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Lemmond Blows Motion

Normally Robert Reives makes the motions, and Jerry Lemmond just votes yes. In his motion to redeem himself on the law enforcement issue, he blew it. The clerk to the board, Gaynell Lee is a Certified Municiple Clerk and as good as clerk as one will find. Lemmond talked and talked and somewhere in all the manure made a motion recorded by the clerk as:

"To amend the Sheriff's Department budget to allow him to use the five (5) positions recommended by the County Manager in any combination he chooses, and approve additional funding if required."

Well, the whole point was that the two road deputies were not recommended by the County Manager. So a literal reading of the motion would not get the sheriff his patrol deputies. As you can see from correspondence below, it will be a later budget amendment--not Lemmond's motion--that actually gets the road deputies. But gosh, Lemmond tries hard and you can see why Commissioner Reives usually handles the motions himself.

But that is what the County Manager seems to get paid for--cleaning up the commissioner's messes. Here was John Crumpton's reply:

I am going to go by what I thought the intent was which was to allow him to use the 3 non-grant positions in anyway he sees fit. Unless he chooses to go with what I recommended we would have to amend the budget anyway. So it is up to him to use any combination he sees fit and I will go to the Board and make sure the positions are funded properly.

Sheriff and County Manager To Meet Today To Discuss Issue

Sheriff Tracy Carter and Chief Deputy Randal Butler are scheduled to meet with the county manager today to discuss options and reach an agreement that will have to go back to the board of commissioners at their July 21 meeting. This means a three week delay into the fiscal year before the sheriff's budget is resolved. Normally, the commissioners meet twice each month. If they are really serious about public safety, Chairman Brown should call a special meeting to settle the matter once and for all--something that Commissioner Lemmond could already have done if he had voted for the 2 deputies. And, this time, for gosh sakes, let someone else come up with the motion. Back to you Mr. Reives.