CLEARFIELD – At Tuesday’s regular meeting, the Clearfield County Commissioners approved its union contract with the Clearfield County Association of Professional Employees.
The CCAPE is the county’s probation officers. It was the final contract for the county to approve this cycle, according to Commissioner Joan Robinson-McMillen, chair.
According to the commissioners, it is a five-year contract and includes a pay raise each year. The county’s probation department consists of 15 officers, said Robinson-McMillen.
The commissioners said they were pleased with the contract, as was the CCAPE.
In other business, the commissioners also approved a project modification for the Right & Service Act (RASA) grant as presented by Victim Witness Coordinator Margie Rosselli.
Due to an increase of federal Victims of Crime Act funding made available in 2015, she said there was a 35 percent increase to each county in Pennsylvania for use in providing procedural services to victims through the use of RASA funding.
Rosselli said as a result, she planned to adjust three areas of the current RASA grant. First, she wanted to add the VOCA funding to the current RASA grant budget for 2016. The total RASA allocation for Clearfield County, including the increase, takes the amount from $76,410 to $89,781.
According to her, the funding is to provide basic services to victims of all crimes by offenders in both adult and juvenile systems. The new allocations will fund the three Victim Witness staff members in 2016 to provide these services.
Secondly, Rosselli said her office planned to collapse the part-time advocate position and make it a full-time position. She said this actually started June 1, and the project modification is to change the status of this staff member and to just wages and benefits accordingly in compliance with Clearfield County Government guidelines.
Finally, Rosselli said she wanted to make the necessary adjustments to the RASA budget for the coordinator and other full-time advocate position in the wages and benefits categories, as well as for the program’s supplies and operational costs. She explained that rate calculations were estimates at the time of application, but have since changed and she wanted to make the budget more “in-line.”
A revised budget will be presented, Rosselli said, to portray this increase in funds to Clearfield County in the amount of $13,371 to its current RASA grant.
During the public comment, Director of Elections Dawn Graham announced that the last day to register to vote is Oct. 5. Also, she said the last day to apply for a civilian absentee ballot is Oct. 27; the last day for the elections office to receive voted absentee ballots is Oct. 30.
Graham reminded that individuals can complete their absentee ballot at the elections office at the Clearfield County Administrative Offices. If sending by mail, she said voted absentee ballots must be in the hands of the election office by Oct. 30.