Covington County will keep its four senior aides, despite statewide cuts in funding, said county administrator Brenda Petty Monday.

Currently, there are two aides employed at the county administration building, one at the county health department and one at the Organized Comm-unity Action Program office, she said.

The senior aides program, or Senior Emp-loyment Opp-ortunity Pro-gram, provides part-time employment for those 55 and older in non-profit agencies and government offices. Candidates must meet federal poverty level income requirements and must reside in Covington County. The program is administered by the Southeast Alabama Regional Council on Aging (SARCOA).

Petty said the commission was informed that the program had suffered a 45 percent reduction in overall funding; however, it did not appear that Covington County would be affected by the reduction.

“They said their funding had been cut by 25 percent, plus an additional 20 percent because of a loss of stimulus money,” she said. “Our cost is only $900 a year for our four aides, so I think we’ll be OK.”

Petty said the aides’ salaries are paid with federal funds. Commissioners then agreed to sign the 2012 senior aides host agency agreement.

In other business, the commission:

• approved the 2012 Covington Area Transit System (CATS) budget. The $240,100 budget required a $75,580 match from the county. Program director Ruth Edison said approximately $32,000 of that match will be raised from commitments from other agencies, which will help to defray the overall match.

• voted to hold a public hearing to discuss closing Barney Stephens Road, which is located on the South Alabama Regional Airport property, to accommodate the Vector Aerospace expansion project. The hearing will be held on June 27.

• awarded a contract for steel piling to Skyline Steel.