Paul Couts

One of the last acts of 2008 by Carroll County Commissioners was to sign a contract with a new highway superintendent/engineer. And since that time Paul Couts (pronounced 'Coats') has applied his many years of engineering experience to help the county.

 

Couts began his engineering career in 1971 after graduating with a Masters Degree in Civil Engineering from Purdue University, while supporting a family and raising two children. Couts held positions in Dayton, Ohio, and Lafayette before starting his own consulting firm in 1978. He became the West Lafayette City Engineer in 1980 and worked there until 1991 when he returned to the private sector.

Couts said he missed the "handson" work of "making things happen" when he applied for the Carroll County job.

"Job satisfaction is very important to me," he said. "Engineering is in me. I love that work."

"I really want to use my experience and be of benefit to those I serve," he added noting the intangible rewards of the position.

Couts said he does not know exactly what he said or conveyed at his interview with commissioners Loren Hylton, Bill Brown and George Mears that led them to offer him the position. He said he tried to be genuine and honest and open with them.

"I'm a very practical person," he said. "And we just need to do as much as we can for the residents."

Couts said the Carroll County job is more hands-on in day-to-day projects than his previous work experiences because the operations of the department are different. He said his goal would be to do as much work in-house and use all resources available to the department to provide the best service.

"I'm a public servant," he said. "I am here to provide service."

According to Couts working closely with the overall department budget would present more of a challenge than he has had in the past. He explained he has budgetary experience, but not with restricted funds. He said after three weeks on the job, he is trying "to get a handle on it" and would develop an overall spending plan for the future. Couts added that he planned to work closely with the county council to develop a realistic department budget.

Couts said he would explore ways to improve the operations and method of doing the business of the department. He said the driver-specific district system seemed to work well and no changes were planned for that component of the operation. However, he said he consulted with other local highway experts about better prices for road salt and other consumable items. He said a collaborative effort could work with other communities to achieve better prices for Carroll County.

Couts emphasized he considered his role with the county as a public servant. To that end he said he has an open-door policy.

"That is an important part of the job," he said. "If a resident has a complaint, I want to talk to them."

"Maybe I can't solve everything, but I'll get back with them when they call and see what we can do," he concluded.

Couts can be reached at the county highway garage in Flora at (574) 967-4244 or by E-mail at highway.dept@ffni.com. His hours in the office on most days are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.