Belknap Commission will try to get firms to reduce outstanding 2014 legal bills

LACONIA — Belknap County Commissioners held their first meeting yesterday with newly-sworn in commissioner Hunter Taylor of Alton on board and wasted no time putting his legal background to use, naming him to work with law firms which are owed $60,000 by the county to try and lower those bills.

''I'm willing to do that,'' said Taylor after commission Chairman Richard Burchell of Gilmanton said that he would ''never sign a request for a (inter-operating budget) transfer after the line item was expended,'' and said that from his standpoint ''some of the bills were drawn with a heavy hand".

The county rang up nearly $100,000 in legal bills in 2014, largely due to a dispute over budget authority between the Belknap County Convention and the former members of the commission, and has expended nearly all of the $40,000 which was appropriated last year for legal expenses.

Commissioners yesterday also approved a $40,000 contract with Kevin Warwick, president of Alternative Solutions Associates, Inc., for development of a plan of programs for a community corrections (rehabilitation) facility in Belknap County.

Warwick serves as a consultant to Sullivan County's Department of Corrections and is a recognized national leader in establishing community-based programs and was recommended to the commission as a consultant by Belknap County Corrections Superintendent Dan Ward. Burchell and DeVoy are both familiar with Warwick and his work, having met him during a visit to the Sullivan County (Claremont) Community Corrections Center.

Also working with Warwick on the study will be Ross Cunningham, former superintendent of the Sullivan County House of Corrections who is now the assistant superintendent of at the Merrimack County House of Corrections.

DeVoy pressed Ward to try and have Warwick complete the study within 90 days and Ward said that Warwick was concerned that the study be thorough and that he didn't want to cut corners.

The study will also build upon the Ricci Greene Associates study completed for the former commissioners with an eye to a stand-alone facility for a community corrections center.

Ward said that a grant of between $6,000 and $10,000 mat be available from the National Correctional Institute to help reduce the costs of the study.

Taylor said that physical facility was not as important as the programs and that it was essential to get started as soon as possible on the study.

Ward also announced that Captain David Berry, a 20-year veteran with the Belknap County House of Corrections, has resigned effective in two weeks and will be leaving to become the Sullivan County Corrections superintendent.

Ward said that he was looking to fill that position internally and was also preparing to hire a new community corrections officer from a field of five candidates.

Commissioners also discussed the possible relocation of the Restorative Justice program headed by Brian Loanes from the Belknap County Courthouse to office space in the administrative wing of the Belknap County complex, where it could work more closely with case managers from the Department of Corrections.

Loanes said that he would develop a proposal to present to the commissioners when they meet next Thursday.

Commissioner also discussed the reimbursement of administrative costs from the Belknap County Home with Nursing Home Administrator Mathew Logue, who said that there was an online system run by the Department of Health and Human Services which even takes office costs into account for private nursing homes.

''It's been reported that we lose revenue if we don't have administrative support costs in our budget. I want to make sure we're capturing all of our costs and being reimbursed properly,'' said DeVoy.