Just one month after approving a cost study to be completed by consultant Bruce Delashmit of Bellwether Advantage, the Fayette County Board approved another agreement with the company. By a unanimous 12-0 vote with one board member missing from the meeting, the board approved a letter of agreement to retain the company for administrative services. Delashmit was on hand for last night’s meeting and explained some of the help the company will provide the county. Delashmit says they will look at labor and benefit expenses and take care of the math aspect for the county when going into union negotiations. They will not be a part of the negotiations, Bellwether will just help with the numbers aspect behind the scenes. Bellwether will also sit in on county board meetings and give their opinions on issues but will not have a final say or a vote in matters. While the contract is set for Bellwether to begin on August 1, Delashmit says they would like to get started as soon as Tuesday. During the meeting, the board took action on three ordinances that came as a result of the cost study that Delashmit and his team conducted on the County Clerk’s Office and the Sheriff’s Office. An ordinance to increase court security fees from $25 to $75 was approved as were increases in recorder and clerk’s fees. Delashmit explained that the ordinances will not put the fees above what the county is spending on the services as the county should not be making a profit, the increases simply put the county in line with the expense the county faces of providing those services.