Supervisors tell Sheriff ‘no’ on cars

There is no money in the budget for new patrol cars, Sheriff Eric Clark was told during Monday’s meeting of the Board of Supervisors.

Clark pointed out there is a lot of wear and tear on a law enforcement vehicle each year. He is trying to get three new cars each year and planning to rotate out the older vehicles and maintain a good working fleet.

“They didn’t have anything in the General Fund budget for cars,” Clark said. “They took it under consideration.”

There are other sources of money such as cash seized during drug busts, but not enough to buy new cars, Clark said. The SO has been buying handcuffs and flashlights not budgeted with drug monies.

“We have less than $20,000 in our drug fund,” Clark said. “We have been using our drug fund to buy equipment the county didn’t have budgeted. We have bought handcuffs, binoculars and uniforms. We had to buy a printer for the Sheriff’s Office. We have had to use our money to fill the void. If we had money to purchase a car, I would.”

He also pointed out that while his department has made plenty of drug arrests, those being arrested don’t have that much money on them to seize.

“It’s not like we are on the interstate,” Clark said.

In other matters, supervisors voted to:

• Approve the removal for X26 tasers from the Sheriff’s inventory, and approved a six-month subscription to Covert Wireless for Cameras for $264.

• Accept the September 2021 daily meal log and detailed billing report for the jail. Supervisors approved a $1 an hour raise and change in job status of a jailer who is taking on additional maintenance responsibilities.

• Accept the resignation of one of the jail employees.

• Reject the bid for a 75 CY Ton End Dump trailer.

• Approve hiring Crowder Engineering & Surveying for the County Road 236 improvement project. Supervisors also posted a weight limit on the Bear Creek Bridge on County Road 602.

• Approve the quarterly budget allocation for the Tax Assessor/Tax Collector officer totaling $118,949.

• Accept a settlement of bond funds to the county as unclaimed property though the Circuit Clerk’s Office. Supervisors also approved a $1 an hour raise for deputy clerks in the office. Supervisors set the County Registrar's compensation at $19,320.

• Approve a travel request to attend the Statewide Fire Coordinators Meeting Wednesday at the Fire Academy.

• Approve notice of intent for participation in the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program for a community storm shelter.

• Approve Neshoba General’s resolution requesting that the county apply for $1,250,000 CAP Loan from MDA for the nursing home project.