MRDD board welcomes new member

0

Rebecca Ferguson was welcomed as the newest member of the Wood County Board of Developmental Disabilities
Monday.
Ferguson fills the seat left empty by the departure of Frank Day.
The seat expires Dec. 31.
Ferguson, of Bowling Green, is no stranger to the MRDD family. From 2002-2008 she served on the
Industries Board of Trustees
She is chief human sources officer at Bowling Green State University. She is a member of the Bowling
Green Kiwanis Club, the American Association of University Women, the Downtown Foundation, Prevent
Blindness Ohio’s Northwest Ohio council, and Omicron Delta Kappa.
"It’s a delight to serve on this board," she said at Monday’s meeting.
A Wood Lane Summer Day Camp was also approved, but the number of days will be reduced because of budget
constraints and the number of school days to be made up.
The camp will run for four weeks, from July 7-31. Lorraine Flick, director of children’s services, said
she also hopes to reduce the cost of staffing, now at $25,000, by using more volunteers. But with
university students on summer break, that might be difficult, she stated.
As of Monday, the last day of school will be June 20, said Superintendent Melanie Stretchbery.
Also at the meeting, the board approved three-year contract extensions for Donna Beam, director of
operations; Cammi Chamberlain, director of services and support administration; Steve Foster, director
of fiscal services; Kent Strange, Industries training supervisor; Cara Groman, services and support
administrative coordinator; and Scott McKeown, transportation coordinator.
Their salaries will remain unchanged.
Stretchbery also recommended that since the board cannot afford a salary increase for staff, that $500 be
offered to every employee, including administrators, over the course of several months. The last salary
increase was in 2012.
One lump-sum payment will not be made to keep the payment from being taxed at a higher rate, she
explained.
The board also approved the 2014 appropriations.
The proposed expenses are up 0.949 percent, or $213,707, to $30,798,911 in the general operating fund.

That increase is due to the continued increase in the number of people served, increases in fuel and food
costs, and continued increases in contract services costs, among others.
The estimated revenue is up 32.127 percent, or $8,254,783, to $43,069,462.
That is due to next year being the first year collected on the new five-year levy.
The board’s annual budget is for Jan. 1 to Dec. 31. The budget must be approved and submitted to the Wood
County Commissioners no later than March 31.
Stretchbery also recognized three employees who will be retiring this month: Jack Burris, a bus driver,
and his wife Cathy Burris, custodian; along with Janet Zulch, a secretary who spent her entire career at
Wood Lane.

No posts to display