Broome to Receive Tanker, Sheriff Request Pay Increase For Deputies

Courtsey of WRBE, "Your Hometown Radio"
During their first of the month meeting on Monday, the George County Board of Supervisors voted to change the format of their agenda to hopeful increase the efficiency of their meetings.
The new format will group routine items, such as accepting claims dockets, approving the Justice Court reports, and approving travel expenses for county employee into a “consent agenda,” requiring only one board action to approval all the items at once. Any item the Supervisors wish to discuss, will be pulled from the consent agenda and added as a main agenda items.
As the meeting continued, travel was approved for County Bookkeeper Amy Havens to attend the Mississippi Association of County Administrators Comptrollers seminar in Biloxi on June 20 and for Emergency Management Coordinator Lorraine Howell and her assist, Nancy Smith to attend a one day training Session in Wiggins for MEMA on June 6 and for Howell herself to attend a three-day workshop on June 25-27.
Howell also reported the Broome Volunteer Fire Department was approved for a Homeland Security Grant for a Tanker Truck at a cost to the county of only $9,750; the remaining 95% of cost will be paid by the Homeland Security Grant.
Several Road issues were addressed and a couple of tax roll corrections were approved.
Senior Citizen Building Coordinator Melinda Harvison gave a report on several items of interest, including a request for a time-limit to be place on the rental of the Senior Building in a single day. Harvison oversees “rented” actives at the Senior Building at a pay rate of $5 per hour and stated that some of the activities last for as many as 16 to 18 hours. She also request her pay rate for overseeing these actives to increase by $1.
A short executive session was held with Sheriff Garry Welford to discuss a county employee and two new hires were accepted at the regional jail and one new deputy for the Sheriff's Department. A new employee for District 1 and one for District 5 was also accepted.
Sheriff Welford made a presentation to the Supervisors at a work session last week for a pay increase for his deputies. On Monday Welford asked the Supervisors to consider a $60,000 increase to his department for next fiscal year, stating that he could make the pay increase effective in July but needed assurance that he could maintain the increase with next year's budget. Welford told the Supervisors that much of his budget was used to train and outfit new officers due to losing newly certified officers to other agency with high pay and better benefits. Welford said that in some nearby communities, the starting pay for a certified officer was more than he could pay his seasoned officers.
Board President Kelly Wright complained that everyone was already putting in for budget increases but the Supervisors had not began to work on next year's budget, with the new fiscal year beginning on October 1. Supervisor Larry Havard commented that the fuel prices were killing the entire county's budget with short falls in all the departments due to fuel cost and increase pricing. Welford's request was taken “under consideration.”
Before adjourning, the Supervisors voted to move forward with a million dollar State-aide Road project for Will Howell Road in District 2.