the remaining $40,000 split three ways between his office, Gallia County 911 and the county auditor’s office. He said the system should be in place sometime in 2010.

Gallia Soil and Water Conservation District officials informed commissioners that their budget request of $108,300 is the same amount requested for the prevous two years, 2008 and 2009. District Manager Jennifer Harrison said usually the state match for local SWCDs is 50 percent, but that the state has not yet determined the match level for the upcoming year. She said that State Sen. John Carey (R-Wellston) and other lawmakers have introduced a bill (SB 155) that would set aside funding for SWCDs and special needs adopted children, if passed.

EMS Director Larry Boyer stated that the proposed $400,000 budget for the new fiscal year is basically the same level at which his office has been funded for the past decade and that it “is not enough.” Boyer said problems collecting fees for service and increases in various expenses have contributed to a tough financial situation for EMS.

Commissioners also approved the following people for re-appointment to the planning commission: Craig Barnes, Terry Hemby (secretary), Greg Spear and John Nesbitt (alternate). The term is from Oct. 31, 2009, to Oct. 31, 2012.

Commissioner Lois Snyder and new Economic Development Director Melissa Clark are scheduled to attend the invitation-only unveiling of American Electric Power’s carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project at the Mountaineer Power Plant in New Haven, W.Va.