Thumbs up all around

We begin with a THUMBS UP to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office and Palatka Police Department for their plans to carry Narcan, a drug used to counter opioid overdoses. Deputies and officers will carry Narcan in case they come to a scene where somebody is suffering from an overdose. Typically, when dispatchers alert public safety officials and first responders, deputies and police officers are the first to respond. By having these public safety officials carry Narcan, it'll increase the likelihood of survival for someone who might be suffering an overdose. In May, Gov. Rick Scott officially declared the opioid epidemic as a public health emergency, and the state Department of Children and Families received a federal grant that will help fund the Narcan treatments. We applaud our local law enforcement for taking a proactive approach in our community. Even if the Narcan nasal spray saves one life, it will have been well worth it.

We offer a THUMBS UP and kudos to Putnam County commissioners who balked at not providing annual funding for the Putnam County School District. We don't offer this praise as a denigration of county staff. Putnam County Deputy Administrator and Chief Budget Officer Stacie Poppell has an unenviable task of writing this year's budget, and she's doing all she can to produce a workable budget. In the process, Poppell discovered there was no requirement the county share parimutuel funds with the school district, as it has for years and years. But it's July, and the school district has been working on its budget for months. It's cut and cut and cut. And now, it learns it might not receive as much as $200,000 it expected. "To take that money from them at the 11th hour ... I think is doing the whole county an injustice," Commissioner Buddy Goddard said. We agree with Goddard. If the county needs to reduce how much money it gives the school district, it needs to give them ample time. Another struggling entity - Putnam EDGE High School - was told a year in advance it must vacate C.L. Overturf Jr. Sixth Grade Center. If the county plans to reduce the school district's funding, we hope they receive at least a year's notice.

Last, but not least, we offer a THUMBS UP to Palatka city commissioners who appear to be closing in on a relatively uneventful budget season. And uneventful is a good thing. During the city's first budget workshop, Finance Director Matt Reynolds announced there would be no pay raises for city employees, health insurance costs were expected to rise by about 20 percent and city pension fund contributions were also increasing. Despite that, the city will maintain its 6.400 millage rate, a significant decrease from two years ago. Additionally, the city has numerous infrastructure projects on tap, including potable water improvements. While we remain cautiously optimistic about the budget season, it appears the city is on sound financial footing. Kudos to city staff and commissioners for managing a complicated budget and driving Palatka forward.