It’s that time of year again and several county departments are again before the DeKalb Budget Committee to make requests for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

For DeKalb EMS, the county plans to make application for a Community Development Block Grant for a new ambulance. If fully funded the grant totals $399,638 with a 16 percent match by the county of $63,942.

EMS Director Hoyte Hale said the projected cost for a 2025 ambulance is $237,000, but it would also need about $161,000 in equipment that the grant could cover, including a Stryker automatic loading system, Pro 2 ambulance cot, Stryker Stair Chair, Zoll heart monitor, and ventilator.

Director Hale also asked that $36,000 be allocated for the purchase of 10 portable radios, with dual band/multiband frequency capability, which would enable each of the EMS units to have two portable radios.

In addition, Hale requested that $45,000 be allocated to equip a new ambulance scheduled to arrive in January with an automatic loading system and power cot, which had not been included in the specifications when the ambulance was ordered this past year.

For the Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Patrick Ray has requested a capital projects funding allocation of $165,000 to purchase four patrol cars. The needed equipment for the vehicles is to be funded by the sheriff’s department’s maintenance budget line item which is about $12,000 per car.

DeKalb County Mayor Matt Adcock asked for an appropriation from the capital projects fund for an SUV to be used by him for official county business.

Seventh district commissioner and budget committee member Beth Pafford requested that $10,000 be allocated from the capital projects fund toward engineering costs in a joint effort with the City of Smithville for putting down sidewalks on Bryant Street in Smithville.

Solid Waste Director James Goff asked for $80,000 to fund the purchase of 12- 30 cubic yard open top containers. He said the new cans are needed due to “areas of concern from our state inspector because of leaky, rusty containers that we are having issues with that could become violations.”

Goff also presented the proposed solid waste department budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year. Perhaps the biggest change is the increased cost for contracted services. The county is under contract with the Capital Waste Company to haul to a landfill in Dayton all the county’s garbage collected at the transfer station.

Although the contractor’s fees have apparently not increased, the volume of the county’s garbage has which has resulted in an increase in the haul bill. The county had budgeted $985,000 for the contracted service this year but for 2023-24 the budgeted cost is $1,365,000.

DeKalb Fire Chief Donny Green made capital projects funding requests, asking for an appropriation of $40,000 to replace a leaking metal roof on a portion of the Main Station fire hall on King Ridge Road, and $7,000 to install insulation to the Belk Fire Station, which is a metal building with a concrete slab with no inside insulation. Chief Green has also requested an expenditure for an SUV for the fire department. The cost for a new one is expected to be around $50,000.