SIDNEY — The Shelby County commissioners’ business during the month of May included authorizing seeking bids and public hearings, signing proclamations, and approving funding, among other matters.

The commissioners authorized public hearings for the renewal of the 1/2 percent sales tax, one of which was held on June 2 at 10 a.m., and the other will be held on June 9 at 10 a.m. The 1/2 percent sales tax was initially authorized by the commissioners in the 90s to be used for the jail, then it was used for highway infrastructure improvements, and in 2012 it became split between the capital improvement fund and the engineer’s fund. All three commissioners and Shelby County Engineer Robert Geuy were present at the meeting; no community members were present. Geuy showed strong support for renewing the tax and said that it has worked well since its implementation.

“I think this tax is a godsend for Shelby County’s infrastructure. When we first implemented it back in 1998, our infrastructure was in really poor shape, and since that time, we’ve been able to basically get back in shape and ahead of most other counties, and I think we still are ahead,” Geuy said. “Before we didn’t have the resources and we would have to close the structures until we had the resources, so we’re not in that position anymore, and that sales tax is directly the cause of that. It’s been able to let us be more proactive and not reactive.”

The commissioners also authorized seeking bids for the 2022 Highway Paint Striping Program, which will be opened on June 23 at 11 a.m.

Proclamations included recognizing May 5, 2022, as the National Day of Prayer and the week of May 10-16, 2022, as National Salvation Army Week.

Payments toward weekly expenditures were approved totaling $795,985.17 (May 5), $20,247.19 (May 10), $1,136,827.16 (May 12), $70,402.18 (May 26), and $465,560.80 (May 31). Transfers from the general fund were also approved to the engineer’s fund ($153.123.79) and the capital improvements fund ($153,123.80).