The Athens County Commissioners will meet Tuesday to discuss possible policy changes for the Athens County EMS.
The Athens County Commissioners will meet Tuesday with Athens County EMS Chief Rick Callebs about his agency’s uniform policy, starting wages and other policies as part of occasional meetings between the county heads and the chief.
Callebs’ visit comes a week after successfully increasing the starting wage for Athens County paramedics. In past meetings Callebs has talked about possible changes to the wording of certain policies.
“I will be discussing some policy changes, including our uniform policy and others,” Callebs said. “This usually happens every two to three years, we go over our policies and make sure that everything is updated.”
The commissioners will also meet with a Wayne National Forest representative, who will be visiting the commissioners to discuss whether the forest should use a certain spray to rid the area of the Gypsy Moths.
“We don’t believe they should be using the spray, but we will discuss it tomorrow,” said Charlie Adkins, county commissioner.
Adkins said the controversy lies in the effects of the spray on the other living things in the forest.
“However, I don’t expect any decisions to be made tomorrow,” Adkins added.
Rich Kasler, superintendent of the Athens County Water and Sewer District, will also be present at the meeting, for the second week in a row.
Last week Kasler discussed the possibility of receiving an extension on the plans to upgrade the plant. The commissioners expect an update this week.
“He came in last week for an extension and hopefully this week we will receive an update as to where they are and where we need to go from here,” Lenny Eliason, county commissioner said.
The commissioners will also be meeting with Athens County Engineer Jeff Maiden to discuss some terms and conditions within the contract between the county and the union.
“We will be discussing some specifics, including working conditions, wages and health care,” Adkins said.
Adkins also said he expects to see some kind of union leadership to be present at the meeting.
“There is nothing we can do right now,” Eliason said. “We will just wait for them to come in and see what they have to say.”
