The Guthrie County Board of Supervisors convened yesterday for their first meeting this week.

Guthrie County Public Health Administrator Jotham Arber began the session with an update from his department, and he provided the Supervisors with the financial status of public health coming out of this most recent fiscal year.

Arber says he and his staff were able to balance some of the budget during his first four months as the new administrator, and they came in at about $45,000 over budget to end the year.  Arber says that essentially means GCPH cost the county an additional $4.25 per resident last fiscal year.

With new business models and practices in place however, Arber says his goal is to have GCPH self-sustaining by the end of this new fiscal year. Through the implementation of an agency vehicle, redirection of nurses and an increase in contract services with Unity Point Health and Mercy Des Moines, he believes balancing the budget is possible.

Guthrie County Sheriff Marty Arganbright also addressed the Supervisors during yesterday’s meeting.  The Board ultimately decided to approve the hiring of Amy Cleveland to be Arganbright’s newest full-time dispatcher and jailer to replace Darci Sloss Fuller.

Cleveland has been a part-time dispatcher since 2012, and Arganbright says “she has all the necessary training to do a great job.”