MIFFLINTOWN - More Juniata County addresses will not be released until after the holiday rush but work on the project will continue, said county Emergency Services Director Allen Weaver on Tuesday.
During a county commissioners meeting, Weaver said L. Robert Kimball and Associates, the rural addressing project contractor, and the Harrisburg Post Office are working on scheduling release dates.
Behind the scenes, much of the project is complete, including an initial master addressing guide and the installation of tools, he said. Kimball is putting together a schedule for the addressing releases, he said.
"So we'll know exactly when they (the addresses) will be released," he said. "Everything is on track at Kimball's end. By January, you should see everything complete except the release of addresses."
The county will continue to work on the project through the holiday season, Weaver said.
Commissioner Teresa O'Neal apologized to constituents who "got caught in the transition from one (rural addressing project) contractor to another."
The county did not have the tools to provide new addresses to people in the areas where the addresses already were released, she said. "Now, everything is caught up."
On Sept. 17, commissioners approved Kimball to take over the project after the relationship with the previous contractor, the Timmons Group, was less than satisfactory, county commissioners said previously.
Also during the meeting, United Way representatives Marie Mulvihill and Bob King were present for the proclamation of United Way Week, to take place on Dec. 8 to 12 in Juniata County.
"The United Way of Mifflin-Juniata's mission - to help people in the Juniata Valley to help each other - is best exemplified through its ability to bring people together to solve difficult problems," Commissioner Dale Shelley read from the proclamation.
After Shelly finished reading, O'Neal said, "A lot of work goes on behind the scenes that constituents don't see. The United Way always is at the table (on community and government committees and boards.)"
Last on the agenda was the tentative approval of the 2009 budget and the establishment of a mileage rate.
Shelley asked that the motion be postponed until the commissioners' Dec. 9 meeting, at which time all commissioners may be present. Commissioner Chairman Jeffrey Zimmerman was absent from the meeting due to health reasons, he said. Shelley also postponed a retirement board meeting until next week.
"It is important to have all commissioners here, so we'll discuss it next week," he said of both items.
Postponing the motion still will allow the county to make the budget available to the public for 20 days prior to the end of the year, he said.
Although they did not vote on the budget, both commissioners expressed their concern for the financial situation in the United States.
O'Neal mentioned that all Pennsylvania counties are facing dire strains because of decreases in federal and state funding.
"Juniata County is facing hardships. We're cutting allocations ..." she said.
In the last two weeks, the county found out that two of its grants were cut to between 75 to 80 percent of their original amount, Shelley said.
O'Neal said some good news for county correctional facilities may be coming down the road. Recently, the state legislature passed three acts that will provide some relief to the counties, she said.
The commissioners also:
Approved county employees' medical insurance plan for 2009 through Geisinger.
Through working with Riverside Consultants, the lowest plan proposal was a 8.4 percent increase from last year, O'Neal said.
"We had a lot of discussion about health insurance, and 8.4 is better than a lot of counties are seeing," O'Neal said. "We were lucky to get such a low increase."
She mentioned that one proposal was a 50 percent increase from last year.
Approved a $2 million tax anticipation note with First National Bank.
Shelley said the county borrows the money to carry through until tax revenue comes. The return the county receives on the amount is more than the interest it pays, so there is no cost to the taxpayer, he said.
The Juniata County Commissioners will meet at 10 a.m. Dec. 9 in the Bousum Building, 26 N. Main St., Mifflintown.
