Bacon County commissioners approve CPA contract, airport actions, tax relief and Rhine Road closure

Bacon County commissioners on Jan. 20 approved a package of routine administrative and operational items, including a monthly engagement with an accounting firm, airport-related measures, a tax adjustment for a property destroyed by fire, the setting of qualifying fees for local offices and a request to close a county road.

The board approved a letter of engagement with BYRT CPAs at $2,250.00 per month; Commissioner Sammy Boatright moved the contract approval and Commissioner Corey Tyre seconded. The meeting record lists the motion as carried but does not include a roll-call tally.

On airport matters, the commission approved a resolution related to an airport maintenance hangar (details of the resolution are not specified in the transcript) after a motion by Commissioner Lonann Sweat and a second from Commissioner Rusty Sears. The board also voted to contact engineer J.D. Heithoff to perform an independent fee evaluation for the county's Airport Layout Plan; Commissioner Sweat made the motion and Commissioner Tyre seconded.

In a property-relief action, the board approved an adjustment to taxes for Devin Johnson, whose home burned in January 2025. Chairman Shane Taylor said the adjustment would be approximately $431.73; Commissioner Corey Tyre moved to approve the adjustment and Commissioner Rusty Sears seconded. The transcript records the motion as carried; no vote tally is recorded.

The commission also approved qualifying fees for several contests: county commissioners (districts 3, 4 and 6) at $180.00; Solicitor of State Court at $666.81; State Court Judge at $574.11; and Board of Education districts 2, 4 and 6 at $72.00. Commissioner Corey Tyre moved to approve the fees; Commissioner Sammy Boatright seconded and the motion carried.

The board approved Glover Scott's request to close Rhine Road (east of Old Dixie School Road) after a motion by Commissioner Rusty Sears and a second by Commissioner Sammy Boatright. The transcript records the action as approved but does not include individual vote counts.

The meeting record also notes the resignation of library board member Pam Deen (term expires Dec. 31, 2027), scheduling changes for the February work session (moved to Feb. 12, 2026 because Feb. 16 is a holiday), and an announcement by Chairman Shane Taylor of the death of former county clerk Mary Edna Wheeler, who served 34 years.

The board adjourned after Commissioner Corey Tyre moved to adjourn and Commissioner Sammy Boatright seconded; the clerk recorded the minutes.

Votes at a glance: all motions in the meeting record are marked "carried" but the transcript does not include roll-call tallies or counts for individual votes.