Sheriff withdraws request for more deputies

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON News Editor for the Southern Standard

With Sheriff Jackie Matheny withdrawing his request for 17 new deputies to staff the new jail expansion, thus eliminating $614,000 from the jail budget, the Safety Committee passed both the sheriff?s department budget and the jail budget Monday night after some other minor cuts. Both budgets will now advance to the Budget and Finance Committee for its approval.

After the cuts, the total 2006-2007 requested sheriff and jail budget came to $4.10 million, a $184,804 increase over the 2005-2006 budget of $3.92 million.

With a penny of property tax generating around $48,406, the increase for both budgets will require around 3.8 cents in additional property tax to cover. The $614,000 in salaries and benefits would have required an additional 12.6 cents, for a total of 16.6 cents, an amount that had generated concern from committee members since it was presented during early budget talks. Though originally designed to ensure state certification of the jail, it was never determined the additional personnel would guarantee that certification.

?The state won?t tell us how many employees we need,? said Safety Committee chairman David Grissom. ?So it?s kind of a catch-22. If we don?t have enough deputies to cover all their requirements when they inspect the jail, then they will won?t certify us. But we won?t know if we have enough until they inspect us.?

Already aware of this situation, and where committee members stood on an increase of this size, Matheny had only one question before the talks started in earnest.

?I guess the new deputies are out of the question,? Matheny said.

?Yes,? answered Grissom. ?There is no way this commission will vote for that kind of tax increase. It?s not going to happen.?

The deputies were listed as a request from the beginning, separate from the main budget, and Matheny did not seem surprised the committee declined to present that request to the Budget and Finance Committee.

The revised sheriff and jail budgets passed the Safety Committee unanimously.

Although the sheriff and jail budgets have advanced to Budget and Finance, school budget talks had to be delayed. With only three members of the five-member Education Committee present at Monday?s meeting, chairman Bill Zechman said the committee did not have a quorum and could not conduct business. Though the school system had a budget prepared, which was approved by the School Board in May, talks had to be postponed.

?I really don?t feel we should work on the budget without everyone here,? Zechman said. Since members on both the school side and the commission side had conflicting schedules, the first feasible meeting date is Saturday, July 29. Work on the school budget will continue at that time.