DESOTO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
BILL RUSSELL, PRESIDENT 2007 PRESIDING
July 3, 2007
A. CALL TO ORDER
The July 3, 2007, meeting of the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors was called to order by
Supervisor Bill Russell, Board President.
Chief Deputy Charlie Brown of the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department was present and
did open the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors meeting in a regular session to hear any
and all business to come before the Board. The following were present:
Supervisor Jessie Medlin----------------------District 1
Supervisor Eugene C. Thach-----------------District 2
Supervisor Bill Russell------------------------District 3
Supervisor Allen Latimer---------------------District 4
Supervisor Tommy Lewis--------------------District 5
W. E. Sluggo Davis---------------------------Chancery Clerk
Michael Garriga-------------------------------County Administrator
Jody Neyman----------------------------------Board Attorney
Chief Deputy Charlie Brown----------------Sheriff’s Department
B. INVOCATION
Supervisor Eugene Thach presented the invocation.
C. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
D. PLANNING COMMISSION
The minutes for the portion of the meeting organized by the Planning Commission are
presented and made a part of these minutes as Exhibit D.
See Exhibit D
E. OLD BUSINESS
F. NEW BUSINESS
1. Distribution of Fire Funds
a. Tax Distribution
b. Insurance Distribution
Comptroller Tom Arnold presented the recommendation for the distribution of ad
valorem taxation and insurance rebate funding to Volunteer Fire Departments for
approval.
At the recommendation of the Comptroller, Supervisor Jessie Medlin made the motion
and Supervisor Eugene Thach seconded the motion to approve the distribution of fire
funds as follows:
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ORDER APPROVING EXPENDITURE TO FIRE DEPARTMENTS OF
FUNDS ALLOCATED IN THE FY07 DESOTO COUNTY BUDGET
WHEREAS, DeSoto County, Mississippi, has nine (9) Volunteer Rural Fire
Departments in the unincorporated areas eligible to participate in the $446,471.09 in
Volunteer Fire Department Funds budgeted by DeSoto County, Mississippi, in the
FY2007 budget for rural fire departments under the authority of Sections 19-5-95 and
83-1-39 Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended.
WHEREAS, the annual allocation available for division among the eligible fire
departments of the County is:
$471,357.09 Funds Available for Distribution
- 24,886.00 Less Net Budgeted Expenses
446,471.09 Total Tax Receipts Available for Distribution
WHEREAS, the following volunteer fire departments, to-wit: Alphaba, Cockrum,
Ingram’s Mill Volunteer Fire Department, Bridgetown Volunteer Fire Department;
Lewisburg Volunteer Fire Department; Eudora Volunteer Fire Department; Fairhaven
Volunteer Fire Department; Love Station Volunteer Fire Department; Nesbit
Volunteer Fire Department; Summershill Volunteer Fire Department; and Walls
Volunteer Fire Department are eligible to participate in the funds and have presented
their proposals and Rural Fire Protection Agreements as required by the law.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDERED BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF
DESOTO COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. That the above said Proposals and Rural Fire Protection Agreements were
previously approved by the Board and are on file.
Section 2.
That available funds for county volunteer fire departments under the
provisions Sections 19-5-95 and 83-1-39, Mississippi Code of 1972 for the year 2007
will be divided on the following basis and formula:
a. All nine (9) volunteer fire departments shall share equally in 60% of all available
funds.
b. All nine (9) volunteer fire departments shall share according to their percentage of
the population serviced by said fire departments in 40% of all the remaining available
funds.
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Section 3. That based on the preceding formula heretofore adopted by the Board of
Supervisors for the division of funds among the various volunteer fire departments, the
following allocations of the funds are to be made to the following fire departments:
Fire
Departments
Alphaba, Cockrum,
Ingram’s Mill
Bridgetown
Eudora
Fairhaven
Lewisburg
Love
Nesbit
Summershill
Walls
TOTAL
FY07 Budget
Allocation Funds
$ 40,128.87
48,635.33
49,196.83
45,612.68
47,003.31
45,917.04
45,701.89
42,663.49
81,611.65
$ 446,471.09
Any fire house or permanent building constructed by any of these funds must be on
county owned property. None of the funds shall be used to purchase land.
