Nearly four months after appropriating the last 25% of this fiscal year’s budget for most of its departments, the Guthrie County Board of Supervisors appropriated that final amount for three remaining departments Tuesday.

The Board withheld the final fiscal year 2020 appropriations for the Attorney, Recorder, and Sheriff’s offices last November as those department heads were not in favor of the updated county handbook that the Board approved that same month. County Attorney Brenna Bird then requested the County use attorney Mike Galloway from Ahlers & Cooney, P.C. as a mediator to help draft a compromised handbook. The department heads in attendance at Tuesday’s Board meeting were all in agreement over the new version presented, which was approved.

Supervisor Cliff Carney commented on the issue, “I wish we could have worked this out amongst ourselves instead of having to go to outside counsel that cost us money. That’s why we have the meetings, so let’s try and work things through in the meetings instead of having to go to outside counsel from now on.”

Bird replied to Carney that she was not invited to his referred meetings, but she thinks they can work through this moving forward. Supervisor Everett Grasty thanked all those involved for working on what seemed like an “insurmountable” obstacle.