Morgan County briefs

March 21, 2009

County workers to get direct deposit

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- On a 2-1 vote Thursday, the Morgan County Commission will offer county employees direct deposit of their paychecks effective July 1.

About 40 of the county's 77 current employees want to participate in the direct deposit program, but on July 1, it will be mandatory for new employees, Commission President Brenda J. Hutchinson said.

The employee paychecks will be directly deposited into the bank of their choice, Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson and Commissioner Stacy A. Dugan voted in favor of the motion, but Commissioner Thomas R. Swaim opposed it, saying he did not want to force new hires to participate.

"I have problems with the new stuff," Swaim said.

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Commission to attend seminar

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- The Morgan County Commission unanimously voted to participate in a Continuity of Operations seminar May 8 at Cacapon State Park.

At Thursday's meeting, John Petersen of The Arlington Institute said the deepening financial and economic crisis is very complex with many problems. He said he believes there will be fundamental reorganization of the financial system and it will affect Morgan County.

Petersen said the all-day seminar will feature preparedness "games" with certain scenarios. Decisions then would need to be made depending on the circumstances. He said one scenario could be people out of work from Washington, D.C., coming into the county.

The seminar will give the commissioners "a much clearer idea of what works and what does not and what initiatives you might want to put in place," Petersen said.

The commission agreed to sponsor the seminar and will send an invitation letter to about 100 participants. They also will pay for the room at Cacapon State Park, which would be no more than $200. Petersen said he would volunteer his time.

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Address coordinator position moved

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- The Morgan County Commission on Thursday approved the move of the county's addressing position from the Office of Emergency Services (OES) to the commission office.

"It just makes sense to do it in our office," Commission President Brenda J. Hutchinson said.

Peggy Oakes, the commission office's receptionist, will take on the additional role and wanted the responsibility, Hutchinson said.

Oakes only will do field work on Friday mornings, and someone from OES will travel with her, OES Director Dave Michael said.

Oakes already deals with people who come in to pick up building permits or other basic residential forms.

"It's one-stop shopping," Michael said.

-- Trish Rudder

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