Section 4. All departments receiving these funds shall refer to Sections 19-5-95 and
Sections 83-1-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended regarding appropriate use of
these funds. Furthermore, each department shall account for these funds separately
from all other allocations and available funds. State purchase procedures as detailed in
the appropriate sections of the Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended, shall be
followed. All departments receiving these funds are subject to audit by the Mississippi
Department of Audit, and that each department receiving these funds is directly
accountable to the Mississippi State Auditor.
And to approve:
ORDER APPROVING PROPOSALS OF COUNTY VOLUNTEER FIRE
DEPARTMENTS AND EXPENDITURE OF RURAL FIRE PROTECTION
FUNDS TO THE COUNTY AND PROVIDING FOR EXPENDING FUNDS
AND FORWARDING THE PROPOSALS (JULY 2007)
WHEREAS, DeSoto County, Mississippi, has nine (9) Volunteer Rural Fire
Departments in the unincorporated areas eligible to participate in the Volunteer Fire
Department Funds allocated to DeSoto County, Mississippi, by the Mississippi State
Insurance Department in accordance to Section 83-1-9, Mississippi Code of 1972 as
amended.
WHEREAS, the funds available for division among the eligible fire departments of the
County are as follows:
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$175,574.30 - Mississippi State Insurance Department Allocation
WHEREAS, the following volunteer fire departments, to-wit: Bridgetown Volunteer
Fire Department; Lewisburg Volunteer Fire Department; Alphaba, Cockrum, Ingram’s
Mill Volunteer Fire Department; Eudora Volunteer Fire Department; Fairhaven
Volunteer Fire Department; Love Station Volunteer Fire Department; Nesbit
Volunteer Fire Department; Summershill Volunteer Fire Department; and Walls
Volunteer Fire Department are eligible to participate in the funds and have presented
their Proposals and Rural Fire Protection Agreements as required by law.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDERED BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF
DESOTO COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. That the above said Agreements were approved by the Board and are on
file.
Section 2. That available funds for county volunteer fire departments under the
provisions of Section 83-1-39, Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended for the year 2007
will be divided on the following basis and formula:
a. All nine (9) volunteer fire departments shall share equally in 60% of all available
funds.
b. All nine (9) volunteer fire departments shall share according to their percentage of
the population serviced by said fire departments in 40% of all the remaining available
funds.
Section 3. That based on the preceding formula heretofore adopted by the Board of
Supervisors for the division of funds among the various volunteer fire departments, the
following allocations of the funds are to be made to the following fire departments:
Fire Departments
Alphaba, Cockrum,
Ingram’s Mill
Bridgetown
Eudora
Fairhaven
Lewisburg
Love
Nesbit
Summershill
Walls
TOTAL
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Insurance Funds
$ 15,780.63
19,125.79
19,346.60
17,937.14
18,484.00
19,056.83
17,972.22
16,777.37
32,093.72
$ 175,574.30
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That the budgets submitted by the respective Fire Departments exceed the final
allocation listed above, but all of the budgets are approved, subject to final approval of
the State Fire Fighters School with the limitation that the amount to be spent by each
department shall not exceed the amount of money first listed above in this section.
Any fire house or permanent building constructed by any of these funds must be on
county owned property. None of the funds shall be used to purchase land.
Section 4. All departments receiving these funds shall refer to Section 83-1-9,
Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended, regarding appropriate use of these funds.
Furthermore, all departments receiving funds should be aware of State Purchasing
procedures and the recommendation of the State Fire Coordinator regarding purchase
procedures using these funds.
The motion passed by a unanimous vote.
See Exhibit F.1.a.b
2. District 4 Park Fund – “Horn Lake Autumn in the Park Festival”
This item was held over till a later date.
3. Jail Inspection
The Board does hereby find that, pursuant to Section 19-5-1 of the Mississippi Code
Annotated, periodic examinations into the state and condition of the DeSoto County Jail,
in regards to its safety, sufficiency and accommodation of the prisoners is required.
Pursuant to Section 19-5-1, the Board of Supervisors, or a competent person authorized
by the Board of Supervisors, shall examine the jail for said compliance. The DeSoto
County Board of Supervisors has a policy of attempting to inspect the DeSoto County Jail
on a monthly basis, and a requirement that the DeSoto County Jail be inspected as often
as is mandated by Mississippi statute, State and/or Federal law. By direction of the
DeSoto County Board of Supervisors, the following persons were directed pursuant to
Section 19-5-1 to perform the required examination into the state and condition of the jail
and to report back to the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors:
Supervisor Allen Latimer
County Administrator Michael Garriga
The DeSoto County Board of Supervisors does hereby find that the above named
committee has reported back to the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors. They have
examined the DeSoto County Jail regarding its state and condition in regard to its safety,
sufficiency and accommodation of the prisoners, and do find the jail to be in compliance
and requiring no further action at this time.
