Franklin County BOC to Consider Extension Agent Travel Expense Increase

Franklin County’s new County Extension Agent is asking the county to come up with the travel budget increase and county vehicle agreed to earlier this year. 

When the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service agreed to search for a new agent for Franklin County earlier this year, they requested the county increase the new agent’s travel budget to $4,000 a year and also provide him with a county vehicle.

At their work session last week, the board of commissioners heard from new county agent Raymond Fitzpatrick.

After going over a break down of the Extension office budget, Fitzpatrick asked the board to increase the travel expenses to a previously agreed upon amount of $4,000 a year.

“My request would be for a $4,300 increase,” he told the board. “$237 would go to Audrey Justice for an increase in travel, which would bring her to $1,800 a year for her travel to help defer some of her costs to go to club meetings and other events throughout the county, which are part of her responsibilities. The increase to get me to the originally discussed $4,000 is in an increase of $1,563.”

Fitzpatrick also requested an extra travel allowance for some new outside activities.

“The last item would be an out-of-county travel budget which would cover trips to Perry, GA with students and trips to Moultrie with producers; programs that are currently offered in the county. But that would act as more of a reimbursement fund, if that’s something that we could find a way to do,” he said.

Another request from Fitzpatrick to the board last week was a county vehicle.

Back in January when the search for a new county agent began, County manager John Phillips told the board a vehicle was another stipulation from UGA.

At that time, the Board voted to increase the extension agent’s travel expenses and to provide a county vehicle. But last week, Phillips said the county did not have a suitable vehicle available.

“I can tell you that we don’t have anything today that we could turn over, but we would certainly be glad to try and find that,” Phillips told the board.

Fitzpatrick told the board he drove a thousand miles in his own car in July and about 800 miles in August just going to different farms in the County, which he said is putting a lot of wear and tear on his personal vehicle.

“For example, yesterday I went to some farms over on Broad River Church Road, and then I went to a farm in Bold Springs,” he said. “There’s a lot of miles between that side of Carnesville and the other side of Carnesville and those miles add up in a hurry.”

The board made no decision on either the travel increase or a county provided vehicle and is expected to take up the matter at their regular meeting next week.