Wood County commissioners heard a variety of budget requests last Thursday as they kicked off the annual cycle of determining how much money the county will be spending for fiscal year 2025, which begins Oct. 1.

Veterans Services Officer Steve Lucas requested additional hours.

Lucas was not present as he was receiving training to be able to access more programs for veterans.

County Judge Kevin White said Lucas cannot serve all the county’s veterans in the 24 hours per week that are budgeted.

White said Lucas is not seeking more pay, only additional hours.

It is estimated the county is home to 3,761 veterans, and since taking office in December, Lucas has already served more than 500.

Elections Administrator Laura Wise reviewed the cost of additional voting machines for the general election and the cost of establishing branch voting ahead of the November vote.

Under new state guidelines, the early voting locations will be required to be open during the entire two weeks’ voting period, and Wise’s biggest concern is having enough poll workers to staff the locations.

It was noted that the last presidential election that the county had without branch locations for early voting was a nightmare, with lines so long some voters left.

Wise also requested generators to be able to avoid a situation when power goes out at a polling location.

Much of the discussion on the sheriff’s department centered on the jail.

Administrator Louis Dahlman said medical expenses “have been a mess this year.” He cited one inmate with $75,000 in medical bills and two others whose prescriptions cost thousands monthly.

“We have more medical problems in the jail than we’ve ever had,” he said.

One of the issues is the amount of time inmates are being detained.

“We work with the DA’s office to get them out of there,” Sheriff Kelly Cole said.

He said he had received a letter from a prisoner housed outside the county who had been there more than a year, and the case is not moving.

“There are a lot of people sitting there that shouldn’t be sitting there,” he said.

The county houses prisoners in Upshur and Henderson County when the jail is full.

Dahlman said the county is farming out about 10 prisoners but that could rise by another 10-12.

Another jailer position is planned when the jail expansion project is completed.

Commissioner Russell Acker said the cost of that project should be determined soon.

Cole also said the county needs another dispatcher as calls are increasing and more paperwork has to be completed.

During a discussion on raising the pay scale for a county treasurer’s office clerk, County Clerk Kelley Price said there is so much more work mandated by the state.

“It’s unbelievable how much,” she said. “It’s not a clerk/secretary job any more.”