Supervisor Allen Latimer made the motion and Supervisor Jessie Medlin seconded the
motion to approve the observed condition of the jail and to state there was no
overcrowding of the Jail, and do find the Jail to be in compliance and requiring no further
action at this time. The motion passed by a unanimous vote.
4. Election Commission
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Election Commissioner Danny Klein appeared before the Board of Supervisors on behalf
of the Desoto County Election Commissioners. He said that Senate Bill 2831, Section 5,
allows for a pay increase for poll workers. Mississippi Code Section
23-15-227 was modified to state that the managers and clerks (for elections) shall be
entitled to $75 for each election…however,…the Board of Supervisors may, in its
discretion, pay the managers and clerks an additional amount not to exceed $50 per
election. The manager or other person who shall carry to the place of voting, away from
the courthouse, the official ballots, ballot boxes, poll books and other necessities, shall be
allowed $10 for each voting precinct for so doing. The manager or other person who acts
as returning officer shall be allowed $10 for each voting precinct for that service. The
compensation authorized in this section shall be allowed by the Board of Supervisors, and
shall be payable out of the county treasury.
The compensation provided in this section shall constitute payment in full for the services
rendered by the persons named for any election, whether there be one election or issue
voted upon, or more than one election or issue voted upon at the same time.
Mr. Klein said that under the old law $75 was the maximum a poll worker could be paid
but now that is the minimum. Mr. Klein said he would like to recommend $100 for each
poll worker and $125 for each receiving manager of elections. Mr. Klein said he thinks
we can put this in place after the new budget is in effect; therefore, it would go into effect
in November. Mr. Klein said the Election Commissioners will start training next week
and we would like to let the poll workers know what the compensation will be in the
coming elections.
Supervisor Russell asked if this includes training for the poll workers. Supervisor
Eugene Thach said the poll workers are not paid for training. Mr. Klein said they can be
paid for training. He said he thinks it can be $10.
Supervisor Bill Russell asked what we are talking about for the poll workers on election
day. He said it was his understanding the poll workers would be paid $100 and receiving
managers would be paid $125 according to the recommendation of the Election
Commissioner for poll workers on election days. Mr. Klein said that is right.
Supervisor Tommy Lewis asked how many poll workers are we talking about. Mr. Klein
said there are 38 precincts with six poll workers per precinct in the Primary for a total of
228 poll workers.
Supervisor Jessie Medlin asked how the Election Commission determines the number of
workers to have. Mr. Klein said the law designates the number of workers to have.
Supervisor Jessie Medlin made the motion and Supervisor Eugene Thach seconded the
motion to approve the recommendation of the Election Commissioners and to add the
money to fund the pay increase for poll workers for the FY 08 budget. The motion
passed by a unanimous vote. See Exhibit F.4
G. EXECUTIVE SESSION
The executive session portion of these minutes is recorded under the portion of the minutes
called "Executive Session".
H. OTHER
1. Metro Narcotics
County Administrator Michael Garriga presented a letter he drafted to the Governor for
the Board of Supervisors’ inspection and approval regarding the Metro Narcotics grant.
Supervisor Eugene Thach said he thinks the letter should be sent from the Board of
Supervisors.
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Supervisor Bill Russell suggested changing the letter to request the meeting directly with
the Governor.
Supervisor Tommy Lewis suggested inviting the Senators to the meeting and
acknowledging that Senator Davis was instrumental in getting a portion of the grant
funding last year.
The Board asked the County Administrator to revise the letter and get the signature of the
Board President.
No motions were made nor votes taken on this issue.
Supervisor Eugene Thach made the motion and Supervisor Bill Russell seconded the motion
to recess the meeting until July 16, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. The motion passed by a unanimous
vote.
THIS is the 3rd day of July 2007, these minutes have been read and approved by the DeSoto
County Board of Supervisors.
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Bill Russell, President
DeSoto County Board of Supervisors
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