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Marion County Board approves Veterans Affairs Commission

By Austin Williams Jan 29, 2025 | 12:49 PM
Marion County Courthouse

The Marion County Board has passed a resolution recognizing the Marion County Veterans Affairs Commission.  That clears the way for the commission to levy a property tax to support assistance to veterans and a person to oversee the program.

The tax levy will collect an estimated $220,000 a year, but won’t be available until 2026.  The county board has been asked to ‘front’ the money so operations can begin this year, but no decision has yet been made.

The board has set a special Road and Bridge Committee meeting at 4 Friday afternoon to consider appointing county board secretary Lori Linder as acting county engineer.    Road and Bridge co-chair Adam Smith says the position is basically signing paperwork until a new county highway engineer is hired.

The board agreed to no longer approve budgeted bills every month sometimes causing penalties to be incurred because of late payment.   State’s Attorney Tim Hudspeth says there is nothing wrong with making the change.   County Board Chair Steve Whritenour feels the change can also shorten county board meetings.

The board heard a complaint from Kinmundy Mayor Angie Diss about a $5,000 bill sent to them for tornado siren repair without prior approval.   Diss is also upset because it appears the repairs that were needed were the result of prior work authorized by the Marion County ESDA organization that ended in the equipment being damaged.   The issue will be discussed further in committee where a procedure for tornado siren repair is expected to be put into place.