Carmi Township officials met for about an hour Tuesday and spent most of their time getting a lesson in procedures and duties of the highway commissioner from township legal counsel Greg Stewart. There were two main issues. One being a bid for a salt storage building and part of it needing rebid. Stewart explained that even though bids were received for each: labor, the building itself, and concrete, that it was one project and even though the concrete provider came back saying in order to do the job right, they would need additional concrete which would mean the entire project would have to be rebid. That’s in spite of a check already being written for the building. Also at issue was how to handle Commissioner Chris McEwing’s request to have his wife paid for 6 hours as a safety measure on a run. McEwing maintains it’s not about the money, but rather having it documented another individual is with him when no other employee is available on a job that requires having someone else. Stewart explained that McEwing is autonomous of the Township board and that they can’t dictate who he hires, but that he did sign off on the recent anti-nepotism policy and in order to bring his wife on as a paid employee would cause issues. Stewart laid out the road commissioner’s options as having Mesia McEwing continuing to volunteer at no cost to the township (which McEwing says she’s done for the last several years) or to signify in writing that he intended to not conform to the anti-nepotism policy beginning on said date, essentially putting the ball back in McEwing’s court.
Trustees also approved the 2025/2026 Township and Road Levy proposal choosing to go with no increase and not triggering a truth in taxation meeting. It’s estimated to bring in $737,900 versus the other option they considered, a 4.9% increase which still wouldn’t trigger a hearing and would’ve brought in an estimated $769,460. Interest income from the Township’s money markets has been solid since April of this year bringing in more than $45,750.