By Jeff Hurt
Double Mountain Chronicle Editor
During a series of tense discussions that stretched Monday’s Fisher County Commissioners budget workshop into a two-day affair, the court amended its proposed budget — which included closing the county’s jail — to keep the jail open and give raises but forced cutbacks elsewhere.
During an already lengthy regular agenda, the Fisher County Commissioners took the first two hours of the morning session engaged in the political brutality the court has become known for in recent years. Less than 10 minutes into the meeting, the court slugged it out over issues with an invoice that commissioners Preston Martin and Kevin Stuart questioned the legality of Commissioner Gordon Pippin’s equipment usage, a concern that forced the vote to be tabled.
In the second hour, Martin’s motion to resend the county judge and county attorney’s authority to negotiate contracts was also tabled after County Attorney Michael Hall said he was proud of his legal work for the county, and the commissioner’s action was merely an attempt to deflect attention away Martin’s recent indictments.
After returning from lunch, the court engaged in budget discussions where Judge Ken Holt presented his proposed budget, which included closing the county’s jail to save operational costs that could be used for early repayment of the roughly $7.5 million bond the county approved to construct the facility.
Holt admitted he knew there would be controversy about closing the jail, but pointed out that to satisfy the argument, doing so would save the county over $400,000 in operational costs and create a near $350,000 surplus at year’s end. “That’s if you close Between cyber attack, the jail,” said Holt. “If you don’t, you have zero.
Holt’s proposal was not without increases to other departments, such as adjustments for inconsistent fuel costs for vehicles and a 5% increase to employee salaries across the board. However, the proposed budget was met with stiff opposition from Fisher County Sheriff Randy Ford.
“Jails don’t make money, guys, they’re expensive,” said Ford, who was also requesting a roughly $265,000 budget increase. While admitting that with the personnel challenges, liability issues, etc., Ford said closing the jail would make his duties simpler, “But is that what the citizens want?”
Firm in his proposal, Holt said, “This deal ain’t never gonna work. You can put lipstick on it all you want.”
While neither the commissioners nor the sheriff could find any flaws in Holt’s financial logic, closing the jail proved to be a sticking point for the court, and the meeting recessed until Tuesday morning. With Ford absent due to personal reasons and Holt out to preside over criminal proceedings, officials spent just over two hours working numbers to find a solution.
Commissioners spent much of the meeting casting political disparagements and taking personal jabs at one another while the financial team crunched figures. With the sheriff’s department withdrawing its requested budget increases, the commissioners carved funds from the recently approved IT budget, denied a $40,000 accounting software upgrade, pulled money from backup disaster, and shaved $2,000 from each commissioner’s budget.
When the final numbers were tallied, FY 2023’s budget keeps the jail operational for at least one more year, provides elected officials and county employees with a 5% salary increase, and reduced the proposed $349,000 surplus to a mere $16.74. The court could make additional budget amendments when officials meet again on Monday to adopt this year’s proposed budget.