Votes at a glance: Pulaski County commissioners approve insurance, change orders, payroll items and road vacation pending attorney review

Pulaski County commissioners on July 7 approved a bundle of personnel, finance and project items in voice votes, and moved to pursue a formal road vacation pending attorney review.

The board approved renewing the county’s medical-insurance plan with a reported 9.5% premium increase and the county continuing the long-standing cost-share arrangement of 70% employer / 30% employee. Vision and dental rates were reported as unchanged. The motion to accept the insurance expense and the stated cost-sharing passed on a voice vote.

The board also approved two change orders for ongoing courthouse renovation work—Change Order 79 and Change Order 80—totaling $11,359.62 to add lighting in the bell room and to repair and replace floor tile in a north-side vestibule. The superintendent said the items were previously green-lit via email by two commissioners and sought formal public confirmation; the board approved the items by voice vote.

Administrative approvals included routine claims and payroll, approval of minutes from the June 16, 2025 regular session, authorization for an INPRS (retirement) designated agent signature process, approval for the prosecutor’s annual victim-assistance grant application, a request to process a $5,100 supplemental prosecutor billing (split payment for a Cellebrite account upgrade), and administrative sign-offs to migrate time and leave accruals into a new timekeeping system and to confirm Medicare as the secondary payer for employees enrolled in both plans. All passed by voice vote as recorded in the meeting transcript.

On land-use procedure, the board voted to start the process to close a section of Merle Avenue from the north end of 300 South to the south end of Lots 23 and 36 in Whipplecrest Subdivision, pending written attorney approvals from both the developer’s counsel and the county attorney. Commissioners moved and seconded the action and approved it by voice vote; staff were directed to proceed with attorney write-ups and additional surveying or procedural steps as needed.

Most votes in the meeting were recorded as voice votes without roll-call tallies in the public transcript. Where explicit roll-call counts were not provided in the record, the minutes record the results as approved by the board.

Votes recorded in the meeting transcript (summary):
- Medical-insurance renewal with 9.5% premium increase; county to remain at 70%/employee 30% cost-share — approved (voice vote; tally not specified).
- Change Orders 79 & 80 (courthouse lighting and floor tile repairs), $11,359.62 total — approved (voice vote; tally not specified).
- Claims and payroll approval (regular) — approved (voice vote).
- Minutes from June 16, 2025 — approved (voice vote).
- Payment of $5,100 to cover prosecutor split billing for Cellebrite upgrade — approved (voice vote).
- INPRS authorized-agent designation/signature process — approved (voice vote).
- Prosecutor’s annual victim-assistance grant application — approved (voice vote).
- Advance-time/timekeeping migration signatures to move PTO/accruals into new system — approved (voice vote).
- Medicare secondary payer form for Anthem (confirming Medicare as secondary payer) — approved (voice vote).
- Travel/conference requests for treasurer and assessor staff — approved (voice vote).
- Motion to vacate a segment of Merle Avenue (from north end of 300 South to south end of Lots 23 & 36) — approved pending attorney write-ups (voice vote; commissioners instructed staff to proceed with legal steps and any necessary surveying).

Notes: The transcript records approvals as voice votes and frequently records “Aye” without roll-call. The public transcript does not contain explicit numeric vote tallies or recorded dissent on the motions listed above. The Merle Avenue motion included a procedural condition: the closure is “pending attorney write up from Vigil’s attorney as well as county attorney,” and staff were asked to confirm surveying and property-line details before final action.

For reporters: motions are summarized from the board’s verbal actions; exact roll-call tallies were not specified in the available transcript.