Sheriff Kellerman climbs to new heights to find $100,000 savings

As Perry County Sheriff Keith Kellerman looked at Perry County's 2014 spending plan with its anticipated $171,000 shortfall he remembered the $100,000 placed in next year's budget for a new courthouse roof.

Illinois statute requires the sheriff of a county to be the trustee of the courthouse and make sure that it is maintained.

The courthouse roof--last replaced in 1998--has been damaged in recent years by summer's heat beating down on the west side of the building and damaging wind storms in three of the last five years.

Kellerman wanted to see if he might save he county some of the $100,000 budgeted for the new roof.

At 2:30 p.m. Thursday Sheriff Kellerman and contractor Dave Kuhnert climbed into a construction manlift and rose high over the west side of the courthouse to see had badly damaged that section of roof has become. "The west side is really bad and we are going to have to do something," said Kellerman after they came down. But, in the coming days he is going to see if there is a way to save some of that planned expense. "We may be able to save some of it. We need to."