Various department heads congregated at the Paulding County Board of Commissioners work session on Aug. 24 to offer individual updates on their work.

The sheriff’s department, department of transportation, parks and recreation, and fire and rescue organizations informed the board and the present county citizens of an update on recent activities.

Sheriff Gary Gulledge noted a lack of mass public participation to use the services of law enforcement during his update. Gulledge said the office is a full serviced and trained enforcement unit with a crime scene unit, K9 unit, S.W.A.T., DUI task force, and crime suppression among other specialized units. Gulledge said the PCSO made 2,523 arrests, patrolled a total 1,583,873 miles and responded to 1,588 accidents. But, he added, the office could do more.

“People are not utilizing the full force of the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office,” said Gulledge, “We are trying to stay as highly visible as possible.”

Chief Michael Earwood of the fire rescue department said they receive around 10,000 calls a year and 80 percent of them are medical related. Paulding’s firefighters, he said, are part of a first responder unit. They train within their own premises. In July, Earwood said the fire rescue department responded to 845 calls, 562 for rescue and 31 for fires or explosions.

The department completed 150 inspections and 194 preplans, and serviced 999 hydrants. Last month, 376 people attended fire safety courses.

Paulding Department of Transportation director Scott Greene offered a few suggestions during his update.

“It’s no surprise the condition of our road system is dependent on our funding,” he said. “We have not dropped response of service calls despite furlough days and other drastic cuts.”

Greene said the road system has run on a tight budget. The department serviced more than 2,700 roads across five miles. All the traffic signals are running on 100 percent light emitting diodes save energy and money to the county. A graph was shown explaining a timeline of deterioration on certain roads due to time, and Greene said the unexpected floods from last September and last year’s harsh winter increased the need for some repavement. He recommended use of fund-balance to service road deteriorations. The status of the airport came forward next.

“When the economy picks up, we’ll definitely see some of the fruits of the labor,” said Blake Swafford, airport director.

At the Paulding Northwest Atlanta Airport there are 10 hangars built. Swafford said the county is still working on attracting some prospects to do business at the airport.

Swafford and his staff said they do not expect further movements for the rest of the year. The airport’s fixed base operator will add services as more time progresses.