ABBEVILLE – Wilcox Commissioners are continuing to formulate the county’s fiscal year 2010 budget. A final draft should be prepared before the end of July, Clerk Hazel Keene explains.

She anticipates little change from the current budget. “We’re trying to hold the line on all expenditures,” she said, “but there’s just not a lot of places to cut.”

During the Commissioners’ regular monthly meeting Tuesday, they considered several spending needs.

After hearing about roof leaks at the old health department building in Rochelle that now serves as the mental retardation service center, they made a trip to look at the problem firsthand.

Ms. Keene said staff had reported falling ceiling tiles, mold and water approaching computers. Commissioners said they have been dealing with the problem for 10 years, and during that time, they’ve tried to keep the flat roof patched.

Now they will decide whether they should continue to do patch work or if it would be more feasible to install a new slightly pitched roof.

Making the lower floor of the courthouse handicap-accessible is another issue that the county governors face.

The office of the clerk of court has been moved to the basement in recent months, and the only way to get to that office is down several steps. Commissioners agreed that they will have to build a ramp and add some stair rails.

To reduce a liability issue, board members also decided that a fence should be erected around the rifle range at the county’s agri-center. Kids have been riding their four-wheelers over a mound of dirt, and Commissioners are fearful that one of them will turn over and get hurt.

Wilcox County’s Recreation Department and the 4-H Club have been working together to provide a facility for the county’s youth. Commissioners appreciate that cooperative spirit, and they want to keep the area as safe as possible.

Because the methane level at the county’s abandoned landfill exceeds allowable limits, commissioners may have to dig a new trench there to let the gas escape. That will be another expense.

In other business, Commissioners:

Learned that Sibbie, Cedar Creek, Cemetery and King of Kings Roads will be striped with federal grant funds already approved. Another round of grant applications soon can be submitted, and county officials will be looking at other county roads that need stripes.

Decided not to close Spruce Lane. A request for this action had been rescinded.

Named two new members to the Heart of Georgia Area Agency on Aging board of directors pending those appointees’ acceptance. Officials decided to ask Vicky Kemp and Ruby Lee Dantley to serve on the board.